Replies

1. 
   Piffin | May 24, 2009 01:56pm | #1

   PT paints fine if moderately dry - use latex and moisture can escape.

   I use Port Orford Cedar for window boxes.

   I build them sized so that those long plastic planters you can get at gardening centers will fit inside them - about 8" wide and 5-6" deep

   That way, you can left it out for winter and replanting and the box lasts far longer. No bottom in it other than a couple stretchers

    

    

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1. 
   drozer | May 24, 2009 05:08pm | #3

   /
   PT paints fine if moderately dry - use latex and moisture can escape./is that a recommendation to use latex so that moisture can escape, or a warning not to?i have to paint some PT that i just installed, and was told to let it season for a year before painting, 'cuz around here, the PT ain't even close to moderately dry, lol.

1. 
   user-51823 | May 24, 2009 05:52pm | #4

   I've heard similar. can't remember time limit, but you have to let it weather for a while before you paint it.

2. 
   BillHartmann | May 24, 2009 10:59pm | #5

   PT SYP is dry before treating. The moisture that is on the is "surface" moisture and not bound into the wood like wood wood.The US Forest Product Lab says that they can be painted as soon as it is dry to the touch.1-4 weeks depending on the local climate at the time.And if you wait too long then the wood is UV damaged and the surface does not hold paint as well..
   William the Geezer, the sequel to Billy the Kid - Shoe

3. 
   Piffin | May 25, 2009 12:06am | #6

   to expand - if there is still some moisture concern, use latex.I've done both ways. latex or oil. I have some railings in service I built twenty years ago that go about 8 years between paintings.In a perfect world, I would store it inside sticker for a few months before milling and painting it, then use oil, but this isn't a perfect world.
   So like Bill H and forest labs says, let it dry to touch and paint the latex on. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   oldhand | May 25, 2009 02:51am | #9

   I find that most TYP now is wide ringed loblolly. If you try to air dry it before install you wind up with a lot of horribly crooked pieces. I view it like using green lumber, fasten it down before it wakes up and hope for the best. The newer products seem to take paint sooner than the old CCA..

   Edited 5/24/2009 7:52 pm by oldhand

4. 
   fingersandtoes | May 25, 2009 01:29am | #8

   I usually paint PT with a solid color latex stain. As long as it is not soaking wet the stain takes quite well. It allows the moisture to escape, but not so quickly that the wood warps or checks. Once it completely dries some areas may be light or rubbed off, but unlike paint there is no flaking and a second coat adheres without any further prep.

1. 
   ranchodiablo | May 26, 2009 12:35am | #11

   Do you know if it is possible to stain pressure treated to look like cedar? I'm thinking of building a fence with pressure treated and I'm wondering about staining it with Cabot or some brand like that to give it a cedar look.

1. 
   Piffin | May 26, 2009 02:46am | #12

   After about three years, either one of them is grey, so PT will give off a 'cedar' look after some aging.;)A solid colour stain will cover it with a cedar coloured pigment OK tho. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

2. 
   fingersandtoes | May 26, 2009 03:44am | #13

   Piffin pretty well covered it. My own deck is radius edged 1"x6" pt that I used Penofin Sierra on. It has that same orangey cedar look that Sikkens gives wood. Does it look as good as a clear cedar deck with a transparent finish? Nooo, but I bet in two years it will still look exactly the same, whereas unless the cedar is maintained by a clinically obsessive owner, it will be in need of remediation.

   That is my main problem with the way we generally do decks. Builders love to construct and finish them so they are candidates for winning FHB contests, but these decks age rapidly and not gracefully while requiring a lot of maintenance. Wooden decks, as opposed to covered verandahs or patios, are a recent phenomenon and I'm not all that sure they are a good idea. (sorry about the rant)

2. 
   hammer1 | May 24, 2009 03:59pm | #2

   I've never found any PT that will hold paint for very long. It's normally Southern yellow pine. This species is used because it accepts the treatment better than other species, it's fast growing and inexpensive. The growth habit means that the summer and winter growth rings are large, in turn the lumber moves a great deal. It's the movement that causes paint to shed. Fresh PT is also very wet which isn't good for painting, it will take months in good conditions for it to dry, then you need to wash or sand the surface. Just the same, don't expect more than a couple of years before it needs repainting.

   I used PT on my own deck railings. I saved up pieces from jobs for a couple of years, kept in inside in my wood heated shop. I milled the pieces to a different size, sanded, primed with oil and painted with a solid color stain. Here's what it looks like after a few years. At least it's easy to scrape but I would choose something different.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

   
1. 
   Piffin | May 25, 2009 12:10am | #7

   I can't tell for sure, but that looks like a top rail - flat to let water sit on it. all the background seems fine still. Railings should be milled so as to not hold sitting water. That I see as the likely cause of your paint failure. I do a lot of painted PF railings over the past twenty years, and when built right and painted well, they don't show that kind of failure before ten years. 

    

   Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

1. 
   hammer1 | May 25, 2009 04:16am | #10

   It's bad everywhere but the top rail is the worst. About 70' of railing done in a lovers knot pattern. Way too much work to keep painted for my taste. I've had much better paint retention with cedar. Just planted some white cedar boxes today that are still looking good after more than 15 years and not much care. The deck is coming down and being replaced with an addition, if work slows down.Beat it to fit / Paint it to match