Painting Green wood

[patrick_g]

Anyone have experience successfully painting or staining wood that isn't cured? A friend and I are each going to build a pole barn and our lumber source is logging timber, and having it milled. We have no access to a kiln and won't wait for it to cure.

We are building his first and the siding is fresh milled 1x6 white oak installed vertically and the "seams" will get battens installed over them. I have no experience painting green wood and wondered what would work best and last the longest. Whatever works, semi-transparent or opaque stain or paint or xxx. I have an airless spray rig but we can roll it if that has an advantage.

TIA for advice,

Pat

 

[KentT]

Anyone have experience successfully painting or staining wood that isn't cured? A friend and I are each going to build a pole barn and our lumber source is logging timber, and having it milled. We have no access to a kiln and won't wait for it to cure.

We are building his first and the siding is fresh milled 1x6 white oak installed vertically and the "seams" will get battens installed over them. I have no experience painting green wood and wondered what would work best and last the longest. Whatever works, semi-transparent or opaque stain or paint or xxx. I have an airless spray rig but we can roll it if that has an advantage.

TIA for advice,

Pat

It simply will not stick -- the moisture in the wood will cause the paint to flake and peel -- even solid-colored oil-based stains won't stick as the moisture comes out....

But, if you'll let it "air-dry" on the side of your barn, then next year you can successfully prime it and paint it. Don't worry about oak being damaged in one year -- it may discolor a bit, getting dark in spots, but the paint will later hide that.

You can use your airless sprayer with no problem. When you prime it next year, use an oil based primer and spray with it two light coats. (I recommend you use FloTrol also.) It'll drink the first one up, but the second one will coat it, and give you a good base that won't crack and peel. DO NOT use one heavy coat, because it will not soak in as well as a light coat will... you WANT the first coat to soak in since that's what will keep it from peeling or flaking. Then, give it a couple of light coats of paint.

BTW, a tip for air-drying board and batten that came from my brother who's built three board and batten houses to date from lumber he sawed out himself. When you first put it up, use only one nail down the center of the batten strip -- nailing down between the two "green boards." Then, those boards can (and will) shrink without cracking your batten strip or pulling it loose. Then, next year after it has air-dried, go back and put nails down each side of the batten strip, like you normally would, into the boards underneath, alternating them down the strip. You can caulk the batten strips then, also, if you're so inclined...

 

[DieselPower]

Stain wouldn't be a problem as it soaks into the wood. Anything that dries on the surface will probably crack and flake off.

Like Kent said, you will need to be a little carefull in how you attach the wood. If it's green then it's going to shrink. Depending on the length you shouldn't have to much shrinkage along the length of the grain. It will however shrink quite a bit across the grain. Just remember when you attach the wood to allow for shrinkage. The last thing you want (other than cracked boards) is a building full of 1/4 inch gaps.

 

[inveresk]

Newly milled wood will split and crack if it's not sealed. It loses more moisture out of the end grain so this is the first thing I seal as soon as a cant comes off the mill. I use one of the proprietary water sealers, Thompsons for example, which seems to works fine for end grain. Usually the ends of the cants are cut away when the beam or post is sized and shaped so this is only a temporary fix to prevent too-rapid drying out.

For the face grain I use Varathane natural wood oil. One coat of oil is all I apply initially. It absorbs well, is happy enough going onto newly milled wood with a relatively high moisture content and does enough to seal the face grain to reduce drying out and thus the likelihood of splits. It also provides a nice enough finish on sawn beams and posts.

Once the beam or post is sawn to final size and shaped, I sand with 40 or 60 grade paper to remove any marks then apply a second coat of Varathane to all faces including end grain.

On dressed lumber I use Danish oil which provides a nicer sheen than Varathane but needs several coats rather than two and isn't as durable or weather resistant for outside timbers.

 

[patrick_g]

Thanks for the info, guys. I was pretty sure paint was not going to work well but was hoping that penetrating stain might work. I was aware of the nailing scheme (screwing scheme as we are screwing it together.) I told my bud about fasteners separated off the mid line on both sides would split his boards and how the battens needed to be fastened on the mid like only. His battens will not be added for a while as he wants to wait and see about the shrinkage. I have faith, it will shrink considerably across the grain.

I paint the ends of my logs before taking them to the mill and so all the boards are painted on their ends, at least till I start cutting on them. I have never used really green wood before having always waited with it stickered till it dried fairly well. Yet another new adventure begins.

I'll have to try coating the ends of boards that are really green after cutting them to slow the drying from the end grain which I know is way faster that from the sides of the boards. Never did that before since before all my boards came back from the mill painted on the ends (due to sending painted-on-end logs.)

Pat

 

[Egon]

Pat:

Think about some lateral boards that will prevent cupping of the vertical boards while they are drying.

 

[patrick_g]

Pat:

Think about some lateral boards that will prevent cupping of the vertical boards while they are drying.

I'm getting a mental picture of a giant tennis racket press!

I guess you could use scrap screwed on horizontally to help prevent distortion as the vertical planks dry. The fasteners would go through where the vertical boards touch one another and fasten to the horizontal stringers. I suppose temporary stringers (on the interior) held in place by the screws through the temporary external stringers would help.

Thanks for yet another good idea buddy.

Patrick

 

[ToadHill]

Old motor oil makes a great sealer with a nice medium brown color. It lasts for over 10 years before I have had to put it on again, and a roller works well for that task.