RPetry

Rhichard, Of course you want to clean off any dirt, mold, mildew, etc. before applying any stain, whether the wood is already stained or not. You can apply virtually any stain over top of Ready Seal that has cured. The opposite is untrue. You cannot apply Ready Seal over other stains. It might be possible with a few paraffinic oils such as TWP or Baker's Gray Away, but have never had a reason to try it. Maintenance for Ready Seal is a light (1.5-2%) sodium hydroxide mix with a small bit of soap, dwell for 10-20 min. and a very low pressure rinse. A hose and nozzle will do, a pressure washer is not necessary. If the wood is very dirty and/or has a lot of mold/mildew, a light scrub with a brush will dislodge the dirt/mildew. Rinse very well and allow to dry. A single application, as much as the wood will take, is fine for Ready Seal maintenance.

I was working down the Jersey shore the past two days and even there the temps and humidity was brutal. Yesterday, people were coming off the beach in the early afternoon, it must have been too hot right on the ocean. There is no way I would consider working outside today.

Terry, Depends on what stain you use. Sodium percabonate cleaners can partially remove some oil based stains. Not good for Ready Seal. As you are from NC, I would assume mold and mildew can be a problem. A 1.5 - 2% sodium hypochloride (bleach) mix with a touch of detergent and a gentle scrub with a natural bristle brush will do. Follow with a hose rinse, and rinse well. Actually should be good for any stain. You are restaining every two years?

Jon, Guess I didn't get my point across. Virtually every American generation, throughout our history, has *****ed, moaned, complained, and persecuted foreign immigrants. Today is no different. Same old BS. Today, maybe its Asians, Indians, Mexicans, South Americans, god know who else. I think its good. Static societies die, dynamic ever changing societies have a chance. I'd say the United States has proved to be a great melting pot and has benefited greatly from our varied peoples. History proves this.

Right on Ken. Take a look at US history over the past 200 yrs. Same old isolationist nonsense. Germans, Poles, Irish, Italians. My inlaws had to change their last name just to rent an apartment in New York. Learn a lesson in what made this country and will continue to make this country the best nation on earth.

Mike, I was just kidding about Texas and bleach. No such law, except in practice. It just seems like everyone in Texas uses bleach, just a regional peculiarity, nothing more. But your competitors might run you out of town on a rail if they see 'ya using percarbs! Again, just kidding around. Straight sodium percarbonate can be purchased on-line from The Chemistry Store. There's a bunch of commercial manu's that sell percarb wood cleaners. Where's Shane? Set this guy up, he's a real Texan!

OxiClean, which I believe is a trademark name owned by Orange Glo International, is 50 - 70% sodium carbonate, and 30 - 50% sodium percarbonate, according to the MSDS sheet on the OxiClean outdoor powder.

Roger, Looks great, is Indian Sandstone from India? A quick conversion shows ~ 2125 sq. ft. and 16 gals. of bleach. Did this 16 gals. include water to dilute the bleach or are you saying it took 60 liters of say 12.5% sodium hypochlorite? If so, that "black mould" must be some really tough stuff.

Mdmtexican, What people are referring to is sodium percarbonate. It is the major active ingredient in many commercial wood cleaners. I have used it since day one for new wood, untreated wood, or to remove very deteriorated old oil stains. A few downsides. It does not mix well in cold water. Very warm or hot water is best. It also off gases a lot when first mixed, and using a Shurflo pump to apply after mixing is a problem. I usually use a 5 gal. backpack sprayer with a hand pump. You should use it within an hour or two of mixing, as it loses potency fairly quickly. It is caustic and will darken wood somewhat, it is best to neutralize and brighten with an acid after use. I use a light bleach mix, ~ 1.5% with a touch of soap, but only on Ready Seal maintenance work. As there is already oil in the wood and pigment on the surface, I want to preserve as much existing Ready Seal as possible. I have found that this bleach mix will lightly clean the surface, help kill most of any mold/mildew, but most importantly preserve the existing oil in the wood. But you are in Texas. I think it is the law there that you must use bleach mixes for everything except stripping. Ask Shane, he is a bleach master exemplar, and does very fine work. Shane is also co-founder on the "BDA", or Bleach Dwellers Association, which can now boast of an international presence.

Shane and I have been trying to help Roger Oakley of Great Britain obtain and mix chemicals for wood restoration. We all should appreciate the great source of commercial suppliers we have here, the Brits have virtually no manufactuers of wood strippers, cleaners, and brighteners. Anyway, ran into this article. Found some interesting info on bleach. This study indicates that adding an acid to a bleach mix is much more effective in killing microbes and such. Wonder if it would help on mold and mildew. Go to: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/asfm-vik021306.php Any microbiologists out there or anyone know one?

Shane, The link is up, just tried it, but not off the Grime Scene. Maybe cut and paste in your browser will work. Try copying this: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-02/asfm-vik021306.php BTW, Roger is soon to be the wood care guru of Great Britain.

Ken, You know, I think thats right. No wonder it kills stuff, maybe even you! But again, if you read the article, they are advocating 1 cup of Clorox and one cup of vinegar mixed in a gallon of water. Anyone want to be a guinea pig?

Ken, I'm no chemist but wish I had found this before. Spent last Wed. through Sunday visiting my best friend in Maine who has a PhD. in Chemistry. If it is as effective on microbes as stated, the question is if it is transferable to mold and mildew. Don't know, biologist stuff. Either from what I have read, or maybe on this board, I seem to recalll that sodium hypochlorite is not able to be neutralized. So not sure if "buffers", whatever they are, is applicable. Maybe someone can help.

Hugo aka Flood rep, Ipe' is not the bane of wood restoration, acrylics are. Ask any contractor on this board that has been in business for more than a year and you will get an earful of nightmares trying to deal with the stuff. Granted, in the past most acrylics have been solid, film type stains, but now we are suppose to put this stuff into the wood? Jeeze, its hard enough to remove from the surface, let alone get the plastic out of the wood. Does your new Flood hardwood acrylic stain penetrate through a previous application? In my limited experience, acrylics do not allow penetration of any stain, let alone a penetration of previously applied acrylic. So now its a penetrating acrylic stain over a penetrating acrylic stain. How many applications until the acrylic is sitting on top of the wood? I would be glad to test this new Flood product on ipe'. Sample boards only. I would be surprised if it actually penetrated the wood, and shocked if a 2nd application did not form a dreaded film on the surface. If Flood's "FloodPro Stripper/Cleaner" actually works on removing surface acrylics at less than $30 per gallon, you have a winner and I'll buy stock. By the way, its either a stripper or a cleaner, two competely different processes. Send me samples, I'll test it on samples.

I tried using the paint pads years ago and had the problems of wear, slipping off the holder, etc. Switched to using very large, 6" natural bristle brushes threaded on the top so a standard pole can be attached. There are a few advantages. For oils, I think natural bristle is superior in even spreading and "working" the oil into the wood. It also allows working the oil into the cracks between horizontal deck boards. Second, the brushes last a lot longer than pads. Probably depends on the stain you use. For the first time RS decks I do, the first application of oil is sprayed with a HLVP sprayer, no backbrushing. The second application is again sprayed on and quickly backbrushed for even spread using a 6" natural bristle brush on a pole.

Beth, Thats funny, and it really was my initial reation. The artwork, colors, lettering and all are very high quality and professional. I guess I must just be guilty of something or another. Know any bail bondsmen?

Doug, You may want to talk to Russ Cissell of ESI before mixing EFC-38 and HD-80 together. The quality of the wood you purchase to build the 100' of balustrade may dictate the best process to use in prepping it. Others will have advice on WTW. For Ready Seal, in general, for older PTP I have found natural cedar to be a bit too light of a color. Medium red is by far my most popular color for this type of wood. But as you already have natural cedar, for the new wood a 50/50 mix of dark. red and med. brown may give you a "darker" natural cedar, which will look lighter on the new wood and may help to blend in colors. I have not tried this but you may want to get a RS sample kit and try it. Pierce may have better suggestions. Without actually being there and seeing the wood after it is prepped, its kind of difficult to be accurate on custom colors. If you do use Ready Seal, just make sure the wood is at 12% or less moisture content and get as much stain into the wood as possible. For first time RS customers, I always put two separate applications on the horizontal wood, allowing at least 12 hours of drying time between stain applications.

Jeff, I'm with you. Scheduled to take this week off a while ago. Flying up to Maine tomorrow to visit my oldest and best friend. Poor guy moves up to Maine from Maryland, family and all, last year. This winter goes to get the mail and gets virtually run over by a car. On a back country road outside of Bangor. He's somewhat recovered and up for some fishing. Just hope its cooler up there than here in NJ. Yesterday and again today the heat and humidity are just brutal. Even if I had scheduled work, I don't think I'd last more than a few hours outside.

Ken, Too much, but nearly all old PTP. Did two "new" ACQ decks last year, but they had weathered 5 and 8 months over the winter. Cleaned with sodium percarb, brightened with citric and stained with RS. Obviously the wood did not take as much oil as older wood, but did not have any problems with penetration. Have replaced boards with new good quality ACQ purchased at real lumber yards and have not had problems. On the one WTW job I did last Nov., the new ACQ replacement boards took the stain fine. Maybe I'm just lucky or maybe I purchase higher quality lumber. But I have not experienced this "wax" problem or if I have and not known it, sodium percarbonate took care of it. If and when I do, I'll probably sand the new wood if it is replacement boards. I honestly would have to think long and hard before using sodium hydroxide on a completely new deck. It is not that I think sodium hydroxide is bad for wood, it is bad for wood. Why did everyone run out and buy Makita's a few years ago for defelting? Why the constant questions and even polls on this site about "fuzzies". You are removing lignin from the surface of the wood and leaving behind strands of cellulose fiber. Why does ESI offer EFC-38 and other stripper manufactuers carry sodium percarbonate based wood cleaners? I have no qualms with those that use HD-80 as opposed to F-18, they are both sodium hydroxide strippers. In the poll I stated that subjectively, F-18 seemed to stay wet longer and was less harsh on the wood. But this may be due to more personal experience in using strippers. Over the past 5 years I have gained a much better intuitive sense of mix concentrations, dwell times, and water pressure. In any case I avoid using NaOH if at all possible. Its not only bad for the wood, its bad for people, plants, and your customers property. One of the primary benefits and an important reason why I use RS stains is that they do not have to be stripped. Yes I have. On light cleaning prep jobs I am using a natural bristle brush to lightly scrub the sodium percarbonate cleaner on horizontal wood and a corresponding lower rinse pressure. Same thing with all RS maintenance, a light scrub of a weak sodium hypochlorite mix followed by a low pressure rinse. Not sure if it makes that much difference with some sodium percarb cleanings, but intuitively it makes sense. The lower rinse pressure has to be of some benefit. With RS maintenance, you have to understand that the trick is to preserve as much of the existing oil and pigment already in the wood. This procedure helps. What is surprising is that the time necessary to scrub the wood is pretty much made up in less time rinsing. Mind you, this is only horizontal wood. I'm not and do not plan on hand scrubbing 4 sides of each balustrade spindle! Beth, To be honest, no. I kind of feel like I'm on the set of "Dragnet", waiting for Joe Friday to put the cuffs on.

Arrg, Never mind. Just spent a wasted hour reponding to two threads and the site trashes with a new look. Do whatever you all think is fine. Ed Burke was a lot more correct than many may think.

Rod, I cannot imagine, or have ever run into any new, bare wood that required sodium hydroxide to prepare the wood for stain. I do not advocate or use sodium hypochlorite for new or "bare" wood, only sodium percarbonate followed by a citric acid brightenter/neutalizer. Excuse me for "leaving out the neutalizaiton" step, because I do not advocate sodium hydroxide on new wood. A citric acid neutalizer/brightener is always followed by a percarb wash. I did not say it, you said it. "Many lumber mfr's use a 3-6% wax solution to help protect the wood during this time. It would be a barrier against sealant penetration." I have never seen this problem, but I do not try to stain without prepping new woood with a percarb cleaning and a citric acid rinse. That is quite hard to do on a bullitin board. I'm not there, and he has not yet installed or cleaned the new wood. It will not come out near the old wood, and we all know that. I do not use sodium hypoclorite and water and detergents for new, or stripped wood. Never have and not now. I do use a conservative mix of sodium hypochlorite, water, and a touch of detergent for Ready Seal maintenance.

Ken, The soap, sodium hydroxide debate is stupid. Come on, you've had it on your skin, stop it. The concentrations we use it to brush teeth or wash skin are no where close to stripping. Toothpaste and bath soap, come on, silly stuff. Stop it. I have never advocated allowing softwoods to "age". I just do not advocate aging them prematurely using sodium hydroxide, in any strength. Not needed, not necessary, and not wanted. What happened to cleaning with sodium percarbonate? Innocuous, a low pressure cleaner that does no harm to the wood or surroundings? Ed Burke was right. As a group we all are a bunch of amateurs. His delivery was inept but the message was clear and and on point.

Beth, With all due respect, sodium hydroxide in any strength is not needed and is indeed damaging to any new, "bare" wood. You know it, Rod knows it, Ken knows it, and any of us who have worked with wood for any length of time knows it. I am not casting stones. I have treated, and even scrubbed, sodium hydroxide mixes into new wood to try and "age" it. Kind of works, but I knew then and now understand that it is detrimental to what we are trying in the long run to accomplish. For a couple of boards on the floor it is one thing. To advocate premature chemical aging of a balustrade constructed of new wood is another. Responsible wood contractors have a calling that is not overtly obvious to the customer. It should be our responsibility to preserve and if possible enhance the natural properties of wood. Short term "fixes" for color variation in new verses old wood are not acceptible if they damage the wood. Sodium hydroxide, especially on unstained wood, is without question damaging.

Ken, Did a large mahogany job a few years ago. Turned out the customer was a graphics designer. He redesigned my logo and a few other graphic jobs. The bill was reduced substantially and both of us were happy. My insurance agent is a customer. My accountant is a customer. My optrician is a customer, my mail carrier is a customer, my dentist is a customer. My neighbors are customers. Small business is local, local, and local.

Rob and Ken, Strongly disagree. Why beat the bejesus out of bare wood with sodium hydroxide? Sledgehammer where a tack hammer will do? Chemical aging? The sun and moisture is going to do enough damage to the wood over the years without giving it a boost. If there is a oil penetration problem, a light clean with sodium percarbonate will do. Adjust your stain tints to get close to the old wood. You know as well as I do that you will not exactly match color, so why beat up on the wood?