# What primer to use on new pressure treated exterior plywood?



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

I've never painted brand spanking new treated exterior plywood and I have a new customer that wants me to cut out lettering for her business "sign" and wants them painted a couple of different colors and mounted up on her roof fascia. I suggested the treated exterior plywood as something that should last a long time without delaminating as other plywoods may do after a while in the rain and heat down here in N'Awlins. What I hadn't thought about was the priming and painting of brand new treated wood. I know the treated wood feels kind of wet when it's brand new so I was wondering if any kind of primer would stick to this and if so, which one? I have and use Zinnser Bin 1-2-3 but will it stick?

She has already purchased Rustoleum brand enamels for the three colors of these letters so I need to look at that to see if it's compatible as well... although it probably is. The last time I used Rustoleum was the spray can stuff to paint a wrought iron patio chair. Will this be decent paint for this purpose. She already used some of each paint on her metal doors. This building is within spitting distance of an SW and BM store but she went to the Home Depot, 2 miles away, for her paint.:no: 

EDIT - Oh yeah, this sign cutting/painting is only a small part of the overall job I am doing for her so I can't just walk away from it... but I want to be able to do it to the best of my ability and to her specs.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## SgtBaldy (Jul 14, 2006)

You can use 123, but for proper adhesion to any pt wood it is best to let it dry out first. 90 days minimum.

If you can't wait for that then try bin shellac by zinser as your primer and then keep your fingers crossed.


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Hmmmm.. should I go with a non PT plywood and count on the primer and paint to seal the wood from the elements? Maybe still use the Bin Shellac as the primer?


----------



## profinish (Oct 7, 2005)

What ever you use be sure all sides are seald very well especialy the edges...


----------



## BMAN (Aug 21, 2006)

Do not use shellac based primer. It says right on the can that it should not be used in moist situations.It will bubble up. Find an exterior Kills primer. It has to be sealed with oil or the copper in the PT will bleed green through the paint.


----------



## slickshift (Jun 14, 2005)

I use BM's alkyd (oil) primer on PT
And I really suggest letting it dry out for a few months first
(regardless of what the lumber producers instructions say)


----------



## Richard (May 21, 2006)

LennyV-NHSNOLA said:


> I've never painted brand spanking new treated exterior plywood


...either have we :thumbsup: 

--slick is right on about letting it dry or making sure it's dry...I personally would use BIN and then maybe an oil primer for coverage


----------



## copusbuilder (Nov 8, 2005)

When I had billboards we used treated wood and used a latex primer and it worked fine. 
We were going to use marine grade plywood but these were a couple of signs that were not going to be up more than two years.


----------



## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

The company that wrapped my vehicle (old vehicle), calls me in a pinch when they need someone to prime the posts on some of the larger signs they make. They insisted that I use only Zinsser Oil Cover Stain - so I did. 5 years ago was the first one, and it's still holding up nicely.


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Whew.. not much of a consensus on this one. I think I'm going to go with the non-PT plywood and several coats of primer/paint as something to protect the wood from the weather. I'll explain this to the owner and maybe keep the PT plywood I already bought to let it dry out just in case.

Thanks for all the suggestions though and for reaffirming my instincts that painting this while it was still new would potentially be problematic.


----------



## copusbuilder (Nov 8, 2005)

If you use regular plywood use o.s.b.:thumbsup: 
Just trying to start WWIII:thumbup: 

I was always told that the moisture in new treated justified using latex. When it dried, using oil is best?

Maybe it isn't as big a deal as it's made out to be??


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Ummm.. I may not have been 100% clear in my original post. I will be cutting the letters out of the plywood, 16"W x 32"H (9 letters out of each 4x8 panel) so I'm not sure if OSB would work as well as regular plywood. I've read that OSB edges are more prone to swelling than plywood. With the cut letters, there will be a lot more edges to swell with the OSB. I'll await your reply.


----------



## Danahy (Oct 17, 2006)

I'm still voting for cover stain.
Read: http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=12

Perhaps do a little mock test with a couple of primers yourself... chuck it outside on the lawn/snow for a week, then review the results.


----------



## painterman (Feb 5, 2005)

IMHO plywood of any type is a very poor choice for sign material. At some point it is going to fail and come apart on them. Using a proper exterior MDF material would be a better choice. EXTIRA is an excellent product for this application. Comes in 4x8 sheets.Oil prime ,top coat with latex your good to good.


----------



## Richard (May 21, 2006)

LennyV-NHSNOLA said:


> Hmmmm.. should I go with a non PT plywood and count on the primer and paint to seal the wood from the elements? Maybe still use the Bin Shellac as the primer?



Man, I missed this post....YES, for the love of God...using not PT ply is sooooooo much better, especially since you're wanting to paint it--I agree with the cover stain, that will work fine


----------



## dougchips (Apr 23, 2006)

http://www.azek.com/sheet.asp Not sure if you can wait or if you need a product now. Azek comes in plywood sizes and no problems with moisture.


----------



## Joewho (Sep 20, 2006)

MMMMMMM. PT wood splinters.


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

I was looking at the Extira but when I searched there "Where to Buy" for a local dealer, the nearest one was 240 miles away. I've never looked for Extira at my local suppliers. Do the big box stores sell it? A lumber yard? The www.Extira.com website isn't helpful at finding a dealer locally (70003 zip code) if there is one.


----------



## painterman (Feb 5, 2005)

Most lumber yards can order this product. I think it is handled by most of the big players.


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, I found a semi-local Extira dealer about 80 miles from New Orleans area, in Baton Rouge, LA, and the 4x8x 1/2" is $48.00 sheet, so about twice as much as comparable plywood but it looks like it's designed to last far longer. I'll have to hash out the figures with the customer and see what they want to do but I'm sure they'll go with the non-PT plywood, lay the primer and paint on thick and I'll have a re-paint job every few years.

This dealer was happy that I found them and told them they weren't showing up on the "Find A Dealer" search on Extira's website.


----------



## Doc (Aug 25, 2006)

As Painterman mentioned try to locate a source for MDO it is mdf designed for exterior use. I would check with some of the larger companies making billboards in your area. Around here they use both exterior plywood and MDO. The MDO has a smooth surface to start with so gives an excellent result under paint.


----------



## Miniroller (Sep 19, 2006)

Lenny, seal the sides with caulking. Use your finger and/or tool and "neatly" run caulking down each cut edge; you will have to round the edges. Make sure water cannot enter the plywood. This will keep the plywood or MDO from falling apart -at least for a ahwile. Also, i found Cabot problem-solver will stick well to pt- maybe check that out.


----------



## Exroadog (Feb 11, 2005)

Sign??? exterior....I would use the MDO as suggested....but then I would seal completely with 2-3 coats of exterior varnish/poly.(6 sides) Then prime. This is how we would prep a sign for gold leafing the lettering. I would also toss the rustoleum and use One Shot Sign painters paint! IMO.


----------



## LennyV-NHSNOLA (Nov 22, 2006)

Well, the customer decided she wanted the sign ASAP and since some of you guys/gals said it was OK to prime the still new PT plywood, I decided to try it. I've put on two thick coats of the oil based primer after letting the two sheets of plywood dry out for a couple of days. We've had 70F dry weather the past few days but it's storming now so I've moved the stuff inside for the painting. At least the surface veneers were dry before I put on the primer. The owner understands that this paint job will not last forever but they put off doing their sign while they were renovating some of the interior and then when they brought me in to do the finishing work, that was one of the first things I asked them about... what about a sign??? They then asked me to work on their sign for them. At first they were going to hang the sign on the front of the building under the overhang but then they decided to put it up on the fascia. They wanted me to cut the lettering out of the sign with a jigsaw but I've convinced them to paint the letters on the 16"W x 32"H rectangles (9 from each sheet of plywood) which will make them last longer and stand out better on the white background. 

I didn't see that hint about caulking the edges until after I painted the entire sheets but I will caulk the exposed edges after I cut the final rectangles out. 

The owner plans on doing the actual lettering (she likes doing the artsy stuff) so I'll let her know about the lettering paint recommendation.

I'll post some before and after pictures once I'm finished. I'll bookmark this thread to post some new pictures every year as long as she's a customer... which I suspect will be for a while since I am also working on her new construction home.


----------



## Miniroller (Sep 19, 2006)

LennyV-NHSNOLA said:


> The owner plans on doing the actual lettering (she likes doing the artsy stuff) so I'll let her know about the lettering paint recommendation..


One SHot is serious stuff- If she is pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant tell her to steer clear of that stuff. Sign paint still has lead in it and the dust is pretty damn toxic. Use a P100 respirator and vinyl gloves when working with it. Hope this helps.


----------

