Painting pressure treated wood?

[Stelth]

I'm doing a project where I want to support some pipe in an outdoor location with vertical posts. I was thinking of making some posts out of 2" pipe and welding unistrut to them, but now I'm thinking of using pressure treated 4x4's. Home Depot has pressure treated 4x4's that they say are paintable, but are they really? I don't want to wait six months, I want to paint them immediately.

Any experience or advice?

 

[1 FMF]

i think pressure treated is overrated. doug-fir 4x4 is pretty good and if you put effort into those with paint or stain meant for outdoor use i think you would be better off.

 

[spackard]

> I don't want to wait six months, I want to paint them immediately.

The paint won't be adhering after a year, if you don't wait 6 months before you paint.

 

[IndyIan]

Picking out a couple that are dry already would help a lot. Perhaps go to a smaller store with less turn over and they might have ones that have been in the sun for 6 months already.
They also have brown PT wood up here, maybe that's closer to your final colour.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: spackard
> I don't want to wait six months, I want to paint them immediately.

The paint won't be adhering after a year, if you don't wait 6 months before you paint.


I think this is a true statement.

 

[demarpaint]

I've painted pressure treated posts, etc. with no problems at all. In fact my mailbox post and the post I hang the garden hose on was done about 15 years ago and still looks good. The trick is to install the posts let them weather about 30 days, longer if possible. Then make sure before you prime and paint them they're dry. Prime them with Bullseye 123 primer, allow it to dry overnight, not 1 hour like the label says. Re-coat the next day with exterior latex paint. On occasion they will bleed, coating them with Bin or an oil primer to block bleed through will result in peeling. Mine did not bleed through.

When you buy the posts, buy posts that state they can be painted on the label.

 

[HerrStig]

I would suggest not sanding the stuff without a mask. The code hereabouts requires any kind of wood to be elevated from the ground, not buried. The bottom of the post is the weak point, you ought to stick the post end in a bucket of your paint or stain and let it soak in for a day or two.

 

[Stelth]

Dang. Looks like maybe the steel pipe is the way to go. I already have a 21' piece that I most likely won't be using for anything else. This is for a job that I have to finish and bill out, so something that I can paint immediately with a durable finish would be best.

 

[doitmyself]

If white is suitable, you could buy vinyl fence post covers at Home Depot. Fast, easy, zero maintenance:

http://www.homedepot.com/b/Lumber-Composites-Fencing-Vinyl-Fencing-Vinyl-Fence-Posts/N-5yc1vZc3ld

 

[sleddriver]

I'd stick with the pipe. You can also use unistrut in the ground or in concrete. The commercial electricians do it all the time here.