How to Take Paint Off of a Cedar Privacy Fence

Brush the surface of the wooden fence using a quality wire brush. Apply long, gentle strokes along the grain of the wood to remove flaking paint that is already detached and loose. Brush the surface of the wood more intensely but not to the point of damaging the wood.

Scrape the paint off the front of the fence with a hand scraper with an oval or triangular head. Grasp the handle firmly with your dominant hand, and position the scraping end of the tool against the wooden surface. Push the scraper forward gently to remove the wood from the surface, working in the direction of the grain of wood. Avoid pushing the scraper into the wood since it can damage the surface; only push it enough to remove the layers of paint. Continue removing the paint from the front of the fence the same way until you reach the other end.

Remove flaking or chipping paint from the top, sides and corners of the fence using a putty knife. Do not apply too much pressure since it can scratch the surface of the wood.

Inspect the surface of the fence for sections of paint you might have missed, and remove these with a hand scraper.

Rub the wood with fine-grain sandpaper to remove stubborn patches of paint from the cedar fence. Alternatively, apply paint stripper over these stubborn patches. Spray the formulation over the paint if it comes in a spray bottle, or apply it with a paintbrush. Read label directions beforehand to determine the time you have to wait for it to dissolve the bond between the paint and the wood surface.

Scrape the loosened paint from the fence using a scraper. If necessary, reapply paint stripper and wait the specified amount of time before repeating the process of removing stubborn paint patches.