I’m building an attached deck on the back of our house and was considering my options as far as painting the deck posts/rails the same color as the trim of our house (decking will be stained).
I’m worried that PT posts would crack over time and not look good if painted. Has anyone had any luck painting cedar? I was thinking of either using cedar as the post or ripping 1x cedar to construct a “post cover” to slip over (and nail to) a PT post.
Thanks in advance for any advice or experience that anyone can share.
Replies
Do yourself a favor and stain everything. Paint peels and, unless you enjoy scraping, will become a maintence nightmare. Stain, however, just fades over time. A quick deck washing and new coat of stain every few years and it will look good forever.
If you don't want to see the wood grain you can use solid color stain.
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Edited 5/27/2008 10:13 pm by Ted W.
If you don't want to see the wood grain you can use solid color stain.
I think solid color stain is pretty much just paint. It's more resistant to peeling, but I have seen it happen.
The best stain is a semi-transparent oil-based stain in a color as dark as you still find attractive. The dark color provides better UV protection.
Not arguing your point, you may be right about solid color stain being paint for all practical purposes. Have to mention though, that I've seen stain flake off when it was applied in poor conditions. If the lumber is not thorouly dried the stain wont pentetrate properly, and if it's applied in the direct sun on a hot day it will skin over before it soaks in.
I've never had solid color stain peel on the limited number of jobs where I've used it. I'm guessing that's because I only use quality ptl (preferably Wolmanized) and only better quality stain (pref. Shirwyn Willinms), and only apply it when conditions are right. However, I'm not the one they call when it's time for a fresh coat, as I only stain what I build when I build it. --------------------------------------------------------
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I think solid color stain is pretty much just paint.
The difference from paint is that it has no film-building binder.
Jeff
PT posts skinned with pre-primed pine, then painted to match house trim. 2x4 PT rails running between the posts, either manufactured with a railing profile, or beveled on the table saw. The new flavor of PT supposedly takes paint pretty well. In my opinion, 4x4 posts look cheezy without the covers.
Benny,
When I stained my PT decking, I was told to wait 1 year before applying the stain as it would accept the stain better. I used oil based stain and it still looks new after 3 years.
Danny
I've had good luck painting PT with H2O based paint. Since you're making the PT a high maintainence item anyway, if the PT cracks or checks, you could caulk and repaint.
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But you all knew that. I detailed it extensively in my blog.