If the water soaks in, then the wood can be painted. If the water beads up, go back to playing the waiting game. Note that for a time-sensitive project, it may be wise to choose pressure-treated wood marked as having been kiln-dried after treatment KDAT.
The timeline for painting KDAT wood is considerably more condensed. Start with primer formulated for exteriors, and make sure that the manufacturer lists the coating as suitable for use on pressure-treated wood.
Note that, while priming and painting pressure-treated wood may be easiest with a paint sprayer, opt for a brush or use both in combination if the job entails detail work. This significantly reduces your work time by eliminating the need for lengthy drying.
If you were paying attention earlier, you might have noted we said prime and paint. Unfinished wood needs to be primed before you apply paint or stain. Thanks to the high content of solids, primer creates the smooth surface necessary for the paint to easily glide. It also forms a protective barrier; woods usually soak up lots of paint, which can mean more work — and more expense — that can otherwise be saved. Your primer should match the paint you want to use: latex needs a stain-block latex or oil-based primer, while oil-based paint needs a stain-blocking oil-based primer.
Keep in mind that primed wood is flexible enough for either option. For help in choosing the best primer check out this earlier post. With the primer dry, you can finally apply paint to your project. Re-coating too soon can cause adhesion problems. If you are painting a deck it may be worthwhile to look into using a deck stain rather than a paint. Even if you want the appearance of a painted deck there are opaque stains that perform better on horizontal surfaces.
Pressure-treating protects the wood against rot and fungus growth. The digital moisture meter has two prongs you press into the wood, testing the moisture content.
If you use a digital moisture meter, be sure you have the device properly calibrated. Also, test more than one spot on the board and average the amounts you get. Pressure-treated wood contains a high level of moisture after it is initially treated.
Unless your treated lumber was kiln-dried, it would likely be damp when you buy it. I always advise waiting until the treated wood is dry before you paint. While this can create chipping and peeling, it can also cause the paint not to dry. Since the board is still damp, the moisture will wick into the paint and prevent it from properly curing.
As a result, you get paint that begins to flake much sooner than if you had allowed the wood to completely dry. When a board dries, it naturally becomes a bit smaller in size. This slight shrinking of the wood will further accelerate peeling paint.
And then what happens? As we said in the last section, wood will shrink slightly as it dries. This shrinking is also how a board begins to warp. When one side of the board shrinks faster than the other side of the board, the board will begin to pull towards the shrinking side. And when one side dries faster than the other, you get warping. You can test the moisture content by dropping several beads of water on the face of the board; if the water absorbs, then the board is ready for paint.
Wet treated wood, on the other hand, will be surprisingly green and dark. Always be sure to use a good exterior-grade primer on your treated wood first. This layer of primer acts as an essential bonding agent between paint and lumber.
Then, once your primer is dry, use a brush , roller or paint spray rig to apply even coats of paint to your project. Be sure to let each coat dry before the next is applied. This will create better paint adhesion! I'm a professional carpenter in Raleigh, North Carolina. I started The Honest Carpenter as a way to answer questions for my clients.
The following content contains some affiliate links. Can You Paint Treated Wood? The answer is: YES, you can absolutely paint treated wood!
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