staining green treated lumber ?

[slotfish]

hey all,
i built a deck on my cabin 2 years ago using green treated wood. i'd like to make it more attractive by putting a stain on it, but i know nothing about the best way to stain (green) treated wood. it has becom primarily gray, with a hint of green in some spots. any ideas out there? has anyone had success with this?
thanks in advance for any help.....

[TUMBLEWEED]

My deck is also green, pressure treated. I
was told by the person in the paint dept.
to give it a couple years and to stain
it then. Sounds like you are there now.
Go for it!!!

Forgot to add, use a roller to apply
the stain, then follow up with a couple
coats of water proofer......

[This message has been edited by TUMBLEWEED (edited 07-09-2004).]

[18 inch Crappie]

The best way I have found, is to power wash the deck, to get rid of the gray color and then stain it. It will look better.

[shortfatguy]

you can spray it with a pressure washer but it might look nice without spraying it depending on the color of stain you use. my advice is to test the stain on a hidden spot to see how it looks.

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a bad day at the lake is better than a good day at work

[minneman]

if you want this deck to look as good as it will "stained", be prepaired to do the whole process at least every other year. depending on your liking.

[BDR]

slot fish- I do this for a living. I recommend that you wait 1 year, I would not wait 2 as the wood will start to "grey" by then, pressure wash to remove dirt, Let dry a couple days. Use a preservative stain combo( sikkens is what I prefer and they have many colors to choose from)and as said minimum every other year repeat the process. I think they always look best if rolled to spread evenly and back brush as you go to remove air bubbles in the stain. 1 coat just to the point of no "pooling".

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I'd rather be skunked than follow the crowd!

Brian Rogers

JR's Tackle
Catch-N Tackle and Bio Bait

[This message has been edited by BDR (edited 07-09-2004).]

[slotfish]

hi everyone.

thanks for all the great advice......

looks like a project is in the works......

[HOOKUP]

OK this advise is from a guy that worked at the Home Depot for 5 year. I ran Lumber and I ran a paint department. Take that for what ever it's worth. You can treat pressure treated lumber as soon as it will take stain. By this I mean absorbe moisture. Drop some water on it and if it beads up it is not dry enough. If it soaks in it is ready. It is not a matter of waiting a year or two it all depends on the weather. Hot and dry will cure it faster than cool and damp weather obviously. As far as pressure washing a deck I would be very carefull becase you can raise the grain and make the surface rough and get a lot of splinters in your little toes. Bear and I am sure others make a product that will clean the deck and get rid of the grey collor that you are talking about. The best advice I can give with chemical cleaners is just read the directions and follow the steps. Good luck!