Treat Pallet Wood For Outdoor Use
Your diy guide sourcing the pallets.
Treat pallet wood for outdoor use. Use a tack cloth to remove dust as you sand the pallet wood. Disassemble your wooden pallet if desired. Applying stain on humid pallet wood will cause it to flake off. Apply a wood conditioner to help the wood absorb stain evenly.
Chemical fumigation mb the wood was fumigated with a chemical called methyl bromide. Now that you ve carefully chosen and purchased the pallet that you need you would need to. Hose your wooden pallet outdoors. It is also important to make sure that you use weather resistant wooden pallets as this means that they will last for years without rotting.
Pallets now require an ippc logo which certifies that the pallet was heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide. How to treat pallet wood for indoor use. Start by cleaning the wood to remove any dirt and insects. The standard is a 2 letter country code xx a unique number 000 assigned by the national plant protection organization nppo ht for heat treatment or mb for methyl bromide and db to signify debarked.
If you want to make your pallets weather resistant here are a few tips for treating wooden pallets. Make sure that the wood is completely dry before you begin staining it. Don t take the unclean pallet inside in the home. If the dust settles in the pores it can lead to your stain looking uneven and blotchy.
Staining your pallet wood is the best way to treat it for outdoor use. Disassemble the pallet if desired. In this case only use it for outdoor projects where you will not be in contact with the pallet too often and avoid growing food on or near used pallet wood. In order to give your project the touch of a perfect finish you are going to pass through the wood pallets staining process.
Try to use a hammer pry bar cat s paw. A pallet treated with this should be stamped with the letters mb and it should appear near the ippc logo. Seal the wood with coating of polyurethane varnish or lacquer. Washing and sanding your pallet hose the pallet outdoors.
Use linseed or tung oil to create a beautiful and protective hand rubbed finish. Your local shipping or crating company may have a supply of wooden pallets that they no longer use. Scrub the wood twice with a brush and soapy water rinsing it off in between scrubbings. Once you confirm that the pallet is safe to use hose it down outside with a garden hose or power washer.
Before cleaning your pallet put on thick gloves and inspect the wood visually for stains protruding nails and code markings. Also avoid staining on wet days. For your safety and your family s and for the sake of our planet never use questionable pallet wood or treated lumber in your fireplace or outdoor fire pit.