> Glad to hear we have some paint experts in the group.  Soooo, let me ask
> Derk and Todd their opinion on using nothing but white stain on wood
treated
> (soaked and dried) in Copper Quinolate or Copper Napthinate.  I live in
West
> Texas with an average rain fall of 15 - 17 inches a year.
>
> Thanks
> (West Texas) Mark
>

I usually run away from the label of "expert", but I'll share my 2.5 cents
worth :)


Exterior stain is generally thinned, self priming paint, found in two main
classes:  semi transparent, and solid (opaque).  Oil based semi-transparent
stains will penetrate well, but due to their lack of pigments, are not very
long lived finishes.  They need to be renewed much more often than paint.
Solid stains can be found in either oil or latex formulations.  Their higher
pigmentation makes both longer lived than semi-transparent, but neither will
hold up long term as well as paint.  The primary advantage of solid stain is
that it is self priming.  As I stated before, however, sand first if you
plan to use acrylic latex stains or paints (or use rough lumber).

I've never used copper quinolate, but I have used copper napthenate.  It's a
bit oily, so if you want to use water based stain, best let it weather a bit
(a week or so helps a lot).  I've never had a peeling problem when used this
way (althugh some green tint may creep through the finish).  FWIW - for
above ground use, zinc napthenate is more paint friendly, and less toxic.

I've often used 100% acrylic latex solid stain to good effect on posts and
trim (light colors especially).  It works very well on rough lumber.  I
should think that it would work fine on beehives, and save you the step of
priming.  Overall,  I don't think that stain can quite compare to a properly
primed and topcoated finish for longevity, but the omission of priming makes
it an attractive option.

Hope this helps.

Todd.

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