# Is there a Pressure Treated Wood Sealer?



## [email protected] (Feb 24, 2008)

I'm doing a bid for a deck spec'd with ArborCoat natural and sealer. This deck has 3 flights of stairs and the very bottom flight is all pressure treated wood. Is there a clear sealer or product I can put on it? is it necessary? HO wants it sealed...


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## BC_Painter (Feb 14, 2010)

I've only worked with pressure treated wood a little, but I always stain and seal it the same way as any other wood. It simply has chemicals injected that help to stop it from rotting out etc.

A sealer will still keep the water out, but perhaps more importantly, help keep the chemicals in. I've been told for example not to let kids eat off of a table made with pressure treated wood. Also told to regularly seal and play structures made from the stuff.

Just make sure if it's new, it's had a couple months to fully dry out, that stuff is pretty damn soaking wet from the pressure treatment when first installed.

Make them happy


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## NACE (May 16, 2008)

[email protected] said:


> I'm doing a bid for a deck spec'd with ArborCoat natural and sealer. This deck has 3 flights of stairs and the very bottom flight is all pressure treated wood. Is there a clear sealer or product I can put on it? is it necessary? HO wants it sealed...


ArborCoat 623 Translucent Natural.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

As long as it's below 15% moisture content the Arborcoat will be fine. Remind them that the clear needs to be reapplied about every 1 to 2 years, when the sheen dulls and the water stops beading. That way it saves you from having to strip and restain.


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

Related question (not necessarily and answer to the OP):

Back before the draconian VOC laws, I had good luck with Thompson's Wood Protector. Are the present Thompson products still worthy? (I have some small projects on the estate)


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

Prepare yourself, daArch, for the ensuing onslaught...:whistling2:


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Maybe also we can definitively answer how long new pressure treated lumber should dry out before being sealed. It seems that everyone one I talk to has a different answer.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

Use a moisture meter and wait for the wood to read below 15%. Check it in a few areas. When I reboard a deck/handrail system I only use kiln dried PT. Not only is it dry enough to stain but it's usually a better grade of lumber. Yes it's more expensive but I've never had a homeowner say no to it after explaining the benefits.


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## Wood511 (Dec 13, 2010)

daArch said:


> Back before the draconian VOC laws, I had good luck with Thompson's Wood Protector. Are the present Thompson products still worthy? (I have some small projects on the estate)


Is that a serious question?

When (roughly) would this be? Were the Beatles climbing the charts?:jester:


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## Ultimate (Mar 20, 2011)

doctors11 said:


> Use a moisture meter and wait for the wood to read below 15%. Check it in a few areas. When I reboard a deck/handrail system I only use kiln dried PT. Not only is it dry enough to stain but it's usually a better grade of lumber. Yes it's more expensive but I've never had a homeowner say no to it after explaining the benefits.


I would like to know the benefits speech you give them. I may copy it.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

My experience with PTP..

The newer version (ACQ) is very wet and resistant to absorbing a penetrating sealer. That includes kiln dried. The sweet point comes about 3 months after install. Its sufficiently weathered but not long enough to start checking or cupping. Just about everything you use for a deck is a sealer. There really is no such thing as deck stain per se, just tinted sealer. Any pentrating sealer applied to PTP horizontals before the weathering period will probably need a maintenance coat in a year's time. The finish may also get blotchy in less time than that.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

PressurePros your response is interesting. I guess I've just assumed that since it's registering below 15% that it's OK to stain. Are you saying to wait because the grain needs to open a bit or that there's actually moisture deep within that isn't registering on the meter? I always sand before staining to remove mill glaze and figured that did a good job of opening the grain. Most of the decks I've done this way still looked pretty good (but getting dirty) after 2 years.

When I talk to customers about rebuilding I just matter of factly state that it's best to use kiln dried wood because it shrinks and warps less, it's usually a better grade of wood, and I can stain it immediately. I can't remember anyone ever saying no to that.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Just speaking from my own experiences. The moisture content may register lower but the amount of compressed chems in the wood must cause penetration issues. Not really sure why it happens. KD-15 is definitely better than the real wet stuff from the Depot but it still doesn't hold a finish unless the wood weathers a little.


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## doctors11 (May 17, 2010)

Around here the only brand of KD I've seen is Durapine by Cox. We had a building supply store locally that used to carry every type and size of it but they went out of business about two years ago. Now there's only one local dealor and they only stock 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 12 and 16 footers. 
All the other sizes have to be special ordered. I love handling the stuff... it;s about a third the weight of the wet treated!

Sorry to hijack but this stuff is interisting to me.

http://www.coxwood.com/


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

PressurePros said:


> My experience with PTP..
> 
> The newer version (ACQ) is very wet and resistant to absorbing a penetrating sealer. That includes kiln dried. The sweet point comes about 3 months after install. Its sufficiently weathered but not long enough to start checking or cupping. Just about everything you use for a deck is a sealer. There really is no such thing as deck stain per se, just tinted sealer. Any pentrating sealer applied to PTP horizontals before the weathering period will probably need a maintenance coat in a year's time. The finish may also get blotchy in less time than that.


Yup. I try and wait as long as I can after install for any coating or sealer. A moisture meter can tell you when its ready. However when the new PT came out, companies advised to wait a minimum 12 mths to coat it. 

I have had good luck with that 90 day mark, but it depends on how wet it is. If its very wet it will be very heavy and when we install we know that it will require longer to dry. These decks we call juicy. Meaning driving a fastener will squirt juice out.  

For painting handrails, I use a solid stain as a primer instead of 123 or coverstain as we would have five years ago.


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