RPetry

DJ, We just stripped and reapplied a WoodTux, WoodRich, WoodZotic, whatever, deck this week. Red mahogany, originally done 2 yrs. ago. The stain has dried without additional help, thank God. Stripped out well at 4 oz./gal. of NaOH and a bit of surfactant. Used the WoodZotic 50/50 mix of warm honey gold and brown sugar to restain. Pics forthcoming, just finished this afternoon.

Rick, Congrats on the purchase. You'll find the sprayer paying for itself in no time. We spray Ready Seal at ~ 50 PSI for deck floors, and dial it down to ~ 25-30 PSI for vertical wood. I don't know if the unit comes with an adjustable flow wand. If not you may want to purchase one from ACR or possibly SunBrite. We also use deep cycle marine batteries for the PumpTec. As it is a continuous cycle design, it needs a bit of power for heavy use. Garden tractor type batteries are used for Shurflo's.

Our local forecast today: Hazardous weather condition(s): Heat Advisory Air Quality Alert Hazardous Weather Outlook Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 100. Heat index values as high as 103. North northwest wind between 3 and 7 mph. --------------------------------- We'll be knocking off work by about noon today. There are conditions that require sensible judgement. If I refuse to work outside, I certainly don't want my help exposed to hell on earth.

Adrian, If wood working, Shurflo's are good for applying chems. Had this unit for years with a single pump. Tom of ACR installed dedicated dual Shurflo's with separate seals for caustics and acids. With a 15 gal. tank, this portable unit kicks butt in applying chems. One other advantage is that if one pump goes, you have an already installed backup. Saves time on the job and labor costs. And they will die, I keep one of each type in stock.

Adrian, No, it is the original Decker 5'er manufactured by PumpTec about 7 years ago. The pump itself has never been rebuilt. We only use it to apply stain, specifically Ready Seal stain. Aside from mineral spirits for winterizing, RS is the only liquid that pump has ever seen.

Pete, See the two attached pics in the message above your latest ...

Joe, Nothing to be proud of. I have too much time on my hands. Eight years of almost exclusively using the stain helps. And a RS logo on your truck and link on your website is also a plus.

Pete, Like you, here in NJ redwood is quite rare. We have only worked on 2 redwood decks in the past nine years. In many respects the wood is similar to western red cedar. If you have to do a hard stripping and/or sanding, consider using Ready Seal's #80 brightener to suppress the tannins that will come to the surface. Otherwise ox, citric or a combo should be OK, just add some surfactant to get the brightener down into the wood. I have heard that regular Ready Seal is usually fine for redwood. I did not take a chance on our two jobs and used the redwood only formula. You may want to call Peirce, I think they may have dropped the product line this year. Here are two pics of "old growth" redwood stained with Ready Seal redwood only formula, medium red color.

Joe, The unit may be black, but it is pure gold. Actually these pumps are $ green, you just can't see the color. Your business bank account will.

Isaac, The Deckster or Decker 5'er units use a Pumptec pump, a different design from Shurflo or Delavan. It is a continuous flow type and the pressure can be adjusted, as opposed to an on demand, start and stop operation. This design is ideal for spraying exterior stains, as the pump continuously mixes your stain and spray pattern and flow amount at the gun is easily adjusted.

Rick, Give Tom Vogel of ACR a call Monday morning. He often has used Deckster/Decker 5'er (s) for sale.

I'm getting too old for this. Cedar pergola stained with Cabot's Clear Solution, black as night, has to be stripped. Lots of fun, walking topside on 2 x 4's covered with stripper, applying from down below, with NaOH dripping down onto your head. Washing every sq. inch of this sucker, then applying an acid which you hope does not get into your eyes. But its worth it. Red mahogany below, real nice customers, and a very cool pool!

Jon, We do a lot of cutting in by hand. About a foot and a half away from the walls/roof. Then its spray time with the PumpTec.

Joe, I am assuming that you are referring to Ready Seal natural cedar color stain. It can look a bit "orange" on WRC at first, but tones down a bit in a few weeks. Here are a few pics of RS natural cedar on WRC. Should be a fairly good complement to the house stain.

Jon, With percarbs, we mix our citric down to about 4 - 6 oz. / gal. dependent on the wood. Have never seen a problem with paint old or new, but maybe my customers are not so observant. If it was old paint I'd say you just cleaned it, but with good high quality new paint, I do not have a clue.

Beth, Disagree. Working on that much wood on a premier lake = $.

DJ, Ouch! That is your choice in the Great North Woods of the Beautiful Canada? What ever works for you. God Bless the United States of America!

Don't laugh. Someone in L.A. made a fortune years ago. The service? Naked ladies house cleaning. No joke.

Rob, We use a Decker 5'er with the PumpTec pump.

Vincent, Want to trade for a wood business in NJ? Bahamas sounds nice right around now...

Rob, Nice job. With older PT wood, 100 sq. ft. / gal. of Ready Seal is just about right, the first time you restore a deck. At the 2 yr. maintenance point, expect anywhere from 140 - 170 sq. ft. per gal.

Mike, Unless you applied the Penofin for Hardwoods to your ipe' 3 times in the first year, you did not perform "proper" application. Per their instructions, for their product on hardwoods, Penofin states that after initial application, Repeat this application within 3-6 months and again within 10-12 months. For more info, go to: Application of Exterior Penofin | Penofin Penetrating Oil Finishes and Wood Stain

Escape from pergolatory. Finally finished. Stain is Ready Seal medium red on the cedar pergola and mahogany deck.

Mike, Nice result. Those 2 tone jobs are a lot of work but sure look good.

Keith, Very nice job for a first timer, especially as the wood was stripped. Watch it, that was how I fell into the business. Did my deck, then the neighbor, then the neighborhood, ... Nine years later, still working wood. That job would fall under our minimum, ie: $500 plus material costs.