He should have used an oil based slow drying primer. The problem with fences though is that the end grain (the rough part that faces the ground) is almost touching the ground and never gets painted or sealed. All the moisture enters there (rain and snow). It's really like a sponge at the bottom of each piece of wood. So, even when primed and stained properly, you will probably still have peeling problems at the bottom of each board every two years. If you can get under each board and prime that end grain, that will help. Do not use a paint though. Paint will surely peel quicker than stain. Paint forms a film and stain breathes. Stick with the stain.

In my opinion one of the best ways to preserve a treated pine fence (especially posts that are buried) is with sump oil. Or you can use linseed oil. The people on one side of me did not want me to soak their posts in sump oil in order for it to soak into the timber. In fact they called me a nutcase for sugesting it would extend the life of them. For the record the posts are (hardwood) Australian redgum. Pailings are 13mm teated pine and the rails are 50x75mm treated pine. On the other side, where i have native bushland I did soak the base of the post in sump oil for just over 48 hours before putting them in the ground. I then sprayed the fence with sump oil. The untreated (much more wind protected) fence ended up with 4 posts snapped off at groung level they were rotten. There were pailings blown off etc etc. The fence on the other side off my home (which copped the FULL force of the wind is still nice and straight and still in good order. I still can't even wobble ANY post one bit. Both fences were put up together 17 years ago when we built. Another thing sump oil does is prevent termite attack. (If the buried part is soaked for 24-48 hrs before cementing them in). don't think that "treated" pine, or any other 'treated' timber will stop termites the chemicals leach out over time. Now the people next door want me to pay 1/2 for a new fence. I took them over showed them the other fence that was oiled and asked can you see any problem here. The grass is growing, as are all the plants there is no issues there. It's not as if i just poored oil all around the posts so the impact on the enviroment is infenticimal if at all. very little (if any) oil leaches out if they are soaked) the timber holds the oil inside it. If you don't want sump oil on your pailings then liseed oil is the next best thing. It is moisture that rots the timber(creates the enviroment for rottting) oils will repel the water keeping the as dry as posible and thus extending the life. And preventing yet more trees from being chopped down to cut into posts, rails and pailings. In fairness I said to those people next door if you buy all the materials I will help you put it up. But I am not paying 1/2 the cost for a fencing contractor to build another fence simply because you refused to take WELL KNOWN advice and called me a nut case in the process. Why should I fork out $2,864.00 (that's my half) simply because you chose not to listen to good old fashioned and well known advice. When I asked if he was prepared to pay half for the damage to my new garden bed, plants, shrubs and some other things I had stored where the fence fell on it all and brokes new shrubs etc he said "oh that's not my fault" "Can't you claim it on your insurance?" When asked why he isn't claiming his fence repairs on his insurance he said "Oh I don't have insurance". I said what happens if your house burns down how can you afford to pay the mortgage as well as the cost of living elsewhere. "Oh it won't burn down" was the answer I got. GO FIGURE.

in Missouri--everybody seems to swear by TWP and TWP will tell you to wait 4 or more months to do anything to your fence--let it weather to gray---then wash/brighten it--let it dry and THEN stain and seal it If you go clear---it will weather back to gray in no time flat---the solids in the stain are what provide the UV protection and fight the weathering

If the red is paint, stripping might work, although I can't imagine spending that much time or money. Media blasting(walnut shells instead of sand, for instance) would be faster, but great care must be taken to not damage the wood. If the wood is cedar, that means it is quite soft and can be easily destroyed by the pressure. If it is a stain, there is little you can do to lighten the color.