16th March 2006, 04:28 PM
As a finds person with nine years in the hardware game I suggest you forget about any paint. The timber is likley impregnated with something nasty (Copper naphalate for a possibility). They would have also absorbed a fair amount of oil and grease. Basically any product you try to put on will either wipe off, or react with any chemicals in the wood (they may take the codes initially but they will disolve or be absorbed themselves over a period of time). I think the only way you are going to get around this is flat headed nails and plastic tags. Not the best solution to your problem but I can't think of any paint or marker that, available generally, will do the job.