Staining Pressure Treated Wood - Rain On A Tin Roof

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When it comes to wood staining, there are a few differences between staining regular wood and staining pressure treated wood. You can typically stain regular wood immediately. With pressure treated lumber, you might be able to stain it immediately or you might have to wait a bit. Read on to see how I was able to stain my new deck without waiting!

I am not a patient person.

I do not like to wait. On anything.

Good things come to those who wait, right? Well, I guess I’m more of a go out there and get it done now kind of girl.

Case in point, our new deck.

Yep, I said new deck. Over the past month, Grunt Labor built a deck. Isn’t he just awesome, y’all?

Of course that deck was built with pressure treated wood. Many people say you should wait at least six months before staining pressure treated wood.

Six months.

Negative.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

So being a real rebel, I stained that pressure treated wood after only two weeks of the deck being completed.

All that being said, if you do have time to wait, then by all means wait.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Thompson’s WaterSeal. However, all opinions and impatient-ness are 100% mine. This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Can You Stain Pressure Treated Wood?

Yes, you can absolutely stain pressure treated wood. The key is knowing when to stain it. As I said, it’s typically recommended that you wait six months before staining new installed pressure treated wood. But as I said, I did not.

I was able to do mine sooner because of a stain I used that is specifically for new pressure treated lumbers builds that can be used much sooner than the six month wait time. The stain I used was Thompson’s Waterproofing Stain.

To determine if your treated wood is ready for stain, simply flick a little bit of the stain onto the wood in a small spot. If the stain bubbles up on the wood, you are not ready to stain. If the stain soaks in, you’re ready to stain. After two weeks, my deck was ready for stain.

Staining Treated Wood

Because we all love a good before and after, here is the deck before staining:

Can You Stain Pressure Treated Wood - The New Deck Before - Rain on a Tin Roof

I’m sure you are looking at that photo and saying, “Ummmm…..Jenna, sweetie, you do realize that there are no steps up or down to the deck, right? How are you going to use it?”

I have stellar jumping skills, y’all. Stellar.

Not.

The deck is right beside the screened-in porch and you access the deck through a soon-to-be-door from the screened-in porch. We could have put steps down from the deck, but we didn’t really want the dog running up there anytime she wanted. No steps also help to contain the kid. I can just let her go on the screened in porch and deck without me having to worry she will fall off it.

As you guys know, I am a fan of Thompson’s WaterSeal products. I used their spray stain to give my lattice and mailbox a quick makeover. For the deck stain, I turned to them again.

Staining Treated Wood - Outdoor wood stain for new decks - Rain on a Tin Roof

Tools and Supplies Needed:

Thompson’s WaterSeal Waterproofing Stain – I went with their Acorn Brown Waterproofing Stain in Transparent. You can also get it in semi-transparent. It only takes one coat and dries in two hours – perfect for impatient people like myself.
Paint Brush made for stain
Stain Stick – makes it super easy to stain the deck floor boards.

Steps

Step 1.

Pour some of the stain into a container and stir the stain well.

Using a brush, apply the stain to the rails and spindles.

Can you stain treated wood - brush on the stain - Rain on a Tin Roof

Don’t be scared when you see that the stain looks like this. When it first comes out of the can, it is this mauve-y brown color and I totally freaked out. It’s ok, though. It doesn’t dry like that.

This is what it looked like as I was brushing it on.

Staining a New Deck - brushing the stain onto the rails - Rain on a Tin Roof

It does dry pretty quickly, but you need to give it two hours to fully dry or recoat – if you aren’t impatient like me and want a second coat. If you think you want a lighter stained deck, then definitely do multiple coats and have a cloth on hand to wipe up excess stain as you put it on.

Step 2.

You can also brush the stain on the floor, but I went with my HomeRight Stain Stick.

Can pressure treated wood be stained - using a stain stick on the deck floor - Rain on a Tin Roof

The Stain Stick has an attached stain pad and a padded roller that easily applies the stain into the crevices between each board. The stain is pulled up through the stick and you push it out as needed.

Let the stain fully dry before applying another coat or putting the deck to use.

A couple hours later this is what we had…..

How to Stain Pressure Treated Wood - new deck stained two weeks after - Rain on a Tin Roof

That one single coat will act as a water repellent and protect the deck for three years. Holla.

Here’s a little close-up after the sun had went down a bit:

Staining Pressure Treated Lumber after two weeks - Rain on a Tin Roof

There were some places where I overlapped the stain a bit on the floor and it made it more dark. Ya know what, though? I like it like that – gives it a bit more depth and character.