# Exterior Painting-Deck Railings...



## MisterSteve (Feb 15, 2012)

My house is a little more than 5 years old and the paint already needs help. The front porch is constructed of treated lumber and painted white. The floor was left unpainted and the only the railings and spindles were painted. Just about all of the white paint is peeling off in large, thick pieces as if the lumber was not fully dried out before painting and it was sprayed on too thick. Is it more work to try and remove all of this peeling paint or should I just replace the railings? It seems like every time I touch the paint it just gets worse and I question whether painting over any of this is a good idea. I have figured it's about $200 or so in lumber to replace the railings.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

A picture would be nice.

#1 pressure should have been stained not painted. You can get soild stain tinted to any color you can have paint tinted.
I use Cabot or Olympic fence and siding stain and never had it fail.
Coating wet pressure treated wood is a big no no. It seals in the moisture and the will try to come out and push the sealer off of the wood.


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## MisterSteve (Feb 15, 2012)

joecaption said:


> A picture would be nice.
> 
> #1 pressure should have been stained not painted. You can get soild stain tinted to any color you can have paint tinted.
> I use Cabot or Olympic fence and siding stain and never had it fail.
> Coating wet pressure treated wood is a big no no. It seals in the moisture and the will try to come out and push the sealer off of the wood.


I'll get a pic posted soon. I was unaware you could not paint treated lumber. As long as it FULLY dried out, I thought it was doable. 

An interesting point to make is that we purchased this home as a foreclosure and according to the neighbor, the original owner had his own "painting business".....


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Oh you can paint it, just from my experiance it does not hold up. If it had of been completly dry it may have worked out better.
Time and time again when I build a deck I warn then not to apply anything to it for at least 6 months to give it time to dry out. I go back a few days later and there out there applying something then complain it does not hold up.
The wife had told them she could not stand looking at a green deck another day. Now there looking at mold and peeling paint. Not a great look.
How long it takes to dry out depends a lot on where you live.


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

You can paint dried, treated lumber but you have to prime it first as with any wood surface. Solid stain would have been a better choice. 

You certainly do not have to replace the lumber. You can rent an infrared stripper and have that paint off in no time. Although it sounds like it is coming off on its own without much coaxing. You may be able to get most of it with a *SHARP* draw type scraper and the rest with a little palm orbital sander.


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## Mr. Paint (Nov 10, 2011)

When you get it stripped, try a few drops of water in various areas. If the water beads up, it is unpaintable; if it doesn't, then sand, clean, PRIME and paint. In case you don't know this, your handrails, because they are flat and/or diagonally exposed to the sun, will fail at a faster rate than the vertical spindles. Plan on regular maintenance.


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

MisterSteve said:


> I'll get a pic posted soon. I was unaware you could not paint treated lumber. As long as it FULLY dried out, I thought it was doable.
> 
> An interesting point to make is that we purchased this home as a foreclosure and according to the neighbor, the original owner had his own "painting business".....


 
That is because Mr cap has yet again posted pure bull. This is like the 5th time TODAY he has posted false information. Of corse you can paint pressure treatd lumber with proper prep and cure time


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## chrisn (Dec 23, 2007)

joecaption said:


> A picture would be nice.
> 
> #1 pressure should have been stained not painted. You can get soild stain tinted to any color you can have paint tinted.
> I use Cabot or Olympic fence and siding stain and never had it fail.
> Coating wet pressure treated wood is a big no no. It seals in the moisture and the will try to come out and push the sealer off of the wood.


 
I can't believe this


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Do you now have 2 X 4's sitting flat for the top railings? If so concider using composite decking on top of the 2 X 4's. Installed the screws from under the under side so they do not show.


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

Pressure treated lumber is wood, it can be painted with the proper priming and finish. The problem is that pressure treated is generally used when building open, 360 degree exposed structures like decks, playsets, fences, etc. Those objects in themselves are what should not be painted with traditional paint, it's not the wood itself. Paint is more appropriate for closed structures like trim, siding, etc,. Open structures take more abuse from the environment, from all sides, and are more prone to failure. Prepping paint failure is far more difficult than that for re-staining. Paint requires three coats new, stain two, sometimes one. Stains breathe better than paints, which is more crucial to something close to the ground and getting the brunt of weather. It's the object being painted, not the wood itself.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

http://extension.missouri.edu/webster/ag-edge/structures/acq-cca-paint.html
Never said it could not be painted, after trying it both ways on the 30 odd decks I've built the ones that were stained instead of paint they never peeled, never needed to be scraped or any more then a light sanding and cleaning to apply another coat when they faided.
Have anyone of you nay sayers even tryed it?


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## user1007 (Sep 23, 2009)

joecaption said:


> Do you now have 2 X 4's sitting flat for the top railings? If so concider using composite decking on top of the 2 X 4's. Installed the screws from under the under side so they do not show.


Hugh? You are suggesting he add 2" or so to the height of the railings?:laughing::no:


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## jsheridan (Jan 30, 2011)

joecaption said:


> http://extension.missouri.edu/webster/ag-edge/structures/acq-cca-paint.html
> Never said it could not be painted, after trying it both ways on the 30 odd decks I've built the ones that were stained instead of paint they never peeled, never needed to be scraped or any more then a light sanding and cleaning to apply another coat when they faided.
> Have anyone of you nay sayers even tryed it?


I don't understand your point. Who is naysaying you?
Your link disputes your claim about coating "wet" PT.
Saying that painting pressure treated wood, in general, doesn't hold up and saying that paint doesn't hold up on a pressure treated deck are two different things. Specify your points more clearly.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Since when is 5/4 decking 2" thick?
My customers love it. It gives a flat spot to set a drink, never splinters, never cups, no nails sticking out.


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## CaptRandy (Nov 9, 2011)

If the "paint" is acylic then tear them out and start with new railings. If not then Strip the railings with HD80 (12oz per gal water) let it dwell 30-45 minutes and power wash off. Neutralize with deck brightener once stripped then let it dry. Then invest in a good sealer and do entire deck. Easiest sealer to work with is Ready Seal.


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## MisterSteve (Feb 15, 2012)

Peeling and mildew.


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## MisterSteve (Feb 15, 2012)

The difficult par would be getting between the two 1 x 4's at the bottom of the spindles. They are on each side. There is about 60' of this but some parts are much worse the others. The pilings and bands are all white as well so I need to stick to the theme so it looks right.


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