The UK's bestShed Paint2022 Review

When you’ve got large areas to cover, there’s nothing worse than spending a fortune on getting enough paint for the job. This Ronseal One Coat Fence Life is more reasonably priced than its competitors, but still has a good reputation for offering good coverage in a range of natural colours.

Despite describing itself as fence paint, it can be used on any rough-sawn wood including sheds, trellises and wood stores. The dark oak colour comes out as a rich chocolatey brown, creating warmth in the garden and sprucing up any tired timber.

For the majority of the time, just one coat will be needed, so the 5 L tin contains enough paint to cover approximately 30 m². As with many timber paints, two coats might be required in certain areas, but for the most part one is sufficient.

It’s quite thick, but spreads relatively easily, and can be applied with either a brush or a paint sprayer. However, the paint may need to be diluted slightly for it to flow well out of a sprayer.

Considering the price, as well as how much paint comes in a tin, this is one of the best shed paints in terms of value for money; even if you’re painting quite a large shed, or a lot of fence panels, you’ll likely save yourself some money compared with other brands – even if you need several tins.

If you’re after a glossy finish, this oil-based Dulux Weathershield Paint produces a ‘high gloss’ surface which is generally a lot shinier than water-based paints.

It spreads well and can be used on both wood and metal outside, making it suitable for sheds constructed from various materials as well as other features in the garden.

Unlike the ‘one coat’ paints featured on this page, this Dulux option requires 2 – 3 coats in order to get good coverage. It’s relatively thin and runny, and needs to be applied carefully to avoid too many drips. Putting protective coverings on the floor before painting is definitely something to consider.

In terms of applying this paint, more effort is required than with most of the other options featured here; however, it does achieve a very glossy finish once dry.

Dulux states that an undercoat is required, which is one of the reasons why using this paint will take longer. Once the undercoat is dry, the first coat of Weathershield can be applied, before waiting 16 hours to apply the second coat.

Whilst this may sound like a lot of effort, it might be worth it if you’re keen to achieve a high-gloss finish. Other water-based paints are quicker to dry, but don’t attain the same results.

Overall, this is one of the best shed paints if you’re after gloss, but is relatively time consuming to apply. However, if you’re not up against the clock, and are after this type of finish, the Dulux Weathershield is a good option to go for.

If you’re after a modern, light colour for your shed, and are keen to get the job done relatively quickly, this Cuprinol Garden Shades Shed Paint in ‘Willow’ has a contemporary pale-green finish and generally requires only one coat.

Of course, as always, it does slightly depend what you’re painting over in the first place, but it has been shown to cover even dark red brick with just one layer of paint. Ideally, it needs to be painted on bare wood, or surfaces that have not been previously painted.

Along with painting timber, it can be used on terracotta, brick and stone, so there’s a lot of potential for painting different features in the garden, in matching colours, to create a cohesive space.

As a 5 L tin, it can cover around 50 m² when applied with a brush on smooth-planed wood. It’s possible to apply with a sprayer too, although you’ll get slightly less out of the tin, covering approximately 20 m² on the same surface.

In terms of application, the paint goes on easily although it can be a little runny. However, as a water-based paint, it’s easy to clean up any spillages and drips just using water. The paint brushes can also be cleaned off without any chemicals.

The overall finish is as expected; a pleasant colour with good coverage. It’s one of the best shed paints for quick application, especially as you can use a paint sprayer, although there are occasions when two coats are required.

Finding a suitably dry day for painting outside isn’t necessarily the easiest thing here in the UK. Especially if you have to guarantee 24 hours of no rain. Fortunately, this Sadolin Shed & Fence All Weather Barrier is showerproof after 30 minutes, so if an unsuspecting shower comes along, it won’t spell toast for all your hard work.

The Grey Shadow colour comes out as a dark, sophisticated grey that will neaten up tired timberwork in the garden. It’s wax enriched, to help with repelling water, and offers an all-weather barrier to wood as well.

Whilst one of the benefits of this water-based paint is that it dries very quickly, it is thinner than some of the options featured on this list. Therefore, it will generally require around 2 – 3 coats to achieve full coverage, and is best suited to painting smaller areas as a result. Working across large surfaces might be quite time consuming.

Even so, a second coat can be applied 4 – 6 hours after the first, which does mean that two coats can be put on in the same day.

It’s suitable for all rough-sawn timber, including fences and sheds, and has a non-drip formula which stops it from being overly messy. The 5 L tin covers approximately 30 m², so it can be a slightly more expensive option given that several coats are required.

Overall, this is one of the best shed paints to use if you can’t trust the weather. If you’re painting in autumn or spring, it can be beneficial to have the peace of mind that a passing shower won’t ruin all your hard work. However, as mentioned, it’s not the cheapest option and it will require several coats to achieve full coverage.