Painting a concrete wall questions

Louise
by Louise
I saw this photo of a painted fence and thought maybe I'd do the same on my concrete wall. For quite a while, I've intended to put stucco on the wall, but maybe I'll paint flowers instead. Question- Of course, I'll have to pressure wash it first and I figure priming it is essential, right? Can I choose my background paint from one of the paint/primer combinations? And do I have to use exterior paint for the actual painting, or can I use interior and then use some kind of exterior poly as a coating?
  5 answers
  • M&M Embellishments M&M Embellishments on May 14, 2016
    Love this idea! :) Sorry, I don't have an answer for you! But you gave me an idea! I do painting with stain... this would be neat to do on a fence using stain. thanks for sharing your inspiration, and I would love to see your finished project!
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on May 14, 2016
    You must use paint strictly for outdoor concrete. Regular paint will not hold up to outdoor elements.
  • Terese Davis Terese Davis on May 14, 2016
    You also need several coats of sealant. I think they even have UV sealants. After putting art on your wall, you don't want it to fade.
  • HD has paint for masonry. You might want to lay on a coat of smooth stucco first and then paint your design. We had a cinderblock wall that we did that with to make it smooth. Then I painted it a solid color. It's held up for almost 10 years with no issues. you can see in the pic where the block wall is on the other side of the black fence. The entire thing looked like that. This paint has lasted a long time. I think it was just exterior paint from HD. All of our houses out here are stucco and thats what we use on our homes. Be sure to use a sealant primer on your stone first. Or you could just paint your wall a solid color, and then paint your design.
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    • thx Michelle. I actually have a bigger pond in the backyard with more monsters! here is a more up to date photo of the one above. Had to take out most of the plants because the koi shred everything!
  • Kathleen Kathleen on May 16, 2016
    They do make special paint just for concrete or you might even want to stain it to get the weathered look of the fence. Since it's a retaining wall, you should have some kind of drainage holes every few feet. If you don't, then moisture will be coming through the concrete which will probably eventually ruin your painting and even the wall! My husband has drill bits for concrete labeled BFD (his own name)! Drill drainage holes or put drain tile behind the wall to divert the water away before doing anything. Then you could even use a waterproofing application for o make sure it lasts!