Tonyg

Clean um?!?!? That's seasoning youre taking off! I tell my wife that it's flavor added. Wouldn't be a decent grill if it didn't have a few layers of history

I'm at 4-6oz per gallon but if Rick says 6-8oz, I'm changing :)

Working on a quote for sizable deck. This may potentially be a two-tone finish with white trim, railings, accents, etc. All the others I've done had the deck boards on top of the fascia/riser boards but this one is trimed out with the 2x8. The question is should the top of the riser be painted with the board or stopped with just the vertical surface. Would it wear badly or look goofy?

Well, finished the stripping, sanding, and more sanding and finished last week. Couple of coats of Duron solid made this one fairly difficult. I'll go back for some after pics once the landscaping and pool are done. Went with only the balusters and 'sun' design on the balcony.

I do like the AC stain. I always try to apply two heavy coats, and actually did on this one. Then had to strip it back off when the old solid was still showing through. After sanding with a drum sander and extra prep, I recoated with the same mix. I am 'pretty sure' that I applied the second coat but it is possible the second one may have been really light as this was a custom mix and did not have that much more made up. Not sure about the dark mildew (I believe it was since bleach spotted when it was being cleaned) but I believe I am going to lean toward the heavier bodied stains such as the semi-solids, and even begin experimenting with some semi-trans/semi-solid colors mixes. Lesson for me is to stay away from toners and make sure to apply heavily.

Take them off. Otherwise, I keep the sanding sponges in 36 grit on had.

Jim, I thought I remember reading somewhere someone using RS on dry wood and then top coat with something else - was that you? Do you use a 'natural' or neutral color for the RS base? Doesn't AC have just as much oils - albeit parrafinic and linseed? When you say it needs oil are you talking about the finished pics?

12 Months almost to the day. I think I've decided to stay away from the toners in the future after a couple that seemed to wash out after a year. This was in between a semi trans/toner blend. The deck after cleaning looked like the area around the planter spot. The house wash took off most everything that was left and I wouldn't say there was any/much oil left in the wood. Should I plan on using the original stain and take the chance on it being darker (since it may wash out with the cleaning) or do you use the Natural? Should I expect that much of the stain to come off when cleaning for maintenance? Took some pics of the finish today

The first three are before I started - the last was where the planter was after I cleaned it

Close ups after cleaning

Woohoo, ink is on the paper and I thank God for the work. Turns out it is going two-toned anyway with AC Sequoia and White. Still not exactly sure where the accents are going to be with the white - the wife and husband disagreed on exactly what was to be stained what so I told them we had a couple months to decide. He wants the balusters stained solid white and the rails and posts stained semi - she disagrees. He wants the kick board on the steps stained solid - she disagrees. Dunno. Celeste, I am going to send them your pick with the railings. Do you have anymore from this deck? This is as close to the color scheme I could give them as an example for just doing the balusters. [ATTACH=CONFIG]17000[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]16998[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]16999[/ATTACH]

To me 'painting' and 'staining' are two different animals. When painting an item the caulk is standard procedure. Staining does not get caulked. I know to most there is no diffrence but applying a solid stain is staining :)

Beth, I remembered that deck you posted last year and was actually going to send them a pic of the Woodland Brown. I received a favorable response from them for the estimate, though not a done deal, but they said they are leaning toward the two-tone. I am thinking of maybe making some samples of the Mountain Cedar and the Nantucket White if I can close the sale. Still not sure how I like the WB. Does anyone have and pictures of the Mountain Cedar in a two-tone?

I think after the last one I did, after calculating MH, I decided to go with 2x my normal rate. Is it possible to to only clean and stain one side of these or would the stain/cleaner discolor the other side too badly?

standard spray shield http://www.bigpaintstore.com/lda-420-710.html?synertech&utm_source=gbaselive.com&utm_medium=google&utm_campaign=synertech.net and drops:

Fences go quick for me and a shield in one hand for the top is easy and much faster. In places where stain must not go through or over I have used 2 2x4's and a 9x12 drop cloth. Nail the corner of the drop cloth to the top end of the 2x4 and drop them on the other side to lean against the fence. Spray 12ft then move one pole for another 12ft.

Can't help it - I'm a painter (Beth, we need a painter smiley, although that could be a bad thing as well) I did a deck last year with a light grey, dark grey, and cream color. I really like the idea and appearance and it made it more custom.

Thanks Celeste, I think I'll probably not recommend using a solid on the fronts. I didn't pay too much attention to the edges while there and didn't get any closer pics. The way this deck is contrcted I'm just trying to see where the accents could be and still have the two-tone look good. Although, when they see the difference in the estimate to go two-tone that may solve the problem altogether.

Charlie, I like the way the semi looks on to pf your pic. I hadn't even thought about the corner being worn down or chipped making the line look bad. Thanks. Doug, is that 3 colors with the 2x12 in a darker gray?

That would be great Charlie! A picture always helps with expectations so they don't hate it when done. The boards would be removed and debris cleaned out to tighten them which should minimize the gaps.

Do you have pics of this one? I'd really like to see the Woodland Brn and Cedar Semi two-tone

I'm doing Decks! :lgjump: OK, make that Deck. Took advantage of a rare day above 50 degrees. Can't wait for spring!

So what color/stain is it?

The UDF-30 interested me for possible use on a couple of restaurant patios after Paragon mentioned it above. I ran across this blog post that probably should be thrown into the mix for considering product choice. I'll continue doing some research as I am always looking for niche products. UDF-21, UCF-30, 21POLYPLUS, & POLYMATRx News « Jeff’s Blog

I have a house tomorrow with an 8' banana tree a foot or two off the house. How sensitive are they to a standard house wash? It's not exactly indigenous to our area.