seymore

The stian will lighten up somewhat if you use a bleach mix.It would be the only way to kill mildew in the wood.If you have just surface mildew mix a solution of 10% solution and use a real soft brush like the carwash brushes.I wouldn't use a pressure washer just light scrubb the worst spots and then apply the new stain. Now if the mildew is on the surface it should be removed real easy.If there are black mildew spots under the stain then removing the old stain to bare wood to treat the mildew with bleach is the only way. You don't know what was the old stain you are cleaning? This is how i work on my maintance jobs cleaning a oil base semi trans stain.

That is too cool i would just be afaid he would try to steal all my nuts...:D Take care of the little fellow and keep the cats away from him..:cool:

That's cool Lance cause you don't see to many tame squirels as pets.Does he stay in the house? That is a cool wand you made up there....I'm not a roof guy i'll stick with my decks on the ground thank you very much..:D

Lance, what's up with the squirel on your avatar is he a pet?

You might need to spray a second lighter mix 25% or so of bleach after you clean off that beautiful layer of a science project growing on that gazeebo..:D

Yeah Jon I know what you mean with the stabilizers.That's kinda the way i stained my last gazzebo but the without the stabilizers.We just let the ladder stick up a few feet above the gazzebo and i stood on the bottom of the ladder while my helper worked at the end of the ladder.It might sound dangerous but he was lightwieght and my big butt wasn't letting the ladder move..:D

I would try a 6% mix of bleach/soap and see how it reacts to the wood you might have to go stronger Rick.

Well when you can pass your finger thru the rotten board or the frame is shot and sagging rocking or about to fall down.

Celeste you have a pic of the floor?

Wow that's some purdy wood Rick got a match maby a torch? Can't you work it from a step ladder from each side? It's hard for me to tell how big it is? That would be a good canidate for some strong 12% and Gray Away..:cool:

Looks sweet Nice Job Roger ..:cool:

Looks good just like the wood should look like after it's been cleaned..:cool:

That's pretty funny Allan..:cool:

Welcome to the board Doug..:cool: That's a nice wax job on your avatar wished my truck looked like that!

Here is the can of the deck i stripped with this HIGH quality stain! :rolleyes:

My guess is that Behr acrylic stuff...I've see that similar color tone on a deck i stripped. Most homeowner projects they stain themselves they will buy Behr from the Depot cause they think it will last 5 yrs like it says on the can! :rolleyes:

Ohh yes i ALWAYS rinse the fence off but not always p/wash it just depends how old and grey the fence is.If i spray a fence then it turns golden right away then no need to p/wash. Jon,on 95%percent of my fences i'll clean with bleach my ratio is 2 parts bleach 3 parts water.That 12% i've been using is super duper strong it was dated 3-06-06 and i recieved on 3-10-06. If a fence is still silver or grey the stain will be real dark,i want the fence to be white rather than silver or grey

There is no need to use Oxalic when you clean a fence with bleach Barry.If you try spraying Oxalic after bleach you better hold your nose cause there will a gassy smell that wreaks! I don't advise to use Oxalic after using bleach it doesn't make a difference at all.I'm saying this from using a oil base stain and not a film forming that may react different.

I'm with Rick on figuring out the cleaning time and cost to strip and clean the job.You could spend 4 hrs on and easy semi trans stain removal or 12 hrs on a solid stain removal.So that the difference in charging $400 or $800-$1000. Beth,Rod ...sweet stripping job there! :cool:

Wood Defender makes the stain/concentrate...this company probally mixes their own formula for their fences. Like i told you Pete some comapnies will try to 50 gal. from a concentrate rather than the 40 they are suposed to get.So hince the poor quality of stain and i'm not so impressed with their colors anyway

Well if you watched the video they didn't even touch the top cap either cleaned it or stained..How bout when the guy staining the fence getting stain allover the stone retaining wall..:rolleyes: I wouldn't blame the 18 months on the cleaning process more so than the product itself!

Tim You could even try a weaker solution like 25% mix and see how it reacts on the wood and adjust accordingly. It all depends how dirty the wood is but you could apply a weaker solution a second time after you remove the top layer of grey,mildew etc. Some people will say to use Oxalic after but i've tried both ways and didn't see any difference.You do have to watch spraying oxalic after bleach cause they don't mix to well together and will give off a NASTY gas smell! Hope this helps..:cool:

I would say being that the deck has not had a previous finish applied to it the past.The easiest chemical to clean the deck with would be a bleach and soap mixture to clean.Letting it dwell keeping it wet then p/wash lightly. Since you are saying you will apply and oil base stain it will keep the deck from drying out and cracking more than it already is. The bleaching will keep the deck from having a blotchy look that you are trying to avoid. You can apply the oil base stain by spray or rolled ,brush etc.

You killing me over here that was too funny Rick...:D

There would be nothing wrong with that process Jon.I clean and seal quite a few fences using that same process. :cool: