Drip a couple of drops of clean water onto the surface of the lumber.
Can i stain pressure treated wood fence.
If it absorbs into the wood within ten minutes then you are good to stain.
If the wood is not dry when you stain or seal the fence the treatment will not adhere properly to the wood.
On average you ll want to wait 4 weeks to 6 months to wait before staining the posts.
This is largely dependent on how humid your area is.
If you don t want to wait the 6 to 12 months before staining your fence consider using a pre colored fence like microshades or select cut colorpro.
If it immediately beads up and rests on top of the lumber then you will have to keep waiting.
If you installed a pressure treated pine fence you ll need to wait until the wood is completely dry before staining or sealing it.
Most fences are built with pressure treated wood.
Kiln dried wood will be dry at purchase and can be stained immediately.
Staining pressure treated wood is ineffective if the wood is still wet.
Wet treated wood still contains significant moisture when purchased and may take longer to dry than other types of pressure treated wood.
A simple test to check whether pressure treated wood can be stained is called the sprinkle test.
Before you stain pressure treated wood you should clean it first.
If you installed a cedar fence you can usually stain or seal your fence right away without waiting.
You have posts for the frame 4x4s and 2x4s and 1x4s or 1x6s for the pickets.
Microshades is a pressure treated wood fence that has the red tone color of cedar.