RPetry

Beth, I think Philip's post was a bit of "tongue in cheek". Know mine was. I opinined against that idea when first proposed. Open source, open communication. Freedom. The masses are just beginning to wake up. No more proprietary secrets and BS marketing.

Kevin, You are either a walking encyclopedia or know what you are talking about. More than suspect the latter. Please stick around on TGS, us woodies need people like you. Larry, I agree. If it was my wood, I'd be happy for a season. I like the coloring of the deck. But it is not my deck. Yesterday, I advised waiting for a year then let me at it.

Kevin, Ok, got 'ya. You are right about RS, the stain kind of "sheets" rain instead of beading or puddling. Not sure it makes any difference on wood as long as it is keeping the moisture out of the wood. What is vct? I'm a dummy.

Hah! Philip claims: You mind emailing me the secret password? I got enough pent up ranting and raving to choke a horse.Clarification: Not about Philip. Best humor on this board. His "reasons edited" comments alone are worth a through search and time going through recent posts. All are good, some are side-splitting!

Makita 9227C with 3M pads for defurring, touch up. Have yet to try the osbourne brushes or McMaster-Carr spinoffs but will soon. I'm with Larry on sanding, but I never use anything finer that 60 grit on exterior wood. But thats because I use a penetrating stain.

Daniel, Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing. Just looking at the oxalic ipe' and touching it, seems to be almost more "porous" or degraded on the surface compared to the citric side. Almost like some of the lignin was removed. I'm sure thats not the case but is the best way I can describe it. The camera was in the truck and I was too lazy to get it. But the different drying rates was real apparent.

Larry, The wood is red mahogany which does have a natural light red coloring to it. If you look at the last picture of the post, underneath the handrail, something similar to that. But man, this wood is just real high quality. Looks like the contractor hand selected boards for grain, trueness, etc. 2 yrs. ago, the cost of the deck was ~60K. She saw the wood wet after the painting co. had pressure washed it. You know how hardwoods look then, their natural color but a bit darker and deeper. I believe that is what she is looking for. Charlie, Maybe, I don't know squat about water based stains. But the finish is very brownish now, nowhere close to the natural color of red mahogany.

Rod, I think I still have some 633-HF around, will have to look. Do have 45 lbs. of ACR's 760 NaOH stripper, so if I can't get the customer to wait a year, will use that. Waking up on a bar floor, HAH! Been decades. Had a friend in Steamboat Springs, Co. fall asleep outside in the dead of winter against the outside back wall of the Tugboat Saloon. Found him the next morning still passed out and covered with about 10 inches of fresh snow.

Daniel & Kevin, Update. Rained a ton here yesterday, by afternoon it stopped and the ipe' started drying out. Interesting note. The citric ipe' area was drying much faster and extensively than the oxalic ipe'. Big difference, like the citric ipe' handrail was ~ 60% dried in area while the oxalic was just beginning to show a few dry spots. Weather is still iffy, but today may get over 50F. I've got a ton of real, paying job staining to do, but will try and get a first app. of Ready Seal stain into the ipe' this afternoon. If I can get to it, I'll post a few pictures.

John, Thats my gut feeling and was relayed to the customer. I think the wood looks ok but then again, its not my deck. Told her it will be easier to service in a year when the water based stain is weathered. Due to about an inch of rain yesterday, it was difficult to judge the stain job and coloring. This house is only 1/4 mi. from my home so I'm going to stop back for another look when dry. Kevin, you said: Can you say this in another way, I have no idea what you mean.

Ken, Man oh man, that stinks. Wasn't Monday your birthday? Concussions can be a bit disconcerting but broken ribs are real painful and take time to heal. You can wrap but they still hurt. Good pain pills and another worker. You can still sell! Get well soon and hope you are feeling better.

Rod & Jarrod, Thanks for the guidance. When you say full strength, 8 oz/gal or stronger? Once and if I get the particular stain product used, I'll repost with the info. Never tried to strip a waterbourne stain less than maybe 18 months old and only a handful of them.

Kevin, Yeah, the Ready Seal website could use an overhaul. Has not been changed in years. But on the other hand, either has the stain. Think the formulation is at least 10 yrs. old, maybe more. Even with the recent VOC regs here in the NE and Ca., I think RS did not have to change a thing. Has a long track record and is just a joy to work with. Have tried quite a few over the years, and it is by far the best, easiest, and most customer satisfying stain I know of. To give you an idea of some of the colors, attached is a pic I took the other day of samples on 8 yr. old knotty western red cedar that was stripped then brightened with citric acid. From left to right, light brown, natural cedar, medium brown, and medium red.

Jim, I'll be looking at it today at 5:00 PM. If it looks weird or doesn't strip, I'll take a picture and email you. You are keeping a running total on consulting fees I assume. Is my credit still good? Hah!

Jim, BDA'd, like that. New word. Hope you didn't kill the lignin!

Sir James says: Hey Jim, cold and rainy enough for 'ya? Man, this April is brutal so far. Glad to hear, as this customer is due for a maintenance this August. It is a real nice wood, wish I had more of it to work on. Probably be calling you soon. Have a 60K mahogany deck to look at late today and the lady is in a panic. Called yesterday and said there is white stuff all over the wood? Some painting co. apparently screwed it up last year.

Redwood, especially this old growth, is a treasure. Reminds me of real good cedar, but even better. In this area it is very rare. 5 yrs. in the business and it is the only redwood deck I have seen, let alone worked on.

Kevn, The stain is 3 years old and needs replenishing. It is Ready Seal medium red and once I maintenance stain it, will be much darker. This deck gets a ton of sun all day long, though there is a small maple nearby. I know as this townhouse is 3 doors down from my home and we both face the same, identical direction.

Kevin, No, I don't think so. The tannins in the wood, if present in quantity, will immediately come to the surface and look black. Remember, this redwood was 25 years old. Think it may be more the condition of the vertical wood verses horizontal wood due to weathering than anything else. In this other photo, you can see the difference between the benches and floor.

Shane, Lucky dog. It is currently 43F. here and has rained about an inch this morning. Even if you have to use a brush because of the wind, you can still work. April in NJ can be difficult at times.

Rod, Thats a good loop radar. Like the interactive scale setting. Bookmarked.

Rod, Were you using the "old" ATO that you had in stock or the new VOC compliant stuff? Reason I ask is that the old ATO had that tung oil in it that made it very difficult to strip. Edges of my own ipe' deck are still discolored after a hard strip last spring, allowed to weather naturally for a year, and a hard percarb cleaning last weekend. I will not stain real hardwoods until temps are above 50F and no rain is forecast for 2 days. Even with RS.

John, I voted for "Members Bulletin Board open partially to non members" My real choice was not listed. It would be full and open access to everyone, members, interested contractors, and the public. Any org. wants and should market their wares. "Hiding" behind PR and copy, while being "exclusive" in access and a policy of strict information control, does not fly in today's open source, open information internet world. As an example, my website provider, A Small Orange, is a small company down in Atlanta, Ga. They have a separate bulletin board that anyone, shoppers, users, employees, whomever can read and join to post. The content and open policy of their board was one of the primary reasons I decided to select them as my web hosting service. Any org. also has in house stuff that should be kept in house. This is easily accomplished by an unpublished sub-domain bulletin board that authenticates members only. Here the BOD, management, and members can hash out org. business.

Kevin, Attached is a picture of Ready Seal medium red on a 25 yr. old, old growth redwood deck. With parafinnic oils, you have to be careful with redwood. The penetrating quality of the oil can literally push the redwood tannins to the surface. If the wood is prepped correctly, it happens in a second. Can't miss it. Happened on this wood with a test spot. This is the Ready Seal "Redwood Only" formulation. Newer, young growth redwood harvested today does not seem to have the tannins, resins, whatever in quantity as old growth. Parafinnic oils such as Bakers Gray Away, TWP 100 series, or regular Ready Seal would all be fine stains for the wood.

Daniel, Finally got above 50F this afternoon for a few hours. Got the acids on the ipe'. Both mixed at 6 oz.(liquid volume) per gal. of water. Citric mixed in cold water, oxalic in warm water. Dwell time was 15 minutes for both the oxalic and citric. Both were rinsed twice, very well, with a garden hose. Pictures follow: http://windsorwoodcare.com/images/bboard_photos/dscf0028.jpg Containers of acid at the dividing line of installed gate. Oxalic on left, citric on right. Gate itself is citric. Note the color difference of the ipe'. http://windsorwoodcare.com/images/bboard_photos/dscf0029.jpg Closeup of oxalic treated ipe'. http://windsorwoodcare.com/images/bboard_photos/dscf0030.jpg Linear shot down the test handrail 2 x 6. Oxalic on the bottom, citric on the top of the photo. Note the fine photography with the camera strap in the picture. What is valuable, look at the difference in the ipe'. Jim Foley was right. http://windsorwoodcare.com/images/bboard_photos/dscf0031.jpg Close up of citric treated ipe'. I do not like the ipe' coloring of the oxalic treatment. The wood looks false, almost a slight brownish tint that hides the grain. It does not look right. Again, Jim Foley was correct. It is very different from the citric treated wood. When I can stain is an open question. But its ipe' and dries in a flash.