RPetry

Mike, Either your customer was not prepping the ipe' correctly, or using poor quality stain. The stain turning "dark" may be due to mold/mildew growth eating the linseed oil common in wood stains. Consumer grade oil stains often use cheap/ineffective or not enough mildewcide. And then applied a red acrylic on fine wood? Blasphemy. Dependent on climate and sun/moisture exposure, Armstrong-Clark or Ready Seal stains will last 7 - 12 months on ipe'. A light cleaning, re application, and you are good to go for another cycle.

Mike, The active ingredient in 633 ADD is ethylene glycol. It also contains water and some high molecular alcohol, whatever that is! In a pinch, you can purchase similar on line, go to: http://www.chemistrystore.com/Chemicals_A-F-Butyl_Cellosolve.html

Hi Mike, I would guess that ACR Booster is commonly used as an additive to roof mixes. As well as house wash mixes. It is a surfactant. I'm sure you ordered the correct product.

Mike, I'm not partial to red colored solid stains, but when I 1st saw your pics, my first impressions were: 1) the stain is in very good condition, and 2) the color kind of fits the house and actually looks good. What the customer could use is a good cleaning of the concrete and deck at the rear of the home. They are filthy!

Mike, No shame in that. Just starting out in wood restoration, most of us have taken more than one little no profit, or evem loss jobs. Comes with the learning territory. One trick is to carry a few strippers when doing estimates. 1st, it is easy to tell if you have a potential nightmare. 2nd, it becomes easy to know you can do the job with the knowledge and chems you know. 3rd if you are good with mostly clueless competitors, you can get well paid. Wood restoration is a lot different from house washing or concrete cleaning. In the right customer market, not price but quality oriented, it can be a good seasonal business. Get good and experienced, especially on difficult jobs, and you can do well. Hard part is you have to charge for the experience, knowledge, and effort. Takes a while. But you will become more than worth it.

Hi John, Our first working day this year was April 21st. If I recall correctly, our best starting day in 13 yrs. was March 20th! Very late start this year, but business is quite good. But then again, we are not pressure washers, only wood guys.

John, Ouch. My prayers to both you and your family. Hope all will be well. Rob is nowhere as good looking as your wife. A very poor substitute, but he is a very nice guy. See 'ya there!

Hey John, You are coming to the PWRA in Md.? Thought you had a vacation lined up. Great, wouldn't be the same without 'ya!

Hey Beth, I'm on for the PWRA in your neck of the woods in August. I think Diamond Jim is coming down to my home, and the two of us will be driving down in my Lotus. It will be a tight fit. And no room for luggage. We'll be the smelly ones come Sunday. Thad and crew put on a terrific event. Say hello and we'll take a spin. The car and I will do our best to make you scream.

Mike, No. Contractors may add it into their house wash mix, but it has no cleaning properties. It is just a surfactant. As I cannot post pics to TGS, the label says as follows: BOOSTER Surfactant System Activated For Hot Water Btw, in does work in cold water mixes.

Too funny. If I'm not being smoked, this is a PDF of an actual email to a customer. Hard to believe. Source protected. Ethnography survey email requesting participation Hello Valued Cus1omers! Do you have an outdoor deck or fence that you are planning to coat with a Transparent o~ernb '];:@§{l~t®tt'Ia~wood coating? We are looking for volunteers who are planning to apply an Oil Base Wood Stain or Finish and allow a team from Behrto observe and record the process for market research. Here's how it will work: • Most projects will take two days to complete and the project will need to be completed between June 27, 2015 and July 26, 2015. If you are selected, then you will be contacted by Behr to schedule a time for members from Behr to come to your project site and observe you completing the project. You will be required to purchase the materials; however, you will be awarded a financial incentive for your participation. 1.SUBMIT INFORMATION OF YOUR PROPOSED PROJECT FOR CONSIDERATION BY June 24, 2015: Your Name- Email address - • Phone number- • Test site address - • Mailing address (if different from test site) - • Square footage of deck or fence- Opacity of Oil Base coating planning to be applied- Transparent or Semi- Transparent • Approximate age and condition of deck - Submit photos of your intended project area - • Most deck projects take two days to complete. Please drcle the choice that best reflects your timing to complete the deck project: a. I will be available for two consecutive days during Monday through Friday or on weekend days. b. I wm only be available for one consecutive weekday and one weekend day. c. I will only be available to complete the deck project on two consecutive weekend days. Send your responses to Rick at rbautista@behr.com 2.3.4.5.NOTIFICATION. Those submitting their project information will be notified by June 26, 2015 if they have been selected to participate. SIGN AND RETURN. Participants will be required to sign a standard Field Test Agreement form at the time your project starts. SCHEDULE. The Behr team will work with you to schedule dates that will work best to observe the deck project being completed.. SELECT AND PURCHASE PRODUCT. If selected, the participants will be required to purchase the necessary supplies to complete their project (wood stain, applicators, etc.). Participants can select any brand of oil base wood stain or finish they desire. Jul 01 15 10:30a Hale 8472956420 p. 1 6. APPLY THE PRODUCT. The Behr team will visit your job site on the scheduled dates and observe you completing the project. During the project, you will be video recorded applying the product. You will also be asked to compJete a post-application survey and may be requested to submit pictures of your project at a later date. 7. BE REWARDED. For your participation, professional contractors that complete the project will receive $450 while DIY/homeowners will receive $250 for compleiing the project. Thank you for volunteering! Sincerely, The BehrTeam

Beth, If that wood is properly washed, I'm a Klingon! Well, my wife may agree... That wood is filthy. And from the 2 photos, it is a veritable mess.

Agree with Beth. That is going to be a very difficult strip. The Cabot's looks virtually new on the rear wall and little weathered on the front of the garage. We use ACR's sodium hydroxide stripper, which is similar to HD-80. I'd test first with a mix of 12 oz./gal. of stripper, 8 oz./gal. of 633ADD or similar, and a bit of surfactant, say 3 oz./gal. ACR sells Booster surfactant in gal. jugs. As you are dealing with vertical/overhead surfaces, the surfactant will add a bit of "cling" to your mix and also keep the mix wet a bit longer. You must keep the mix wet on the wood! Work on reasonable sized sections, adding mix as needed. Beth's suggestion of a stiff brush is probably going to be mandatory. Break the bond and apply more mix! Then keep wet with mist from your PW. Do a "scratch" test, it will tell you if the stain is ready to be washed off. It may take a while to dwell before it is ready to be removed. The wood is going to fir. Plan on a light sanding.

Beth, Yes, I should have been clear. Those stairs, and I'm assuming the attached deck, are horrible. Someone slopped what looks like a water based, probably acrylic, over extremely dirty wood. Shiny nightmare. Brad, Oxalic acid does not clean wood, only neutralizes and brightens wood previously cleaned with a caustic, ie: sodium percarbonate wood cleaners and sodium hydroxide wood strippers. That green is a puzzle.

Hi Casey, If you want to provide "first class, Rolls Royce" service, additional chems as follows. Lightly rinse off the chlorine bleach mix, blow off/squeegee excess water. Apply a sodium percarbonate wood cleaner, mixed at 6 oz./gal. of chem. Apply to all the wood, and wash with a bit of pressure, you can tell when it is clean just using a dual lance wand. Follow up with an acid neutralizer/brightener at 5 - 6 oz/gal. We use citric, oxalic also works. We do not rinse the acid, but, with very few exceptions, only use Ready Seal stain. Check with the manufacturer of the stain you plan to apply. I'd still test, this claimed "patina" has me stumped.

Have to disagree from the pics. Appears to be a foul water based stain applied to very dirty and not well prepared wood. Can be restored, but a lot of work and expensive chems. Someone messed up.

Casey, NO! Sorry, just got in from estimates. Think of it this way. 1 gallon of 12% chlorine bleach, in a bucket. Add one gallon of water and it is now 6%. Now you have 2 gallons of chlorine bleach at 6%. Add 2 gallons of water. Now you have 4 gallons of chlorine bleach at 3%. Take a breath. OK, 4 gallons of mix at 3%. Now add another 4 gallons of water. Wala! You now have 8 gallons of proper bleach mix ( 1.5% sodium hypochlorite) for wood! Add a bit of soap and stir. Killing mold/mildew on wood is easy, inexpensive, and effective. After drying, if it still is now up to snuff, you have another problem. IMO, anything stronger is a waste of chems and possibly bad for the wood. Very light pressure on the wand.

Hi Casey, A bit difficult to tell the condition of the white pine/"patina" as the wood appears wet in the picture. There does appear to be mold/mildew on the wood under the chairs/roof eave. Try a small test spot with a sodium hypochlorite (chlorine bleach) solution and a bit of soap. No more than 1 - 1.5% NaClO. Lightly scrub one or two passes with a soft brush and rinse off with no more than spigot hose pressure. It is the claimed "patina" that would concern me as a contractor.

Beth, This photo upload problem for long time, active members is ongoing for a year now. Please have that fellow from Maine check it out! Thanks.

Hey Rick, You do good wood work, you deserved and have earned the business. Why are so many men named "Rick" in Maine? Don't get it. Spent 2 late fall - early winters outside of Bangor, Maine helping my best friend build a new "camp". His neighbor in Eddington was Rick. I met more "Ricks" in Maine in 4 months than my entire lifetime! Odd. But OK. My grandfather was Fred, my father was Fred, I'm a Frederick but they decided to call me Rick to avoid confusion. Thank God!

Steve, Your timing could not be better. The PWRA is holding a national convention in your state next month, just outside of Washington, D.C. Well worth the effort and expense. Go to: http://thehugeconvention.com/

Anthony, Did one of these for a friend many years ago. For a re-paint. Old aluminum can be cleaned with low pressure, like killing mold and removing dirt. Otherwise, it's a crap shoot.

Mike, Fairly simple. A dry brush will remove 90% off the screens when dry. Blow off with a gas powered blower, or whatever the landscape guys call it.

Thad, Thanks for the post, been so busy forgot to book the room. Appreciate the heads up. This event is going to be a hoot. Cross post from PT State. Room rate of $189/night is terrific.

I have been blessed being within an hour's drive of ACR Products. Aside from a few odd chemicals, they have supplied all my needs for the past 13 years. Custom equipment, repairs, advice, Tom, Barbara, and crew have kept me in business.