Painting treated lumber?

[jill.costello]

We are going to buy porch railing/spindles to make a front railing on our covered porch. They come fairly inexpensively at Lowes (the handrail, choice of spindles, and bottom rail), but they are green-treated lumber......do we have to wait for them to "weather" before we paint them? Is there a "special" primer for outdoor wood products? I assume we'll need to go oil-based.....???

-Jill

[Bearfootfarm]

You should wait at least 6 months and then use an oil based primer. After its primed you CAN use latex but personally I'd stick with oil based myself

[diane]

I was told wait a year and then use a good quality stain as treated lumber doesn't hold paint very well.

[Jim S.]

A year is what I am told, and I prefer stain to paint. Last longer.

[jill.costello]

Hmmmm....we're putting the farm on the market and wanted a "traditional" white railing on the front covered porch for curb-appeal......shoot! We don't have a year to wait..... should we try to find a supplier for un-treated components?

[SteveD(TX)]

I think that the treated rails will last a lot longer and be worth it. Try to find rails that are fairly dry to start out with. When my wife had her commercial building built, the painters painted the spindles within 2 weeks of installation. The paint has looked good for 10 years. I think a minimum of 60 days is recommended but it all depends on how dry they are when you buy them.

[saramark]

Wait a year and go with stain. That is what I have done and had success with. I am no painter, but I am a carpenter and this is what I see done alot in Maine.

mark

[tyusclan]

I would prime it with a good quality latex primer for exterior use, such as Kilz2. Then paint with 2 coats of good quality latex enamel.

The key is good quality paint. Stay out of Wal-mart for paint. Sherwin-Williams, Behr, and Benjamin Moore are all good paints.

And SteveD is right. As long as it's dry, paint it.

[diamondtim]

In my prior job (last week) we installed posts and panels for real estate agents. Those white and yellow 4x4 posts that you see in suburban and city settings.

The posts were made of treated 4x4's (untreated lumber would not last as long). There was no time to "cure" them (we needed the new posts as soon as possible). We used a latex exterior primer (kilz2), a gray exterior primer (the color of the treated wood has a tendency to "bleed" through white paint) and finally a coat of exterior latex semi-gloss. This system worked well and lasted a long time.

I would paint the individual parts as described above (it is much easier to paint parts than an assembled railing) and then cover the railing with a top coat after assembly.

[farmergirl]

I use a multi purpose exterior grade latex paint. You won't catch me using oil based paint! It's way worse for our planet and a pain in the rear to clean out of your brushes. I just slather on two really thick coats. Haven't had a problem, but I use dark colors like hunter green and chocolate brown. If you're going for white, your mileage may vary. Though, who cares if it needs repainting after you've already sold the place? Leave that to the proud new owners, they're probably want to customize colors anyways

[fixer1958]

I've done it before. The flat surfaces that are hit by the sun/rain take a beating. The vertical surface lasts a long time. Make sure it is reasonably dry before the paint, have good coverage of paint and let the new owners worry about the outcome. It will look good when you sell it and possibly then some. It's 50/50. I used a moderate grade latex.

[egads1]

I used treated 1x3 as trim on a shed I made. I let dry for about 4-weeks and painted it with a good quality latex paint, no primer. that was 5-years ago, looks I painted it last month. I used the treated, so if the paint chipped or splintered I wouldn't have to worry about it rotting.

[texican]

Be careful with the pre made rail systems from lowes... year before last I installed some on a deck I was building for a client... they 'wanted' em at the last minute, and had 'em waiting for me the last morning. Each and every one was different... I had to disassemble them, straighten them out, and rescrew each post, to make it all look presentable. Would have been way faster to build em from scratch.

If you want your rails 'now' and painted, do em out of kiln dried regular lumber, and paint when you're through.

[Jenn]

I just put up my last 50 feet of fence- picket to match the porch fence in this case- treated lumber. I have the paint and just got brushes and was going to paint as soon as the rain dries off. Luckily I read this thread and so will postpone painting at least another month, or as long anyway as I am willing to wait. And have the alibi when Dh asks me if I'm all of a sudden lazy.

[Jenn]

Sure enough DH thought I was scamming- but the computer doesn't lie! Thanks guys!