RPetry

Ken, Its not a different business model. Its common sense and the right equipment.

Ken, I am going on 9 yrs. in this deck business. If you prep right, in 95% of the jobs, trans oxide stains are not a problem. The finished job is more than the customer paid for. We do not sand most jobs, its easy. Flood the wood with as much baby oil as possible. Easy.

Jon, That's cause you use crappy stain! Hah! Welcome back, good to see you here.

Yup. Too many waste time and money on plastic prepping. Its not needed, necessary, or a sign of good work. At least for simple decks. All staining takes is a little common sense, experience with an HLVP sprayer, and some care in application. Anything else is just fluff for an at home customer, or gee wiz inexperience.

+10. If you are going to keep going in the business, and doing right by your customers and their wood, I'm on board with self made stains. Otherwise, good night.

Jon, That takes a big man to post. May the powers that be bless you.

Ken, Why would that be? Care to explain?

Beth, Hah! Real woodies against the rest of the PW world! Love it.

Yes. While PW the outside spindles, ~ 3 ft. of the deck floor gets stripped as well. At least on an easy strip job. No. With the right equipment, care, decent help, and training, there is no need for plastic or tarps on vertical wood not to be stripped. Masonite boards work well, with a 5 minute hand application or stripper next to the vertical wood. Charlie, We use basically the same method with tarps and staining. Well, maybe not. Small and large jobs get sprayed from the outside in without tarps. Mind you, we use Ready Seal, that does not "lap". Again, the first 3 ft. of the deck horizontal surface gets the "extra" RS stain. No problem. Small jobs get the inside balustrade done by hand. Large, long balustrade jobs get the tarp. Chems are not the worst thing for plants, oil based stains are. The tarp gets stapled again to the outside of the balustrade and then you can spray away and back brush to your heart's content.

Only if you find satisfaction in spraying plastic.

Nice find Scott. Terrific. Might as well let wood rot, and replace it. Oh no! What about the spotted owl? Welcome to another gov't asinine nightmare.

Sorry Charlie, Hah! Wonder how many remember that tuna marketing campaign? I'm gettin' old... The canvas tarp is completely removed after spraying stripper from the inside of the balustrade. You can see it laying on the floor to the right of Oscar. His real name is Mike but I give all my kiddles a nickname. Don't ask.

Charlie, Yes. A heavy canvas tarp is set on the outside of the balustrade. Stripper is applied by a Shurflo pump and spray wand from the inside. The tarp is removed. Stripper is then applied to the outside spindles and fascia, and a fair amount gets on the deck floor, about 3 ft. in. The tarp is then removed. Stripper is hand applied to the top rail. Keeps bushes, plants, and flowers healthy.

Beth, There is only one "spot" that counts. Hah!

Beth, If I could get 8" or 10" natural bristle, high quality brushes, I'd buy 'em. After all, and as a certified wood minx, you gotta' know, bigger is better! Hah!

Pat, To be honest, I think natural cedar on cedar is a bit too close to an orange color. It is stunning, but you have to like it. Much prefer Ready Seal light brown on western red cedar, shown in the knotty cedar picture attached.

Rick, As Ken's picture above shows, spot sanding on ipe' is verboten. When stripping or cleaning an ipe' deck, the first time only, a quick 60 grit sanding is really required for an even, attractive finish. Here is an ipe' job we completed this morning. First pic is of a Messmer's finish, applied 2 weeks ago, that is firred, along with a ton of wand marks. The handyman that did the work obviously had no idea or clue. We easily stripped off the Messmer's and went to work. All ipe' was lightly sanded with 60 grit, random orbitals on the steps and floor, and sanding pads on the top rail. Two separate oilings by hand brushing. Stain is Ready Seal natural cedar, still a bit wet in spots in the last picture.

Ken, For cutting in close or real detailed work, we use the high quality 2 1/2" "cut" bristle brushes. These last near forever. For heavy back brushing with the sprayer, we use the 6" straight bristle brushes, they run around $16 to $20. When, and they do often get "hairy" from hard use, a few swipes of a brush comb straighten out the bristles. Try to store them flat. We actually wear down the bristles over about two years use and toss 'em. Adrian, When using Ready Seal, we never clean our brushes. Just maybe comb them and store them flat. Nothing lazy about it, parafin oil does not cure, and the brushes remain in great condition for the season. After all, baby oil is non drying!

Ken, Never thought of it, but that makes sense. If you are using a curing oil, brushes have to be cleaned after each use. Labor and mineral spirits are not cheap. We almost exclusively use parafin oil. The HLVP stain sprayer gets cleaned once a season, for winter storage. Same with the brushes, unless they are used for a solid oil or A-C.

If cleaned regularly and taken care of, a high quality brush will last for a few years. We usually spray stain, but back brush, so our brushes get a lot of use. Purdy, Wooster, or other high quality china bristle brushes are what we use.

Rick, If the wand marks are superficial and have not actually damaged the surface of the wood, staining will likely cover up the marks. Otherwise, a light sanding with a random orbital and 60 grit should do the trick.

Daniel, Because that is what I like to do. That is what I am interested and good at. If I had to wash a home or clean concrete to make ends meet, I'd be in another business.

Diamond Jim, Wood Tux. It can be applied to wet wood!

Too many contractors complain and bemoan the fact of "low-ball, hack", beer guzzling, non-professionals in this business. In wood care, we get them too. Their shoddy work can be a source of new business. We get a fair amount of "do over" business. This is the worst I have seen in a while, reference the attached picture. Four month old, 420 sq. ft. ipe' deck. Prepped and stained by some "wanna be" contractor three weeks ago. Stain is Messmer's, but the prep and application is the problem. Poor customer. Not only did he pay this joker, now he will be paying us guessing 3 times that amount to fix it and do the job right. "Hacks" can be good for business.

Oscar, hand brushing the first of two RS natural cedar oilings on the ipe' floor. Handymen and DIY homeowners have neither the experience, energy, or tenacity to prep and stain ipe' correctly.