If you’re trying to figure out, can you stain pressure treated wood, then you’re lucky you found this quick guide before you made a huge mistake…
Here’s what you need to know…
Yes, you can definitely stain pressure treated wood, but there’s one catch…
You have to wait for the wood to be dry!
And i’m not just talking about surface dry…
Your pressure treated wood may look dry on the surface but deep down it’s actually holding onto a boat-load of water…
Know this…
There’s an art and a science to staining pressure treated wood…
And if you rush the process you’ll have an ugly mess on your hands…
You’ll stain your pressure treated wood deck or fence and within a couple of months the stain will start to peel and fade really badly…
It really is as bad as it sounds…
So here’s what I suggest you do…
The Complete Step by Step Deck Staining Course…
Want me to show you exactly how to stain your deck step by step?
Click here to find out more…
You have to wait 3 months before you can stain pressure treated wood…
Yes my friend, you have to wait…
Believe me, there’s a good reason for waiting…
You see, when wood is pressure treated it soaks up a lot of moisture…
And if you stain wood with moisture in it, the stain will be ruined by that moisture…
So you only need to wait around 3 months then you can stain it any color you want…
That’s it…
All you need to do to stain your new deck or fence, is to wait for it to dry out…
That’s all you need to do…
But you should know that 3 months is just a general recommendation…
Your wood could dry out in 8 weeks or it could take 6 months…
Think about it…
If you have a new deck built just before Winter and then it gets soaked every day by the rain then it won’t be dry in 3 months…
Your pressure treated timber deck needs to be out in the sun to dry out properly…
The best thing to do is to test your timber to make sure it’s dry before you apply any stain to it…
Don’t worry, testing your wood is really easy…
How to test if your wood is dry enough to stain…
Sometimes knowing if your wood is dry enough is really easy…
When it’s first installed pressure treated wood can even feel wet to touch…
In this case, it’s really easy to to see that it’s too wet…
But when the wood looks dry on the surface, it’s a little harder to tell…
The easiest way to test to see if your pressure treated wood is dry enough is to apply the super simple water bead test…
All you need to do is drip a few drops of water onto your deck and see if it absorbs into the wood or if it beads up on the surface…
If the water beads up then you need to wait a little longer…
If the water absorbs into the wood then your deck is ready to stain…
That’s all there is to it…
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that this water beading test is pretty basic and there’s a chance that your wood could still contain too much moisture even if the water test shows that it’s ready…
That’s why I’ve put together a complete guide to testing if your wood is dry enough to stain…
So if you want to be sure, click the link above…
Otherwise just stick with the water bead test…
It’s still a great way to test if your wood is ready to be stained…
Now you can safely stain your pressure treated wood…
Once you’ve waited around three months for your wood to dry out, and you’ve tested it to make sure it’s dry enough, now you can apply 2 to 3 coats of stain…
But the thing is, you can’t go all gung-ho and slap a couple of coats of stain on your deck…
There’s a whole pre-staining process you MUST follow…
For starters, you have to clean your pressure treated wood before you stain it…
And then you just might need to give it a light sand just to remove any raised wood fibres…
Think about it…
You’ve let it sit in the weather for at least 3 months…
And your pressure treated timber has been pummelled by the rain and blasted every day by the damaging UV rays…
So there’s bound to be a small amount of damage that you want to remove before you apply a coat of stain…
You’ll probably notice that your wood might be starting to turn grey…
That’s just damage from exposure to the sun…
A quick scrub and clean with a deck brightener will remove any sun damage including dirt and grime that may have built up over time…
Warning! Don’t Sand Your Deck Until You See This…
Crazy deck man reveals the deck sanding techniques used by the Pro’s!
Click Here…
Here’s the steps to staining pressure treated wood…
- Scrub deck with a deck brightener and allow it to sit for 15 minutes…
- Pressure wash wood to remove dirt and grime…
- Allow the wood to dry for 1 to 2 days depending on the weather…
- Lightly sand wood with 80 grit sandpaper…
- Apply a coat of stain…
- Wait for the stain to dry then apply a second coat…
If you want a full breakdown step by step of how to stain a wood deck, you can follow my guide on “How to stain a deck”…
It’ll show you everything you need to know…
My guide even shows you how to clean and pressure wash your deck before you stain it…
Between these two guides, you’ll have everything you’ll need to stain a pressure treated wood deck or fence…
There’s really no more to it so I think I’ll finish up right here…
I hope you’ve found the answers you were looking for today…
And if there’s anything else you want to know, please leave a comment below or send me an email and I’ll do my best to answer your questions…
That’s it from me…
Peace,
Jason
If you make these mistakes, your deck could peel…
Click here to find out how to avoid the Dreaded Peeling Deck!
FAQ’s
In general, you’ll have to wait at least 3 months to stain pressure treated wood. You need to wait for the wood to completely dry out before you apply any stain…
To prepare pressure treated wood for staining, first you need to scrub the wood with a deck brightener and then pressure wash it. Next you need to let the wood dry for 2 days and then give it a light sand with 80 grit sand paper. Then you will be ready for staining…
You should give pressure treated wood a light sand before staining but you should never use anything finer than a 80 grit sand paper on treated wood…
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