There has been a lot of confusion on this particular subject over the years and basically I have seen both success and failure with both untreated and treated timbers using epoxy glues over the years. As a marine surveyor I have been asked about this on many occasions and have always answered….” Well, I really don’t know, I have no evidence one way or the other, so better not!”
However I have always been curious about it and decided to look into it further. The reasons for this are many and varied but most people who do agree with the process seem to agree that if the treated timber is very dry it will have a greater chance of success and be more likely to bond successfully. I say that, basically, as an initial observation.
Another factor to take into account with treated timbers is the fact that many acidic salts that are present in the chemicals that prevent natural drying out rates to occur. Added to that that many processing plants store the treated wet timbers outside where the noxious fumes are able to disperse to the atmosphere and are subject to weather conditions.
There is of course to be taken into account, the actual direct chemical cocktail reaction that happens when epoxy and its internal constituents are placed into direct contact with chemicals such as arsenic and phenol, for example! There is every reason to expect that the resulting combinations will repel rather than attract!
However, there is a wealth of information out there that does suggest that many of the modern glues and more especially, many resorcinol glues can do a pretty effective job when it comes to other applications on dry land …I think that until thinking outside the square becomes totally illegal, a healthy curiosity still has a place in the world!