We painted the one our in our backyard flat black, and it's held up really well. It's mostly obscured by plantings, but painting it helped too. When we first bought the house the paint was a stopgap measure until we could put in a wooden privacy fence, but since it's no longer visible, we've never gotten around to replacing it!

I say go for it!

Technicolor, was that something done by pros or do it yourself? What is "high heat" paint?

Thanks so much! I think I will do it - but will obviously have to wait for the 2 feet of snow to disappear first :-)

Cindyloo...you can find high heat paint in the spray paint section of any store that stocks a supply of spray paint. It's designed to be used on BBQ's, stoves, etc.

What Pesky said. And for the gate I think only one can was needed.

Forgot to answer that I did it myself. The type of paint comes in larger than normal size. For some reason the metal loves paint and was really easy. My gate is connected between the house and side fence, main entrance to backyard. The side fencing is a very old metal surrounding the back yard, which is also very aged and almost invisible. Once painted the gate seems almost invisible, it doesn't feel like chain link sticking out like a sore thumb.

"share with neighbor" Who put the fence up? Whose fence is it? I would not paint one side and think the other won't be affected. A conversation with the neighbor may be in order?

Good point arcy. We get along well with the neighbour and I am well versed in the art of persuasiveness. She has a tendency to do what she wants with her yard and not take us into account. A few years ago she built a deck without permits that is right up to the property line, if not over it. She closed in the base of the deck all around except on our side so we had to do it ourselves or be faced with a view of the garbage under her deck. We could have had the deck removed, but chose not to. She built her garden up beside the chain link fence so that the weight of the dirt caused the fence to push into my garden by about 6 inches. I pointed it out to her, and I helped her (actually, I did it, she watched) dig out the dirt and put in a solid barrier so it wouldn't happen again. So the upshot is, that I will present it to her in a persuasive manner. If she protests, I think I have enough leverage against her to make her see that we have put up with a lot from her, she can put up with this from us. If she wants her side painted black, I will happily do it for her. I've learned that with close neighbours, it is worth the extra effort to get along. It causes too much stress otherwise.

Just a note on getting along-it is all well and good, but that fact that she built her deck without a permit and up to or over the property line could be a huge problem down the road. If she decides to sell, I would absolutely insist the deck be removed before listing and contact the county and the realtor if she balks. It can also impact you if you or your heirs ever sell.

The paint will adhere better to a clean surface - would a power washer help? If rust is present you'll need to use a wire brush to remove it. Rust Oleum even makes a product called Chain Link fence paint.

cyn427, I appreciate the advice. We would definitely get it removed if she (or we) sells. It would just take one call to the city and she would have to take it down. The deck was built while we were out of town and my dh and I have gone back and forth over what to do about it. I know if we have her take it down, our relationship with her would never be civil again and I'm not sure if I could handle that.

Maire cate, we have a power washer, so we could do that beforehand. I will have to look for that paint. I had no idea there was specific paint for chain link fences.

Where did you find chain link fence paint in black? What brand did you use? I have been looking for Rustoleum Chain Link Fence Paint in black, but have only been able to find silver and green in the gallon cans. Did you use spray can, or roller?

I would be way too anxious for the plants to grow quickly! LOL In the meantime, I would purchase bamboo fencing fron HD or Lowe's, cut to size, and use large plastic zip locks on each side to keep in place. You could do both sides of the fencing, zip tying the front and backside together to keep in place. I suppose you coul also do the same thing with a wood fence panel, and drill small holes where the zip tie would need to be and attach to the chain link. ;o)

I may try the bamboo, patty cakes. The vine has already covered most of the fence, but our city recently decided to use a new garbage system and we all have these massive plastic bins now. We went to great pains to hide ours so you can't see it from the house, but of course, our neighbour decided to put hers right behind my main flower bed that I look at out my kitchen window. A tall bamboo fence is in order.

We still have 5 inches of snow on the ground here and, as I look out my window, I see that the 4 inches they've been predicting for today, has started to fall. Maybe I can just build a snow wall to hide the garbage. I'm not sure we're ever going to get warm enough for painting or growing here.

Good neighbors are hard to find, and well worth keeping that way.

Tensions between neighbors can really make "Home, Sweet home" not so sweet!!

I like the bamboo idea and the black paint idea.

I look out my kitchen window, across the road to my neighbor's old trucks which he faithfully parks in front of his house. His garage is too full of junk. I've seen it from my kitchen window too! We have planted a few shrubs and small trees, but they are taking forever to grow. Still, I really like that old neighbor, so mum's the word!

When we were remodeling my husband's mom's home, after her death, the neighbor asked if he could extend her fence at his cost because her property had encroached on his. At first we were in shock. We always thought she owned that rose garden, but when we did a line between the property markers, he was right, so we agreed to let him build the fence. He did a fantastic job, and even built the fence double, so there was no wrong side. I think it was a great selling feature of that house.

Good luck with all your issues, and I hope they get resolved in a neighborly way.

Suzi