How To Paint A Shed

Can you believe that it has been 3 years since my dad and I built my shed-shop!? The past few years have been so amazing in this little 12 x 12 workshop, but it was finally time to give it the love that it deserves! When we built the shop, it matched the existing siding color on my parents’ home. But, since then, they’ve replaced the siding to add a beautiful grey color… needless to say the shop started to stick out like a sore thumb. So, I decided to paint it! Painting a shed is a super easy process, and it made a huge impact on the entire yard! So, here’s how I painted the shed!

How To Paint A Shed

This project is sponsored by my friends at DAP Products and features affiliate links. For my full sponsorship disclosures, please visit my policies page.

Want to see this project in action? Check out my full shed workshop makeover video on YouTube (& subscribe to my channel while you are there)!

Painting the shed was so much easier than I thought it would initially be. I was able to really get the entire process done in a couple of days (this could have been much faster if I used a paint sprayer, but we’ll talk about that soon)! It is seriously amazing what a new paint job can do for a building!

Here’s the before:

And, this is what it looks like now (insert heart-eyes & drooling emojis)!

Thinking of painting your shed and want to learn how? Let’s do it!

What You’ll Need:

Tools
Hammer (Optional)
Painting Materials (Brush/Roller)
Spackling Knife
Caulking Gun
Sander/Sandpaper
Garden Hose
Scrubbing Brush
Painter’s Tape (Optional)

Materials
Exterior Paint (Here’s the Color I Used)
DAP Platinum Patch Advanced Exterior Filler
DAP Dynaflex Ultra Advanced Exterior Sealant
Exterior Cleaning Solution

The Steps:

1. First thing I had to do before I could paint the shed was give it a good wash. This was a super simple process! I used a scrub brush and a cleaning solution to clean the shop exterior and then hosed it all down. I waited for the moisture to completely dry before moving onto the next step.

2. Once the shed was dry, I took some time to do some maintenance. This included hammering in any loose nails that shifted or became loose during settling over the past few years. I also filled in nail holes and gaps using DAP Platinum Patch Advanced Exterior Filler, which is an awesome filler that provides extreme weatherproof protection that prevents discoloration, cracking and crumbling. I allowed this to dry for a bit before sanding it smooth.

I also made sure to fill in any and all gaps between the trim and the shed with DAP Dynaflex Ultra Advanced Exterior Sealant. This stuff is AMAZING and provides the shed with mold, algae, and mildew resistance (for life)! It was also paintable in an hour, which made life SO easy!

3. Once the shed was prepped, I gave it a good sanding. This wasn’t anything crazy – I just spent a few minutes running a sanding block up and down across the surface just to scuff off anything that was chipping away.

4. Next, it was time to paint! I started with the trim (this felt the easiest for me) and didn’t worry too much about being “neat” (since I’m going to focus on that in the next step). I used a brighter color on the trim than on the paint to give the shed fresh feel.

5. After brushing on the trim paint, I decided to use a brush and a roller to paint the rest of the shed! I opted to not use a sprayer because it was a bit windy outside. This did make the process take a bit longer, but the roller and brush method worked just fine!

P.S. I chose a color called “Flannel Grey” from BEHR for the shed, and nothing else has felt more right in my entire life.

Once the shed dried I did add some new accessories to compliment her  grey flannel (i.e., a light fixture, new door handle, and some cute DIY slat wood planters)… and then I called this project a wrap!

In just a few days I transformed my shed-shop from a beige bore into a beauty wearing grey flannel!

I am SO stoked about how this shed-shop turned out! If you think the outside looks beautiful, you should check out the INSIDE (I have an entire blog post for that as well)!

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I am so excited to get started on some new projects in this updated space, so please sign up for my newsletter or subscribe to my channel so you don’t miss a beat! Until then, friends… happy DIY’ing!