Q: I live in a condo development. The association is requiring owners to paint their patio fences.

The fences were made of pretreated wood and were painted gray. The paint has never stayed on very well, and the color has changed from gray to white.

What can be done to the wood to properly prepare it for painting and a color change?

Will the paint ever stay on? Will it require two coats? Would priming help?

A: The paint probably never adhered properly because the wood wasn’t allowed enough time to dry thoroughly before the work was done.

Oddly, I found some useful information on how to determine dryness on the website of the Burlington, Vt., planning commission:

“There are differing opinions on how long pressure-treated wood should sit before painting — some say a year, others six months. It depends on how dry the wood was when it was installed.

“One test is to sprinkle some water on it — if the water is absorbed, it’s ready to be painted. If time is an issue, use wood marked KDAT (kiln-dried after treatment).”

I have neither painted nor stained pressure-treated wood because I don’t like the look. I prefer to let the wood weather to a grayish color. Then I clean it and coat it with a clear water repellent.

I used this technique on the deck of a former house, and on the stairs leading from my kitchen to the patio at the present one.

There are both oil and latex paints and stains for pressure-treated lumber. I always prime new anything before I paint, and I usually apply two coats — making sure to allow enough time for the primer and first coats to set up and dry before adding topcoats.

Q: My sister’s house sustained damage from a roof leak and it needs a lot of work to repair it. The roof has been replaced, but she still needs work done in her kitchen. My question is how to either refinish cabinets or paint over the stain.

A: Are the cabinets wood or laminate? How much damage was done? Did they warp? Didn’t the homeowners’ insurance cover replacement of the damaged cabinets?

I have in the past written about painting wood cabinets as a low-cost alternative to replacing them.

There have been do-it-yourself programs on TV that have demonstrated this technique.

But from what I have seen up close, this cosmetic treatment doesn’t last or, in many cases, doesn’t look very good, no matter what the hosts or the makers of the paint designed for this job say.

I’d go back to the insurance company about replacing the cabinets.