bigchaz

Heres the thing there are no alternatives to bleach. You could try sodium percarbonate or some other oxidizer but it won't clean as good and youll need to use pressure.
If a customer calls you to do a service there needs to bea faith in there that you are the professional and can be trusted to do things right. Unless you sell yourself as a day laborer what you provide customers is knowledge, experience, and results. Seems like thia customer doesn't want any of that. I would pass. And since the house will most likely not get as clean you are setting yourself up for more problems down the road when they are not happy
If their last landscaper ran over a flower bed with a lawn mower would you be ok with them asking you to cut the lawn with a scissor?
Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk

Yes you can use a bucket and scrub brush to put the percarb on as well. I would go with the pump up, unless it's a huge deck it won't be too bad. Try to work in the shade and it won't dry out so quick. When you mix your percarb, do it in a 5 gallon bucket stir well and wait 10-15 minutes for it to settle down before pouring it into the pump up sprayer. If you pour in the sprayer right away it could over pressurize the sprayer and burst.

1) you can't mix bleach and percarb
2) using extra oxalic doesn't cause you to use twice as much stain

Hi HomeDIYGuy, it is kind of confusing but by formulation the Armstrong Amber is considered a Semi-Transparent. However...and this is where it can be confusing, the Amber is designed to look like a transparent stain. So the benefit is that you get the appearance of a transparent that shows the wood grain very well but you get the protection of a semi transparent stain which holds up longer. This is because it uses a special pigment that does not mask the wood. Most semi transparents are more opaque and will mask some of the wood's character but the Amber as you can see in the photo does a good job showing the wood color. However even though it looks like a transparent is has 3 times the pigment and is similar in formulation to a Semi-Solid!

Many people helped me starting out and I am more than happy to return the favor now for those who seek it.

Congratulations. You run a cancer awareness group. You go to church. You have referrals. You could **** gold dust for all I care
You still don' know how to take care of a deck. You can defend your techniques all you want, but unless you are interested in the right way to do things quit wasting everyone's time if you don't want to listen and you don't give a hoot what anyone else says.

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.

Here is the same deck after a double boosted HD-80 strip, spot sanding, and defurring.

A sexy "Wet Shot"

Brown Sugar Coat

sounds like you're on the right track with your research.
Composite will need to be cleaned with a light diluted bleach solution if there is mildew on the surface
EFC38 would be a good cleaner for your rails. Order from Deck Stains Cleaners Sealers Staining Decks Wood Decking Sealing Concrete Paver Restoration. RAD will be fine too. I would stay away from ordering straight precarbonate or stuff from the chemistry store since they will be void of the surfactants and other stuff that is in cleaners designed for wood.
Pressure washing isnt required.. but will make the job easier. Low pressure is key. Hold the gun a minimum 12 inches from the wood with a wider fan tip. If thats not available, a hose and brush will work. Let the cleaner soak for a good 10 minutes though before rinsing. You'll definitely want to use a sprayer for the cleaners. Just get a simple plastic pump up sprayer. Make sure the cleaners are mixed well so you don't have granules on the bottom that will clog the tip. If you spray at an angle and not straight onto the spindles youll get two sides at one and it will help prevent cleaner from spraying right into the back of the house. Have a hose handy and just wet the siding and plants down before and after you apply the cleaner.
If you are using EFC for the cleaner, go with the citralic for brightener. RAD system will come with both so you'll use the container they give you. If using woodtux you will want to rinse the brightener off after letting it sit for a few minutes. I believe ready seal is fine if you leave the brightener on the wood, but don't quote me on that.
Both stains will be fine for your wood. Woodtux may be a bit more difficult to apply, but if you are brushing the spindles you can control your application to prevent too much stain from building up. Brushing will be your safest bet for any stain. Or a pad applicator. If you aren't comfortable with spraying you wont want to risk getting it on everything. With brushing youll be able to see how much you are putting on the wood and brush everything over to make it even. With woodtux just keep a rag handy to go back every 20 minutes and check to make sure you dont have any shiny spots. If you do just wipe it off and go back to staining where you left off
Be careful when staining around the composite. It will be tough to get off the composite if you drip stain. Use plenty of sheets and drop clothes to cover it.

Mixed chemicals lose strength over time. There is no exact time before they go bad. Full strength would only last two or three days.

hey!!! we're back the HD 80 works great!!! it works like my old stuff used to . The dwell time does the work for you. I will be ordering a bigger quantity next time.

Frubals
Have you ever heard the phrase 'instant karma'? Frubals (sometimes known as 'reputation') are are a very close equivalent. Let's say, for example, you see a post that you really like. You can validate that person by clicking on the little square green icon (if using The Grime Scene skin) or the scale icon (if using TGS Lite skin) that appears in that post. (It's toward the right-hand side, up top). A pop-up message will come up, asking what you thought of the post and will have a blank space where you can write your thoughts on that post. The other member will have it noted in their "User CP" that someone thought that that post was worth "frubals", and if you enclosed a note, that will appear next to the notation. Sending Frubals with a note is also a nice way to say thank you to someone who helped you.
In your posts you will notice little squares under your user name. Mouse over them, and it will give you a message based upon your number of frubals. This changes as you get to new levels.
There are many terms used on the forums that denote giving someone frubals. Among them are "frubaling a post," "frubalizing someone," and "fruballed."
Here are some configuration numbers for you:
Register Date Factor:
For every 365 number of days, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.
Post Count Factor:
For every 100 number of posts, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.
Reputation Point Factor:
For every 100 points of reputation, users gain 1 point of reputation-altering power.
Minimum Post Count:
How many posts must a user have before his reputation hits count on others? 10
Minimum Reputation Count:
How much reputation must a user have before his reputation hits count on others? 10
Daily Reputation Clicks Limit:
How many reputation clicks can a user give over each 24 hour period? Administrators are exempt from this limit. 15
Reputation User Spread:
How many different users must you give reputation to before you can hit the same person again? (Administrators are exempt from this limit.) 5