Painting Treated Wood Steps

If you are absolutely set on painting or staining your pressure treated lumber here are a few suggestions.

Painting treated wood steps. Wear gloves when handling pressure treated wood. Part 1 of 2. The best type of paint for outdoor wooden stairs. For this task a.

Apply a layer of sealant onto the pressure treated wood after the paint has fully dried. Conversely prior to painting a deck should be treated with wood preservative and then coated with a quality primer. That s the short and easy answer but there is a lot more to it so if you want to know every single advantage and disadvantage of both methods then read on. This helps prevent any chemicals from escaping the wood and leaking into the nearby grass and soil.

Painting is a quick and cost effective way to spruce up those wood stairs. Painting the wood before it s dry will be a waste of time because the paint will peel away as the moisture pushes up underneath. Wash small amounts of wood with soapy water and a brush. Pressure treated wood contains preservatives to prevent rot and insect damage but it remains vulnerable to the sun wind moisture and dirt.

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. It s also a wood that is not easily stained. Using the wrong kind of paint can result in a mess that will cost even. Painting pressure treated wood is a little more complicated but you will have a huge variety of colors to choose from.

Make sure the wood is dry. Regular unsealed wood usually dries within a few days but pressure treated wood takes much longer to dry either weeks or months depending on what the wood is treated with. Step 2 wait for the wood to dry. Unless you use kiln dried pressure treated wood one problem with putting a coat of paint on this type of wood is that pressure treated lumber is not thoroughly dry for quite a long time after the chemical pressure treatment.

The stairs we did this project on were cheap basement stairs made of pine which is a very soft wood that is easily dinged up. If you just bought the wood let it weather for at least 60 days to allow the chemicals to evaporate and work their way out of the wood. That made painting the stair treads an even easier decision. Expect to wait three to four months for new pressure treated wood to completely cure before painting it.