seymore

Well they might have gotten loss on the new server but you're cool....
What all do you clean? How long you been washing?
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Well they might have gotten loss on the new server but you're cool....
What all do you clean? How long you been washing?

Nice 20 + yrs we can't never have to much experience here on the TGS ..
BTW sorry didn't notice you were in the DIY section where no sig is needed.

How have you been pricing them until now?
 
Not all jobs are created equal for the most part with lots of factors to take into consideration. Also my stain cost and labor is not the same as yours.

I've started adding butyl my tough strip mixes it works great!
 

Mike,
No shame in that. Just starting out in wood restoration, most of us have taken more than one little no profit, or evem loss jobs. Comes with the learning territory.
One trick is to carry a few strippers when doing estimates. 1st, it is easy to tell if you have a potential nightmare. 2nd, it becomes easy to know you can do the job with the knowledge and chems you know. 3rd if you are good with mostly clueless competitors, you can get well paid.
Wood restoration is a lot different from house washing or concrete cleaning. In the right customer market, not price but quality oriented, it can be a good seasonal business. Get good and experienced, especially on difficult jobs, and you can do well.
Hard part is you have to charge for the experience, knowledge, and effort. Takes a while. But you will become more than worth it.

I've started adding butyl my tough strip mixes it works great!
 

Beth,
This photo upload problem for long time, active members is ongoing for a year now. Please have that fellow from Maine check it out!
Thanks.

Use a stain that doesn't have predominantly transoxide pigments. They're too transparent on old weathered wood no matter how you prep it(unless it's sanded even, which is almost impossible with old wood). I suggest Baker's Gray Away stain. I think your problem will be solved

There is a reason acrylic has cry in the middle of the word !

Hilarious Shane!
 
Though have to admit, we'll use them on previously acrylic stained verticals when the customer balks at the cost of stripping, and just wants the wood to "look nice". 

I've used the AC on only a few small jobs looked good and lots of people have good results with it. It's a little pricey than what I'm used of paying but If you can get the $$ for the job that's even better. I just do a ton of fences and it's hard to get the $$ for a fence when you are paying $200 for 5 gal of AC the sealer store. Did it go up? Yikes I only pay $120 for 5 gallons of the Gray Away but my shipping is cheap since I truck it in from Dallas by the pallet to here in Houston.
 
 
You know Charlie with Apex decksavers he's in your climate in NC and he uses a mixture of stains from AC to TWP to Wood Tux. This is going on almost 20 yrs for me and the Gray Away is all I know and used almost $30K of it in 2014 so it works for me.
 
I think the products you use should be consistent and if you give your customers to many options sometimes they get confused and it's tough for you to keep an inventory of products so I would stick with 1 stain 2 at the most.
 
What are you looking to do more decks are they mostly pine or some hardwoods or even doing fences?
 
I would post some old cedar pics but I get and ERROR when uploading pics? I can't post a link also from a photo host either Beth? 
 
I'm also a acrylic free zone....

Your in control of the job site and the out come . Things only get controversial by people having conversations About best practices and by people who don't do wood care . The more you understand each chem and what it can and can't do to wood the smarter you become. I got better at wood by not following the herd .

I have heard that one of the box stores (perhaps H.D.) is going to start carrying Ready Seal.
 
Rod

Torch

No problem..
 
 
No the glycol adds some boosting power to the stripper.

Add some Butyl to boost it or some propylene glycol but when I add the booster I only mix 2-3 cups of caustic.
 
Post some pics lets see what you are up against?

It's the nature of the beast Ryan when stripping with a hot mix or multiple strips combined with the age of the wood it's bound to be fuzzy!  I've seen newer wood not get as fuzzy as like a 5-10 yr old deck after stripping.
 
It's a small price to pay when starting over by removing a old stain with the stripping process. The bright side is the deck should never need to be stripped again once you are done stripping /sanding and staining! :cool:

It's the nature of the beast Ryan when stripping with a hot mix or multiple strips combined with the age of the wood it's bound to be fuzzy!  I've seen newer wood not get as fuzzy as like a 5-10 yr old deck after stripping.
 
It's a small price to pay when starting over by removing a old stain with the stripping process. The bright side is the deck should never need to be stripped again once you are done stripping /sanding and staining! :cool:

The glycols take the stripping range into acrylics...if done correctly....
 
Beth

No problem..
 
 
No the glycol adds some boosting power to the stripper.

12% mix with a good soap/degreaser? Pics would help?

Steven,
What is the base of your stain? Is it an oil? Is it acrylic? What is it?
If it is acrylic it will laught at that mix at that concentration without an added booster.
If it is oil it would need to be a fairly weak oil ( less drying oils in the formula) to be removed with that concentration, and it's age and exposure factor into it too.
Post a pic and tell us more about the coating.
Beth
 
p.s. yes, I would boost the hydroxide first.....

Okay I have a few.....

I was hoping the hot trend this week wood ease up the condensation . Dripping wet ! Sopping wet ! Did it rain last night?
I quit !!

Bite your tongue!!!!
 
The word "winter" is forbidden!
 
Beth