Painting Pressure Treated Wood

ADVICE Needed - How long should I wait before caulking, priming and painting a new outdoor railing made of pressure treated wood? I want to match the color of the house by painting rather than staining. I'm thinking about two weeks will be long enough??? Thoughts???

wouldnt advise, but at least a year

I can't quite remember but I think it was said, when the moisture content is less than 16%

1 year is recommended here

Dont wait for anything but good weather to put finish on an outdoor project. Re Read, Again.

I dont know why the wait thing,a year,6 mo, moisture content thing keeps being repeted but it has been disproved at least 20 years ago.

The info at first came from the finish Cos, the longer you wait,the more finish and finish products and prep you will need. J.

Heat-treat it to dry out. Put it into oven & heat... you can reduce its 1-year required sentence to early parole release of 1 week!

Regarding the moisture, I've heard that painting over wet wood just makes the paint curl and fall off. Only thing I can think of is that it may be true with an oil based paint but with a water based paint - it will be just fine - Do you agree?

Anything that is not suitable for ground contact should dry fairly quickly....also will depend on how much sun, wind and rain you get on it. 2 weeks is pretty fast though.

I don't know what your PT wood is like, but ours is sopping wet still from the treatment. If you don't let it dry out your paint is going to fail.

As others have stated here- I always advise my deck customers to wait for the next year to stain or waterproofing..............

Guys....if you wait a Year or 6 mo or put a moisture metter on the stuff until it 16 % Pt lumber is going to split/crack and generely through a fit like a two year old.

If you put the finish on right away PT lumber is going to split/crack and generley through a fit like a two year old.

Painting Pt lumber is not a good idea Anyway no matter how or when you do it. Its easy to just repeat what you have heard or what someone says. With the pt 5/4 decking I put down,and latley its been a few with money being what it is, I always put the finish I use, twp, on right away whither its cca or acq as in the past or micro pro ****ttt they are selling now. It takes just fine.

All I got for you Guys is>>>Try It<<< dont tell me something I do all the time wont work. Go on out there and put a brush load of cheep latex paint or qualilty out door finish on a wet short of pt and try it before you tell me about it. Jon Mon

Here ya go fine sir.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/pdf1992/ross92a.pdf










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I usually recommend painting within the first couple of weeks after the install. The PT dries out pretty quick and after it is out in the sun a month or so is very prone to twisting and cracking.

Different areas may have weather conditions that produce alternate results but if you dont cover it up quick here it's done.

I agree the PT will warp/crack/split/bust/twist/shrink/etc.. if left unfinished for a yr.
I used to recommend waiting a few weeks before finishing, then I was told 6 months by a painter, than I was told 1 yr by a paint store rep.
the rep said the finish wont adhere to the PT and paint/stain will peel off.
I dont offer painting, staining, etc..
I recommend a qualified painter for that and its their call

I've seen a guy using several coats of thinned down oil based Kilz have some decent luck with painting PT. Didnt peel after a year.

Thanks Crock, I remember reading that years ago but I was too damm hot and tired to go looking for it . Around 101 today we are leaving the job at 2;30 and showing up at 7.

I also remembered and was glad to read again it was the paint co that started all that and a Person should defentley not wait that long time span to put finish on pt lumber.The Sprit of a sound mind of course is needed if it just rained on the junk dont put the finish on Ka Daaaaaaa and if you have a few pond soakers in the bunch wait a few days. For sure dont wait 6 mo or a year or even one mo.

Some Peoples Kids, gatta watch them every Min!!!!!! Jon Mon

gliddens gripper is one bad motha shut your mouth sealer. Also. Maybe prime with that and then paint you might be ok.

In this kind of heat you don't need to wait long. Usually by the time it takes for wood to be delivered & installed it's dry enough to stain or paint. Railing would dry fast I would think.

A TP deck left for a year is gonna have some serious checking going on. Absolutely no reason to wait that long.

Here in Florida, we get our wood still dripping from the PT treatment. We like to let the wood dry out for a week or two in the 90+ degree heat to allow some of the treatment to evaporate/soak-in further and then apply stain or paint. Once the wood has dried a bit, it has the capability to absorb some of the finish beyond the surface, creating a much stronger adherence. If ou let it dry for too long, you'll introduce the cracks and splits that are ever so common with PT lumber. However, in our experience, no matter what you use, you're going to be re-applying new paint or stain a maximum of two years from the time of initial application.

I walked into the local lumberyard last week and they were all laughing because some joke of a deck contractor bought 5 gallons of Swedish Oil and applied it to a newly installed composite deck. I'm sure that was a beautiful job!

I dont know about that product but its a very good idea to put a finish on composite right away too. J.