sturgisjr

Well, I contacted the customer this morning to honestly explain about the possibility of not being able to strip off the Behr Hunter Green. I couldnt tell if they were irritated or not. I explained that I would like to do a test patch and they are letting me do that tomorrow morning at 9:00. I will then find out what exactly the stain was. I beleive when I checked the can during the estimate that it was a Acrylic Latex Solid Stain. So... if it is a Solid Stain and not a paint, am I in better luck? I see an oil based would work better to strip but with a longer dwell time and more patience, I should be able to get it off. If I do the test patch, and the HD-80 did not do anything, what should I do? What is MEK? Where can I get that? I prefer to use products I have become familiar with and this being my first year and calls just keep coming in, I dont want to waste time on this one deck. I may have to refund the deposit if the HD-80 doesnt work, but the thing is... I really want it to work! :) But I do have the ability to be honest and say I can't do it. Any feedback would be appreciated before tmw morning and I'll let you know how I make out with the test patch.

There is no greying and there is not even a slight of mildew. Yes, like most people up here think, wood should weather a year before applying stain. Which brings me to the next question: why do people think that and what are the advantages, if any? I hear 2 different opinions but would like to hear from you guys. Thanks

I have a deck to start at the end of this month. It is a newly built structure and has weathered for a year. Do I clean this deck or go right ahead with sealing? If I should clean, what do I use? This is a 2 tone job using Honey Gold on the floors and I wanted to know what you would use for the railings which will be white. I don't know whether to use Sherwin Williams, Cuprinol, Cabots. Should it be oil based or Acrylic Latex? Will I need to use a primer? Isn't there a white stain in which a primer would not be needed? As for weathering... is it true that wood should weather at least a year before applying stain? How far into the season can I continue this kind of work? Is there a certain temperature I need stop at for the season? I was thinking of March to the end of October, but I wanted to know what the minimum temperature should be. I am concerned on the performance of stain application and whether or not it will dry well. How do you advertise wood restoration in the fall? Is there something like "winterizing" your deck? I am trying to get more customers before the winter hits and sad as it is, its going to come quick. How can I sell to my customers to have their decks done before the winter and what advantages, if any, does it have other than the fact that they can go right ahead and entertain on their decks the first beautiful day in the Spring thru the whole summer with no interruption to their lifestyle. One more thing... I have a customer who has a grey painted deck and will be going in for an estimate on Wednesday...how do I know if HD-80 will work on that or not? Customer wants it removed and I was wondering what specific paints and/or stains will NOT be removed with HD-80 and what would the alternative be? Sanding? Thank you very much and I hope someone can help me with what seems like a lot of questions at one time.

I am working on a bid for a job I went to this morning. He has a cedar deck that was sealed with woodscapes cedar tone transparent oil-based from sherwin williams and has legal action pending against the previous contractor because peeling has occurred after 2 years of application. It was guaranteed for 3 years. The sealer before woodscapes was CWF and a contractor stripped it off and sealed with woodscapes. I will be stripping with HD-80 and still questionable on a sealer. He has another section of a deck that is all pressure treated and sealed with the same product or was it cuprinol? Dont remember and says it looks okay when its dry (went there when it was wet). He wants this part of the deck cleaned only and not sealed...it has mildew. I offered a strip and seal but I think he wants to spend money that fits his budget. It only would have been $500 more to do a strip and seal. He also has a front deck that was newly built last year... pressure treated, no sealer present and wants it cleaned and sealed. Now.... 1) why did the sealer peel off the cedar deck? What do you think contributed to it? I want to prevent this kind of problem...I thought that oil based transparent stains didnt peel because it penetrates into the wood, unless the prep was done poorly by previous contractor? 2) I was going to use EFC-38 on the pressure treated deck since he wanted a clean only. It has a sealer like I mentioned and has no need for me to seal it after cleaning. I warned that some of the finish will come off. Is that right? EFC-38 can take some of the finish off? What do you use to do a clean only without removing any finish. I thought of using citralic brightener but will that remove mildew? 3) The newly built deck... I can just use citralic before staining? It is just new wood that has never been stained. I plan on offering a maintanence program and I want to know which products will serve as a clean only. Im a little confused on when or when not to use EFC-38 and a Brightener. I know to use Brightener after HD-80 but can it be used alone? The cedar deck is at ground level and there are plants all around it that cannot be moved. I was thinking of covering with tarp? The plants are right at the deck and some actually grown on purpose atop the deck. Im just concerned because HD-80 will be used. Trying to get clarification and more confidence in the products I offer. Please do help me get this straight. One other thing.. how do you prevent wood chips (if any) from the pressure washing stage from getting into the pool.

Due to the Caustic nature of HD-80, I am aware that certain measures need to be performed. 1) I know that protective gear needs to be worn at all times when using HD-80; jeans, shoes, a respirator, and safety glasses. What about bare arms and hands? If gloves need to be worn, what kind of gloves? I am just starting HD-80 and am not sure as to exactly how caustic this chemical is. 2) I also know that its not safe to the environment; plants, some metals, etc. How do you protect these from the effects of HD-80? Will just wetting down the area first and then rinsing afterwards be all that needs to be done, or are there other certain measures that need to be put in consideration. I am not sure about protective sheets or anything like that cuz I am not sure if HD-80 could burn a hole through them. Like I said, I am not exactly sure as to just how caustic this chemical is. I, of course will be experimenting with this product before using it on a customers deck. Any advice and help on different means of protection and safety would be appreciated. Also, should HD-80 be applied to the wood surface when its dry or when its wet? I hear that deck cleaning can be done in the rain? Will a 2-gallon Solo chemical sprayer work for this type of product? What kind of respirator would you reccommend.. I know it should be able to prevent you from inhaling the products vapors, but there are so many out there I want to make sure I use the right one. I care about my health. Brian

Yeah, I went to do the job today on the pressure treated deck... I started out using EFC-38 at 2 oz a gallon and found that it was stripping off the cuprinol that was applied 2 years ago. I quickly decided that this was not the way to go.... I did not have any bleach with me so tried just using water alone to see what would happen. Water alone, to my surprise, took off all the mildew and black film and I was using low pressure. The stain was not touched at all. Is this good? Should I have used bleach anyway? The customer seemed very satisfied that the deck looked much cleaner and brighter without all the black film and mildew, but I want to make sure I was not promoting any problems by not using bleach. Besides, I am leery about using bleach because of the many opinions with all you professionals who do and do not use bleach. Also, I did the Cedar deck and is my first cedar deck I've done. I used low pressure and full strength HD-80 that dwelled for 45 minutes. It took off most of the stain and furred up a little bit. I neutralized. There are some stains leftover but I am thinking that while I remove the fuzzies, that I can remove the leftover stain with no problem? Despite the leftover stains and fuzzies, customer seemed satisfied and did not realize that we could actually get it to the new wood look. That reminds me, when we offered a strip and seal on the pressure treated deck, they were hesistant to go along with it because they said everytime they do that, the deck gets darker. (thus the reason for a clean only) I was thinking maybe because it never was prepped correctly? Maybe now that they saw our result from stripping the cedar deck, they will call us again and ask us to go ahead with the strip and seal of their PT deck. Let's see. Maybe next summer.

Question on HD-80...I have a job which was a 1500 sq ft Pressure treated deck that had dark stain...the homeowner stripped what he could off of it and then gave up and called me. I was able to strip off easily with HD-80 on sections of the deck that the homeowner did not touch. BUT...I sure had a rough time removing any leftover stain in the areas (mainly deck floor) that the homeowner worked on...WHY IS THAT??! I still am trying to figure out how I can make this work. Please help! Also when you neutralize, do you do it right after stripping and its okay with the wood wet or should I wait till the next day when the wood has dried a little? How often should I rinse?

Thank you all for your responses. I have gained confidence through your responses and wanted to let you all know that I decided to go with the job. The cedar deck will be stripped off of the sealer which is cuprinol so HD-80 will be used. Warm Honey Gold will be applied. The PRessure Treated Deck (also with a cuprinol sealer applied 2 years ago and has a bad case of mildew on it)...we had the homeowners sign and initial on the invoice/contract that they denied our offer for a strip and seal and that they are aware that there is no guarantee that the sealer will still be present after cleaning. We sat down with them for more than 2 hours to cover all bases. They were extremely impressed with our concerns for their deck and really appreciated that. About the pressure treated deck up front, it has been stained with cuprinol only on the spindles and the railings and they had leftover stain for us to use on their deck floor that has not been applied yet because the deck was too wet last year when it was newly built. There is no grey present and will clean with a brightener only. We strongly advised against using their leftover stain but they wanted it to match what was already on the spindles and railings. Again, they realize that we are not responsible for the sealer failing if it ever does. I think they are trying to save money during this stage and was focusing on the more important parts (to them anyway). If there is something I am missing here or if there is anything you want to add.. negative or positive...please do so. This is a great board and I hope to someday be able to contribute in some way.

Good Morning, I have a customer with a Cedar deck and I am thinking he wants a clear. I offered the other WoodTux colors (transparent toners or semi-transparent?) I wanted to know how a clear performs in terms of durabilty and whether or not it protects from greying. I am debating on even offering a clear and Id hate for customers to be dissapointed. Would appreciate of anyone else could share a good quality clear if not WoodTux. I am at a stage where I am trying to get the sealers straightened out (as you will notice in other posts). At the time being, I offer WoodTux (never used on a deck yet and want to expand choices and compete with competitors), Olympic Maximum and Wolman F&P. I would like to hear how WoodTux compares to the other 2 products. Seems like most of my customers always go for the Olympic Maximum and I noticed many of you would go with the Wolman F&P if a backup sealer bought in store was needed---why is that? Will WoodTux peel over time since I gather through some posts that it does not penetrate into the wood as deep as other oil-based sealers? Thank you Brian

Please get back to me on what percarbonates to use. I was under the impression that EFC-38 was a good percarbonate but that it also acts as a mild stripper. What percarbonates do I use that does not act as a stripper? I am looking for the right product to use for my maintanence program. This is my first year in business and after just a few weeks, it has been successful. Because this is pretty new, maintanence wont start until next year or later. Just want to prepare ahead of time with information. Can Citralic Brightener be use in place of a percarbonate (whatever that is) for a light wash maintanence without stripping off a sealer? If so, does the Citralic remove mildew like a percarbonate would? Also, you would use a very low pressure as to not remove any finish.. I know that the pressure can remove a little bit and I want to know just the right amount of pressure you would use for the light cleaning. Thanks

percarbonates...these clean mildew without removing any finish? This is what you would use to do a yearly maintanence that consists of a light wash? What are percarbonates? Is that like Oxygen bleach? Where can I find it and what brand? When applying this, use the pressure washer to rinse? Will the pressure washer remove any finish even while using a percarbonate?

I have a customer who wants her deck cleaned and there is a hot tub located at the center of one section of her deck. Its a wood exterior model that has turned grey in most parts. I wanted to know if anyone here has restored the appearance of hot tubs. If so, how and what were your results? It will be sealed the same color as the deck...or will you recommend a better solution? Also, what do you do to protect the vinyl cover and the interior from getting contamination from chemicals? To add, a lot of the decks around here are wrapped around pools and wanted to know in advance what you would do to prevent wood chips and chemicals from going into the pool. I did one deck recently and was annoyed by the fact that I had to clean up all the wood chips that were at the bottom of the pool. The reason for the many wood chips was due to it being terribly weathered wood with grand canyon cracks and loose and split wood. I used very low pressure. Thanks, Brian

I am fairly new to this business. I started up a little over a month ago. In just one month, I have won 4 customers. Thought Id share how it worked for me. My methods of advertising and marketing myself included submitting a 3 week ad in the Pennysaver which USUALLY generates a lot of business. Nothing happen from that. I also have vehicle magnets that have been complimented on. I have sent e-mail to a free advertising local e-newsletter and that was successful within 5 minutes of it being distributed to subscribers. And the most recent attempt at marketing myself that generated the best results was to take 3 hours per day driving around my target market armed with flyers and business cards and meeting in person potential customers. I debated on doing this cuz if it was me, I would be annoyed if people like us came to my door trying to sell themselves. I am happy to say that I was bold enough to try it out and to my surprise, only 1 out of the hundred people I met flat out said "NO!" She was not very happy. oops. Hope this helps and gives you ideas. Note: More than 1/2 of the people we met had no idea this kind of service was available and I am hoping this will generate a positive outcome for me. The other thing is to portray professionalism. This usually will make a potential customer become immediately interested in you over your competition. You can do this by wearing business logo shirts, a neat appearance, a clean vehicle and well cared for equipment. Customers notice these things and it makes them feel good to have hired someone who portrays this kind of appearance. I can give you a few more ideas (I am a graphic design/marketing major) How I got into wood restoration is a story of its own. But, the best ideas that you can get are from those who have been in this longer than I have and there is a magnitude of in depth information on this site. I learned a lot from here and have applied some of those ideas into my marketing approach. Oh, the most calls I have got thus far was due to my offer of a 15% off discount for the month of June. I did this to get my foot in the door in hopes that it will lead to more customers and referrals. With 4 customers secured due to this discount that was offered just last week, I guess my hopes have been fufilled. Good luck...with the right approach and the right attitude, you will be noticed.

Okay, I am bidding on a job in which the homeowner has used a pressure washer to remove previous dark (unknown) stain. He got most of it off but only used a consumer grade product. He also has a section that he did not have the time to do. And lastly, he had the whole front porch that connects to the deck redone so its all new wood. I should use HD-80 on the section he has not touched yet, 1/2 strength on the rest of the deck or EFC-38? Also, do I clean the new wood before I proceed to seal the whole deck/porch combo? Also, Im looking around for good sealers and semi-transparents. I will be using Olympic Maximum Redwood on his pressure treated deck. Is that a good choice. As much as Id like to try Wood Tux or Ready Seal, I would prefer to use something I can get locally to save on shipping charges. I have available the following in my area...Olympic Maximum and Olympic semi-transparents, Cabots, DeckScapes, and Wolmans FP/DuraStain. Which one would you reccommend that I offer to my customers. Im sure its a matter of preference, but I am in this to give satisfying results to my customers. Thanks.

Wolman F&P includes tung, linseed and other proprietary oils. Olympic Maximum is an Alkyd oil formula. Im trying to understand all the "oils" involved and how it compares to others. I am focusing more on Wolman, Olympic and WoodTux. I am open to others (cabots, deckscapes and superdeck) just basically want to understand the products better in terms of performance, price, coverage and durability. I have looked at specifications on each product but want to hear from personal experience. I appreciate any comments. Thanks.

All of your responses have been really helpful. I have learned a few things from y'all. I wanted to share that I am right now using Olympic Maximum Honey Gold on a deck and I have to say I am quite impressed. Coverage was excellent and it looks better than new. To add to this - I was able to compare Wood Tux warm honey gold with Olympic Maximum honey gold and they were like almost identical with coverage and color. What I am trying to do here is compare quality and durabilty. The Maximum guarantees 3 years and I know Wood Tux has high praises. Is there something I am missing? As I have stated earlier, on another deck, the customer is asking for redwood. I offered Olympic Maximum in this color, but now I am not so sure. I was thinking if Olympics honey gold and Wood Tux's warm honey gold were very similar, the redwood would be too? Dale- when you said you werent happy with it, why was that? I am still trying to figure out Cabots. What I learned is I shouldnt go with Cabots tinted clear solution and should only use that if its a clear only. I have a gallon of Wolmans F&P redwood that I can try. Why would I choose one product over the other? Like I said... Am I missing something here? I am hestitant to use Wolman F&P because its linseed oil based...and I hear many things that its not really a good product, but I hear that as much as I hear that its recommended. Well, Here I am listening to myself think. Forgive me, I am new in this field and have learned a magnitude in such a short time. Any direction into the way I should go would be appreciated. Beth-when I looked at your store to check WoodTux California Redwood, it says that you may not have the quantities I am requesting available and would really hate to have it back-ordered (I know you said to give about a week, but I wanted to double check) I am still waiting on one more product from you that has been back-ordered. Thank you all! Brian

So far most of the decks around here are pressure treated pine. I want to know which sealers would really bring out a nice look to this kind of wood. Most examples I see are done on Cedar. Dale-when you used the Olympic Maximum Redwood on the deck you did, was it pressure treated pine? Is it the redwood that doesnt really turn out good? What about the other colors? Wolmans F&P seems like a good option but I just wonder how nice the colors turn out on this kind of wood. Beth-I got the Wood Tux samples from you and will try them on some Pressure Treated pine scraps. If they are to my satifaction and would like to offer them to my customers, how long will it take to have an order of Wood Tux arrive to me? Further on Cabots, I am assuming that Decking Stain is the way to go and it does well on Pressure Treated Pine? So far, Cabots seems to be the most confusing...there are so many options and I want to make sure I use the appropriate product. Do I want to avoid offering solids or acrylic or latex based stains/paints to my customers? Im trying to narrow down my choices that I can provide as well as understand what each one does/performs and how they compare to others. Basically, Im looking for the best solution for the majority of the kind of wood around here...pressure treated pine. Additional comments will be greatly appreciated. Brian

Would I want to be offering Decking Stain from Cabots and/or Clear Solution? The Clear Solution comes in 5 colors I think. Comments?

I didn't know where to post this so I picked this area. I wanted to know how sub-contracting works and how I would profit from this. I am curious in 2 ways, to hire a sub-contractor and to be a sub-contractor. For hiring a sub-contractor, lets say an interior/exterior painter...how would that work? How do I profit from this. How do you become a sub-contractor for someone else? Does doing this idea bring in more business and more money or does it bring in more business and not enough money? Any advice on this topic will be appreciated. I do wood restoration and would like to add interior painting as one of my services but wanted to know how sub-contracting works in this area as well as knowing how being a sub-contractor for a painting company works. Thanks, Brian

Has anyone here had experience with McCloskey Sealers? I have not heard any comments at all on this product, much less hear the name. I have a customer I gave an estimate to who had her deck done previously (5 or so years ago) using this product and I recently found out one of my competitors uses this as his main sealer. I wanted to know if this was a good product and whether or not HD-80 can remove it easy. Also, can anyone share with me on prices per square foot average in Upstate NY? My competitors all have various prices. One would charge $350 for a days work, while another charges $1.00 to $1.25 per sq.ft. Some even charge for a 400 sq.ft deck at $100 to wash only and $200 wash and seal while others would charge $400 for a wash and seal. Most of them are also bleach users while some claim to use "green" cleaner safe to the environment. Can anyone share on how I can compare with such competitors and how I can set myself apart from them? I know this is pretty basic information and you may not be able to help me as much, but any thoughts would be appreciated. I have plans to use HD-80 and EFC-38. Brian

Another sealer available to me locally is Superdeck... How does that compare with Cabots and Sikkens. The closest Sikkens dealer is about 40 miles away. I can get Cabots and Superdeck only 4 miles from here.

Thank you all for your responses. Upon going to Walmart today, I noticed that they sell McCloskeys Man O War sealers and they sell at $59.99 per 5 gallon pail. I guess this is where one of my competitors purchase these. Just thought I'd share. Looks like the sealer that was on the deck I was bidding on was a Acrylic Based Solid Blue Stain. Would HD-80 have taken that off? It was peeling in a lot of places and was bare grey wood on high traffic areas. Didnt get the job because customer decided he wouldnt have been able to afford anything at the time.

I have looked just about everywhere for a backing pad for the Makita Sander to use the defurring pads. I cannot find one anywhere except on one site...they charge $25 shipping for it! I have checked local lumber/hardware stores, Home Depot and Lowes. Sears has the Milwaukee sander/polisher and had the 7 inch backing pad included with the kit. Please direct me to where I can find one. Thanks! Brian

I am interested in purchasing a sander/polisher like the makita 9227C. I would need to purchase a rubber backing pad in order to be able to use the defurring pads? Are there any other items I would need to buy to complete this set? I know of another recommended sander which is the Dewalt DW849? Problem is, I am looking to see if there is another model that isnt as costly as the above models that would work just as well. Any help on this would be appreciated. Brian

Okay, this brings me to my next question. How would you effectively strip painted homes? Im talking about older homes with wood siding and painted over. Some homeowners like to keep the antique look and not replace with Vinyl. Have a lot of homes like that here and wondered what you would use to strip to prepare for a repaint. At the present time, I do not do homes, but I plan to and would like to know what to expect before I offer this service to my customers. Brian