Staining Pressure Treated Wood

[jhart]

Added an addition to an existing deck over last weekend using pressure treated wood. How long are you suppose to wait for the wood to dry out to put a stain/preservative on it? I have heard between 2-4 weeks??

[Copper]

I think it depends on the kind of preservative treatment. This is from the Wood Handbook:

In general, preservatives formulated
in oil will not accept a finish. In some cases, oil-based
semitransparent penetrating stains can be used on these
products, but only after the preservative-treated wood has
weathered for 1 to 2 years, depending on exposure.
The only preservative-treated woods that should be painted
or stained immediately after treatment and without further
exposure are the waterborne preservative treatments (such as
CCA-treated wood). Since wood treated with these preservatives
is often used for residential structures, it needs to be
finished not only for esthetic reasons, but also to protect it
from weathering. Many manufacturers of chemicals for treating
wood with waterborne preservatives include a waterrepellent
treatment to give the treated wood better resistance
to weathering, particularly checking and splitting. Even if the
wood was treated with water repellent by the manufacturer, it
should be maintained with a finish to extend its service life.
Wood used in aboveground applications that has been properly
treated with preservative is usually replaced because of
weathering, not decay.

[crokett]

2-4 4 weeks is correct, depending on weather and where you live. In NC in July, 2 weeks would be ok. 4 weeks is even better.

[jAngiel]

I would say you need to read the lable for the stain that you want to use. When I built the fort for the kids I used pressure treated wood and bought Behr opaque exterior stain and it said it could even go on wet wood so as soon as finished building it, I stained it. I haven't had any problems with it at all, and it had to put up with kids and extreme heat. No flaking no peeling and still as bright and colorful as when I stained it. I was actually surprised at how the colors are holding out.

I'm sure you're not going to use the same bright colors on a deck but the thought is to read the can, if it says it's okay to use on wet wood the go ahead and use it. If it's not an opaque stain then you would want to wait a few weeks for the green color to go away prior to staining even if the can says it's okay for wet wood.

Just my thoughts...

[jhart]

Well, the old adage "when all else fails, read the instructions" sure holds true here. Tells me right on the can that can be used right away on pressure treated wood, or wait and do it later. Using Olympic semi transparent oil based. Had used it on the previous part of the deck, and of course, didn't think to read the instructions before I posted.

Thanks for the reply's