RPetry

Rod, I know, all in fun! I've been lucky with my elbow so far this year, have not needed a cortisone shot. But ya' just know its going to come back.

Kevin, I am afraid to ask, but here goes. What is a nude furniture store?

Funny, cedar knots are the opposite.

Voted "Oils are just as good as they used to be" We use Ready Seal stains. No change in the product. Was VOC compliant before there was a change.

Charlie, Yeah, in the South you may not get as many "exotic" jobs. Over the past few years, we have been working on a lot more mahogany. Most of it real mahogany, some of it Asian knockoffs. Seems to be getting more popular around these parts. What recession? People are spending a fortune for high end decks in this part of Central NJ. Love to work on the good woods but it is odd, PT SYP is still the best money maker for us.

Kevin, You must be able to read my mind. Was close to doing just that. The only reason I contributed to ESI coffers was the job was sold on that WoodZotic look. BTW, we do not use stir sticks for stain. We use Ready Seal. Finished that WRC job with A-C rustic brown last week. Have pics and comments, but just has to wait for a while. So busy, have not reconciled the past 2 months of bank statements.

Hi Rod, Tired of wood yet? It's only early June and I am beat to a pulp. Afraid the old diatribe, aka. "Now you see it, now you don't" is nonsense. At least for those that prep the wood right, have and know how to use a moisture meter, and do not go cheap on stain quantity.

Hah! Thats a good one. Think I'll find a Wicca coven, more appropriate. Do my absolutions on All Hallows Eve. That was around the time last year when WT finally dried on ipe'!

Charlie, True mahogany is not a "hardwood" like teak or ipe'. If the wood is more than a year old or so and exposed to weather, it will take a good amount of paraffinic oil stain. So will ipe' if left to age without stain. We have RS mahogany jobs doing just fine at the 2 year mark. Ask Jim Foley. Or Peirce Fitchett. Or Don M?. Or Matt Johnson. Or Tom Vogel. Or even Beth 'n Rod. They know.

Matthew, Not true, at least here in NJ. Ipe' yes, real mahogany no. Every two years with RS. Yeah, RS is kind of dull looking when applied. But if you do it right, you call back customers on the 2nd anniversary.

Matthew, Great. Now someone tells me. This is a 2.3K job. WT will not last more than a year on mahogany in NJ? Where the frick is Russell. Hello? Help me here. Its all Ken's fault. A picture of WoodZotic on ipe' sold the job. I'm going to church and pray.

We are "newbies" with Wood Tux. Used it once 3 1/2 yrs. ago on PT, and again last year on ipe'. Maybe the 3rd time is the charm. Red mahogany 1 x 6 elevated deck. Built in October 2006 for 68K. Stained with some type of water based stuff by a painting co. in April of 2007. Got a call 3 weeks later. Stain was very "blotchy" and uneven. Advised the customer to allow it to weather for a year and call us. Closed the job in mid-April this year and started stripping this afternoon. No problem stripping. Customer wants the "look" of a mahogany-PT deck next door. Do not know who did the next door job or with what stain, but it has that "Wood Tux" or more accurate, "WoodZotic" look. Emailed a pic of WZ on ipe' we did last year with the caveat of different species, etc. Have 2 5'ers of WT due in tomorrow when mixed will approximate the pigment of WZ. BTW, thank you Scott Paul of the Sealer Store. Same day shipping and tracking #'s emailed immediately. Two questions. First, we will brighten/neutralize with citric acid at 6 oz./gal. Should we rinse off the citric after it has done its' job? Second question. This is real mahogany, not the South Asian wannabe's. What is the proper application method? And how many apps? Being use to using RS on all woods, our usual process in one heavy on the vertical wood and two separate apps on the horizontal wood and stair risers. After buffing out all the mahogany with a Makita and 3M pads, have been planning on using lambswool to hand apply the WT to all surfaces. Any advice and suggestions are welcomed. Thanks.

Matthew, Hah, I'm about due for a major infraction and point penalty on TGS! Just got a shipment of 10 gals. in today of WT for a mahogany job. Third try, maybe it will last more than a year.

Beth, Hah, my little wood minx! Wait for the next 10. Coming up when the frosted mugs cool a bit longer in the freezer! Just kidding. Your servant,

Beth, We have both. The Decker 5'er is reserved exclusively for Ready Seal. Will not put any other stain or any chemicals through the pump. Has not seen anything other than RS for 5 yrs. and is as new as the day I bought it. The airless is a huge old Binks SuperBee monster. Works very well, just hate to use it. It has only seen solid Cabot oil stains. Heavy, a pain to load/unload from the truck, and to clean out. Can we not achieve an even coat of WT with careful use of natural bristle brushes? Thanks.

Sorry Daniel. The thought of getting rid of excess mineral spirits on a customer's lawn was too much to ignore. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions. Let me see if I have this right. Rinse off the citric acid. As Kevin mentioned, one single application of WT to both the deck floor and vertical wood is correct? Next, for the floor, brush in a good amount of WT with china bristles, allow to soak for a bit, then wipe up any puddles or excess with a lambswool pad. I assume the mineral spirits part is for "cleaning" the lambswool pad, not for rubbing into the newly laid WT stain. Is this correct? Again, thanks.

Thank you Beth. Thought I was having a brain aneurysm or 30 yr. flashback or something.

Daniel, Wait a minute, do what? I know WT is a bit difficult to work with, but do my helper and I need to chant incantations while performing an Indian dance? Shaking mineral spirits over a customer's lawn is not in our customers' or our best interest or practice.

Finished a nice knotty cedar job yesterday and the customer asked a question I cannot answer. Can anyone recommend a better quality, well manufactured composite decking material? Customer wants a deck built for a 2nd home in Southern Vermont and does not want the maintenance of wood. Thanks.

Len, Thank you very much. I passed on your message, verbatim, to my cedar customer. Very good information. Thanks again.

Many a DIY homeowner can, even when restoring wood. Have had more than a few out of state calls over the years, asking how to refinish their wood. Via email and pictures, have seen some outstanding wood work by mere mortals.

Matt, The deck in Daniel's pictures is built with pressure treated wood, most likely Southern Yellow Pine. This is the predominant deck wood used on the East coast and down South. Western Red Cedar is a much more expensive wood, relatively soft and light in weight, and loaded with tannin, similar in many respects to redwood. Picture attached is "clear" WRC prepped and ready for staining.

Charlie, We just finished a cedar deck with A-C in Rustic Brown, our first time using the stain. Have not yet taken finished pics. Gotta' go to work in a few minutes, but a couple of answers. What kind of coverage did you get? On western red cedar, ~ 200 sq. ft. / gal. Where to purchase it? Directly from Armstrong-Clark in Calif. Call or order from their website. Whats the viscosity of the oil? Just a touch thicker than Ready Seal. A lot more pigment.

Cripes, I own an ipe' deck! Why didn't I think of that?

Ken, Yeah, the deck boards look to be 2 x 6. The only redwood we see in these parts are those cheesy hot tub enclosures, with the panels ~ 1/8" thick.