RPetry

If you are from the west coast or New York City, possibly. Very touchy-feely for contractors, how about a new thread, "lets bash Hillary Clinton?". Now that would be fun...

Ken, I posted a question last month about NaOH and Trex as the job you see in the picture had to be stripped of old stain on the cedar balustrade and PT fascia. Everett Abrams of Deck Restoration Plus was kind enough to call me and discuss Trex. I believe he has worked with them sometime in the past. Everett offered the info but it is possible I misunderstood something. In practice it may not matter. Anyone have any customers that have had warranty work paid by Trex and the composite was cleaned by other chems?

Good morning Beth, I'm on my third cup of java and ready to go. By chance instead of design, I have always used straight sodium percarbonate on the few Trex decks that I maintain. It seems to work well, takes the mold and mildew off nicely, and brightens up the surface a bit. This picture is a job I did earlier this spring and is the 2nd time the Trex has been cleaned with percarb. Trex is 8 yrs. old and had 3 yrs. of dirt and mildew, but cleaned up ok for a composite. Have not run into the notorious tannin bleed issue yet.

Not sure if it matters as Trex does not seem to stand by their product and honor warranties. I was advised last month that using any cleaner other than sodium percarbonate voids the Trex 10 year warranty for the homeowner.

Greg, Welcome back! Starting out as a newbie, that's a laugh. Something about wood is hard to walk away from, don't know what it is. Business is good but it is Spring. Ask me during the dog days of August! A pleasant surprise to hear from you again, keep those stain soaked tarps out of that hot van! There was a valuable lesson that helped a lot of us! See 'ya.

Ouch! Dark brown no less. I've dripped Ready Seal on Trex before but never had a large spill. Hope Ken is right and the stain is not noticeable. It sounds like you did the right thing with materials on hand. With Ready Seal, I always have a spray bottle of Simple Green on hand. Seems no matter what the surface, including concrete, Simple Green will get the RS off if you douse the area well and scrub a bit with a hard bristle brush. Most important is that you clean off the RS as soon as the mishap occurs. Never tried it on a large spill on Trex. If the stain still shows, you could try the Simple Green, scrubbing, and rinsing with water a few times.

Neil, Ditto on what Ken suggested. Test and see if sodium percarb will remove the old stain. If not, Shane had a good approach. See if you can determine if the white vertical wood is an oil based, latex, or a foul acrylic stain. A diluted mix of sodium hydroxide stripper will probably have little effect on latex and most certainly will not touch an acrylic.

Greg R. of the old DeckGuide board? Greg, check out your old site, it has been revamped. I learned a lot about wood there years ago and want you to know it is appreciated.

Doug, Watch your pockets. You get into Tom's shop and the goodies will drive you crazy! Have not left there without twice as much as I came for. All good quality stuff and very good people to do business with.

Unless it is a referral and a small simple PT or WRC job, I do not do estimates without one of the homeowners present. Strippers are tested (if needed), measurements are taken, and I spend time with the customer. Show pictures, talk about their work and interests, etc. Give them time and me time to know each other a bit. Never a hard sell. At some point a ballpark figure is mentioned for their consideration. A detailed estimate including cover letter follows, usually by email, within the next few days. Otherwise, postal. I voted "other".

Mike, Back to Nature has a web site, so does Biowash which is actually Napier Environmental Technologies out of B.C., Canada. Do a google search. I cannot get Removall locally. BTN BFS II is available to me at an industrial supply warehouse in the area and the manufacturer is no more than 25 miles from my home, but that does not help you in Ga.

Neil, On test stripping spots when doing an estimate, if water is readily available and convenient, I'll rinse off by pouring water from a cup or container. Otherwise, I just spray a little citric acid on the stripper to neutralize. If you need pressure to judge whether a test stripper is working or not, either the test mix is too weak or you are using the wrong type of stripper for the finish.

Good morning Beth, Hope it helps Cudas. I am sure there was nothing in my post that you and Rod did not already know.

Cudas, To add what Beth has posted, in my truck is a set of spray bottles with various concentrations of sodium hydroxide strippers. Included in this stripper test kit is Biowash's Stripex-L, a stripper formulated for latex coatings, and other specialty strippers, including Back to Nature's BFS II, a stripper that will remove nearly anything, including multiple layers of foul acrylics. If a normal mix of NaOH stripper starts to emulsify or removes the finish within 15 minutes, it is with high confidence an oil based stain. Latex is different. If the finish is peeling in places, remove a piece and try to stretch and feel its properties. If it is a bit like rubber, it is probably a straight latex. Stripex-L should start working within maybe 20 minutes. Foul acrylics will also peel off exterior wood. This is one of this finish's most endearing properties. Take a piece and examine. If it is hard and brittle, not rubbery, and has a "shine" to it, the stain may be a foul acrylic. Put on a thick dab of BFS II and check back in 10 hrs.

Doug, That slice in the 2nd set of pictures sure looks like cedar. If it is, your customer may have paid extra for "clear" cedar, it is a grade of cedar without knots.

Jimmy, I know that some series of TWP stains are Amteco base stock, which is paraffinic oil, the same oil as Ready Seal. Do not know the details of the 200 series. You could combine a small quantity of the two and give a stir. Allow to sit overnight and see if there is separation. Might reveal a clue or two. Don't think I'd test it on a paying customer's deck though.

Roger, You think that is old, you should meet me! I think it dates from at least WWII and refers to the navy issuing limes to help prevent scurvy. Sounds like a potential business venture to me.

Tim, One thing you must know, us colonials are very parochial. Most of us know next to nothing about the outer world. Case in point. Is "limey" any better? See what I mean, we do not even know an acceptible term for citizens of our mother country. That must be true throughout the world. Human nature. That is one reason I prefer dogs. English Springer Spaniels by the way! Very good for killing mold and mildew, make sure to add a bit of dishwashing soap for a surfacant (helps lift off the dirt). If there is no current oil in the furniture wood that you want to preserve or another type of stain, I would prefer a sodium percarbonate wood cleaner followed by an acid "bath". Really brightens up the wood, and is especially good when applying light colored or clear stains. However, it seems that our UK cousins are lacking in the wood preparatiion products we have available in the States.

Roger, You Brits are a country full of gardeners. Those crazy privets sculptured into mazes, estates manicured to perfection, etc. Here in upper middle class America, things are much different. People may talk a good line, being "green" and for some of the more wacky environmental causes. But if their neighbor's wood looks better than theirs, chemicals be damned, do whatever is necessary. Many are the same people that bemoan global warming, air pollution, and the increasing price of petrol, yet drive their monster SUV's with abandon. It is very amusing.

Doug, Without question. Ask Tom Vogel of ACR. He has fabricated custom wands and extensions for me. The guy can plumb almost anything.

Cudas, Go to the local Sherwin Williams store and ask for their stripping product for their foul acrylic stain. Make sure to get in writing that if the product does not completely strip the stain, you get your money back. I am afraid that you will be sorely disappointed. These manufacturers are selling stain that they cannot remove. Shameful. I agree with Ken's previous advice. Why knock yourself out, charge the customer a ton of money, only to put another opaque solid stain on the wood? Any wood "contractor" who puts these foul acrylics on exterior decks without priming, particularly horizontal wood, deserves to spend eternity in woodcare hell, stripping with a hot NaOH mix on hands and knees without kneepads and with a brush without gloves.

Doug, Left picture, almost sure is cedar, but sub species, I would not know. James Foley might be more accurate, he is very knowledgeable about cedars. Right pic looks like cleaned ipe or maybe redwood? If you can mark it with a fingernail, redwood. Too hard, ipe. Another clue might be what looks like stainless steel fasteners. If SS nails, redwood, if SS screws, ipe. Just guesses, cannot be definitive without a slice and a hand lens.

Doug, I was referring to Neil Ashville's post ... This is the unit carried by ACR. With a deep cycle marine battery, you can spray for days before a recharge. The adjustable flow gun is in my opinion necessary for applying stains efficiently. The powder coating on the frame is more durable and the extra hose length useful. I only use the decker 5'er for stains, it has never pumped anything except Ready Seal. Shurflo setups apply chemicals.

Doug, Tom and Barbara Vogel of ACR in Easton, Pa. sell the Decker 5'er, the "better" unit that Neil Ashville described on the second post on this thread. They also service just about anything, carry a full line of chems and Ready Seal stain, and have parts and misc. equipment for virtually anything to do with pressure washing. Very nice people to do business with. I have had mine going on three years and it is the most valuable piece of equipment I own. ACR can be reached at (610) 253-8005 or http://www.acrproducts.com

Is always Kentucky Derby day! NBC will be airing the race which goes off a little after 6:00 PM today. ESPN has the complete undercard coverage. 2nd to the Breeders Cup, this is a terrific day of racing with premier horses in nearly every race. Do not know if there are any horse racing fans on this board but for fun, lets bet a hypothetical $30 on the Derby. Entries with morning line odds can be found here... http://www.drf.com/entries/06/eCD06.html?rn=790530 The Kentucky Derby is race #10 on the card today at Churchill Downs. Exotics, win, place, show bets are accepted. If anyone plays and actually shows a profit (or the least loss!), they get a complimentary membership to Shane and Jame's BDA! I'm off to Phila. Park to visit some old friends and wager a bit of the undercard. I will post my selections later.