How do you go about spray painting a chain link fence?

You can use a spray gun and aluminum colored Rustoleum. Cover your bushes with cheep plastic drop cloths. Place cardboard at least ten inches away from the back of the fence and mask off walls and other areas you don't want to get paint on. I found that a trash can was easy to attach the cardboard to and move along as I painted. Wait for two hours and go reverse the process. The paint should hold up 5 years. No prep needed on the chain link except to remove any vines or leaves tangled in or clumps of mud.

Spray paint in sections using a giant piece of cardboard behind the section you are spraying. Do one side first, then the opposite side. Have fun!

you will be using a lot of paint if you spray ..consider using a foam roller.

1. Trim the grass as low as possible underneath the fence with a weed trimmer or grass clippers.

2. Use a power washer to remove dust and debris from the fence. If you don’t own a power washer, you can rent one at an equipment rental agency.

3. Remove rust and flaking paint on the entire fence with a wire brush. Brush one side of the fence and repeat the process on the other side to get anything you happened to miss with the first pass.

4. Lay plastic sheeting or scrap cardboard underneath the fence. Cover any nearby flowers and shrubs with plastic sheeting to keep paint off them.

5. Coat the rusty areas of the fence with an oil-based primer designed for metal. Do not coat the portions of the fence that still have the original galvanized coating. The primer may not bond properly with the original metal and may peel, necessitating the need for more painting. Spread the primer with a long-napped roller. Take your time and cover the bends and loops in the chain link mesh. Let the primer dry following the manufacturer’s dry time guidelines.

6. Paint the fence with the paint you selected, using a long-napped roller. Paint areas you cannot reach with the roller with a paintbrush. Start at the top and work your way down. When you finish one side of the fence, paint the other side as well.