I need some input on how to finish a project I'm working on!

[MichaelA Cooper]

I have all the parts made for an arbor I'm building for my front yard and need some advice from you folks!
I was originally going to stain it with redwood stain but now I'm not sure. The wood is all 2 by pressure treated so it's not the slickest stuff you ever saw and I'm thinking maybe I should prime and paint the arbor to cover up some of the defects in the wood.
What kind of a finish would you guys put on a pressure treated lumber version of this arbor?
Thanks!!!
Michael

[keith ouellette]

PT lumber is one thing I have a lot of experience with.

A couple of things to note.

Let it dry outside for a couple of months before staining (at least one month. some people do it right away and have no problems but that did not work for me) and at least 6 months before painting.

Paint will look real good at first but even if the pt lumber is very dry all the preasure treated lumber I have painted started to show cracks after about a year. Followed up by another coat of paint (enough to fill the smaller cracks at least) and then it looks pretty good.

I like stain on Pt lumber. The wood still cracks some but is not as noticeable without the paint.

Stain will look much different on Pt lumber than it does on any other wood so take a good size 2x4, let it dry out and try the stain there first.

stain works good on pt. use translucent stain or opaque stain.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Don't paint it. Number of threads have broached this topic and I have at least been consistent. No. Never. The moisture will leave the wood, and take the paint with it. If you wait 6 months as Keith suggests, you will avoid this problem, but then have other problems as Keith also points out.

Let it age to grey is my advice. In a couple years you simply will not notice the defects you are focused on right now. Or, you can stain it with a translucent stain as Keith suggests. Don't think this is "once and done". It will age to grey unless you powerwash and re-apply every year, or every other year at a minimum. This approach is a lifetime maintenance plan.

Plant something on it - a flowering vine, climbing roses, whatever - enjoy the results of your project and move on to the next one.

[Henry Ambrose]

Paint it only if you want to paint it every year or more often. The paint --will-- come off the horizontal surfaces.

If you must finish it, stain it -- color of your choice.

Weathered gray isn't a bad thing as you won't have to do anything to it for a long time.

[keith ouellette]

Don't paint it. Number of threads have broached this topic and I have at least been consistent. No. Never. The moisture will leave the wood, and take the paint with it. If you wait 6 months as Keith suggests, you will avoid this problem, but then have other problems as Keith also points out.

Let it age to grey is my advice. In a couple years you simply will not notice the defects you are focused on right now. Or, you can stain it with a translucent stain as Keith suggests. Don't think this is "once and done". It will age to grey unless you powerwash and re-apply every year, or every other year at a minimum. This approach is a lifetime maintenance plan.

Plant something on it - a flowering vine, climbing roses, whatever - enjoy the results of your project and move on to the next one.

Paint it only if you want to paint it every year or more often. The paint --will-- come off the horizontal surfaces.

If you must finish it, stain it -- color of your choice.

Weathered gray isn't a bad thing as you won't have to do anything to it for a long time.

The paint will stay on if the wood is dried well. A good zinser primer is also a good first step for painting but Like said by me and others there are problems.

I just posted this to add

the new chemical doesn't grey with age like the older one did. As for me I hated the weathered grey color of the old pt. This greys out but more of a brown grey as opposed to the greenish grey it used to be.

test the stain first to get a color you like. can't stress that enough.

[MichaelA Cooper]

Outstanding!!!!
You guys have given me the exact information I was looking for, thanks!!!
I'm going to start putting the arbor up today.

Kent, you mentioned, "Plant something on it".
I have two Wisteria plants that have been waiting for me to build this arbor for about a year!
My neighbor is an amazing gardener and knows all the plants indigenous to our area. If he finds something growing wild, like along the road, he'll harvest it and put it in a pot and even split it at the root and turn one plant into 3 or 4 plants and they grow like weeds, lol! He even grows some of the plants, like the wisteria, from seeds he harvests from the plants he's already grown! Anyway, that's how I got the wisteria plants and they will love the arbor and also make it look a thousand times better!

Take care everyone and have a grand Thanks Giving Day with your family and friends!!!
God Bless!
Michael

[Kent A Bathurst]

Michael - recognize that as the wisteria grows up and over the arbor - which will look beautiful, by the way - any refinishing/refreshing/repainting becomes a problem..........

Good luck

[MichaelA Cooper]

I finally got the arbor built and once we had a chance to see it in the yard, we decided to just leave it like it is, no paint or stain. I think I'm going to do some more sanding on it to remove the company's nomenclature from the wood.
Now I've got to break out the shovel and start digging the 12 foot diameter circle around the arbor and then move about 76 blocks from the back yard to the front yard and build a wall around it. Then I'll bring 26 bags of top soil around and put it in the circle and even it out, and then the final task, haul 15 bags of lava rock around and spread it evenly over the circle. Whew!
Then Moma can take care of the plants, lol!
Ahhh, at least it's nice and cool this time of year!
Here's a picture of the arbor.