Painting PT timber

Stevie Dakota

I am building a picket fence using pressure treated, planned pickets. Can these be painted and is so what is the best way to do it, i.e. What kind of primer and paint? It will be some pretty exposed weather.

Many thanks.

Carlow52

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

I am building a picket fence using pressure treated, planned pickets. Can these be painted and is so what is the best way to do it, i.e. What kind of primer and paint? It will be some pretty exposed weather.

Many thanks.

it will need to weather a bit first depending on the first treatment.
dont use any sort of 'paint' that will not allow timber to breath. Use a product such as ones suggested here
http://www.sadolin.co.uk

I did what u are doing one of their products and it is like new 15+ years later

Stevie Dakota

Thanks Carlow!

Wertz

I'd disagree somewhat with letting timber "breathe"...if moisture can get out through micro pores then it can ingress as well...that ultimately affects the longevity/durability of any protective or decorative coating due to swelling/drying of the timber. We live in a fairly damp country for most of the year.
I'd also disagree with letting it weather first...PT timber has been infused with copper salts to prevent bacterial/algal/fungal rotting processes...it won't really weather, only continue to slowly absorb/loose moisture.

I'm not saying your method didn't work or that it's wrong (15 yrs is a good result), just that properly sealing dry unweathered timber (especially end grains) and then applying your topcoats(s) is the way it's done on all exterior timbers. Microporosity is a bit of a buzzword that paint companies use with little proof of how an acrylic/alkyd film can actually self-permeate during the curing process; modern coatings that form a non-permeable film are preferable, especially when it comes to wood.
It's only really substrates like lime plaster or render that need to breathe and traditional coatings like lime wash or distemper allow it to do that through being a semi-permeable film.

That sadolins opaque wood stain looks like good stuff though. Going to have to look in to that.

If I were doing this (depending on my finishing colour) I'd use an oil base primer sealer and two coats of the chosen exterior topcoat, making sure that any nail holes and such were filled with a proper filler.

Joey the lips

I overpainted a nasty surface before but before hand i put multiple coats of "spray varnish" on it and then a product thats "called makes paint stick"

It was an outdoor fence as well. Worked a treat. although not the best surface it looks well.