If winter left your wood fencing looking as dull and lifeless as the gray, dirty snow that only just melted a couple months ago, then it’s time to bring it back to life. Summer is here, after all, making it the perfect time for such projects. Here’s what you need to do.

Wash It.

The first thing you have to do to your fencing is wash it. Either buy or rent a power washer, and use an appropriate cleaning solution to easily, slowly, and precisely remove the dead layer of wood cells, revealing a fresh layer underneath. Be sure not to turn the washer’s pressure up too high, though, as you don’t want to damage your fencing.

Sand It.

Once you’ve power washed your fencing, you need to let it dry, which may take a day or so. After that, get your belt sander or random orbit sander, and sand each board until it’s smooth. Use 80-grit sandpaper on your first once over, and then 160-grit sandpaper on your second time.

Stain It.

Now that you’ve properly stripped your fencing down, fill any holes that may have shown up with putty. then, cover each and every one of your fence’s boards with a waterproof paint, or varnish, depending on the sort of look you’re trying to go for. You may want to opt for a varnish, though, since you’ve just put in all that hard work to put some life back into your wood fencing.

One last thing to note: you may want to do a few repairs and bits of maintenance before you paint your fence. It’d be a good idea to fix any cracks or breaks, replace any loose screws or nails or hinges, and simply fix the fence.

Once you’ve done all that, your wood fencing will be as good as new! If you have any questions about restoring wood fences, feel free to share in the comments.