Can New Pressure Treated Wood Be Stained/Waterproofed?

My rule of thumb is 90 days. I was taught that the chemicals need to dry properly/thoroughly so it will accept coatings. I think arsenic is used, know a guy who always handles pt lumber with gloves.

There's pressure-treated and then there's pressure-treated. Garbage from HD or Lowe's may have been sitting, unstrapped (which dries more quickly) for who knows how long. Higher-quality lumber bought in bulk & delivered from a commercial yard needs more time. Strapped & wrapped is what the yard guys call it here, protects from premature drying & buckling/twisting/bending of the planks.

Also depends on region, a deck in full sun in Arizona will dry more quickly than shaded decking in SC.

Whatever you do, don't use a surface cleaner on it, I think I read that somewhere...
 
The new form of PT wood takes longer to except a stain even if the moisture content is below 15%. Prior to the new Pt 30 days or when it reached 15% was OK. I wait 6 months to a year now .
 
I wait a year. Unfortunately by that time I often see the wood already split/cracked in places. There are treatments (not stains) that can be applied immediately that prevent this. Flood has one on the shelf called New Wood Defender.
 
I bought a new home last year that was just built and they had a p/t walk out deck that I sanded and stain red with Ready Seal
And it came out great. I did replace it with a beautiful treck deck this year
 
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