Aplus

Good deal! Nice to see that the sillycone apparently has no affect on strippability.

One thing I can add is that the 3/8" is usually easier to handle and less likely to kink. To me, 1/4" is just to thin for longer runs.

I would guess a palm sander for the funky railing, along with some hand sanding to get into the tight areas. I've never had a lot of sucess with a belt sander, just too erratic and easy to make uneven spots.

Fresh sealer can be a bear. The only sure thing is to do a test patch to see what you're up against. I also think this lady will pay good money to get the mess straightened out, so don't underbid and leave money on the table.

Aluminum siding is not an issue if you prewet it and keep it constantly rinsed as you apply the hd-80.

This is a great thread! It should be oneday enshrined in the library. (of course it doesn't hurt that I have the exact same skid as Alan.)

I've ordered all my sureflos from Northern. Never a problem. Whenever I buy a part that is critical, I always get an extra for spare parts. I also learned that the spare parts and appropriate tools need to be in the trailer all the time, and not left in a box back at the shop.

Mike, I can tell by the pics what you're up against. Strip it with your normal Naoh based stripper and you'll be pleased by how it works. Anything left behind is easily wacked with a light bleach application. Now I'm not normally a bleach-head, but it's fast and sweet for such a task. Sodium percarb takes too long in my opinion. Don't forget a nice acid bath afterwards. (for the wood,not you...:) )

If you want to spend all day. Best bet is to go with 30-40 grit to get most off, then sand again with about 100 to lessen the scratches.

Percarbonate products generally are less corrosive than s/h based products, making them ideal for certain situations.

Mike, Treat that deck as though you're stripping. A longer dwell may be required, but you should be able to wash that deck with 5-600 psi with no problem. If there is still mold left behind, a 6% chlorine application should take care of the rest, followed by another light wash.

I use K7's also, and found with the ballvalves I was using from Espec, at less than a 1/4 turn, the unloader bypassed. A minimal range of use. With pressure unloaders, you get full range of use with the ballvalve. It's not about how much pressure you can generate, but rather how much range of control you have.

You can only choke the valve if your machine has a pressure actuated unloader. With a flow unloader, if you choke a bit, the machine goes into bypass.

I guess every one is different and you'd have to figure a way to reconfigure the setup. But once you find a way, you'll never want to use a ball valve again. My main beef with ball valves is not so much the weight, but rather after they get used a bit, they are tough to open and close.

A fix is to install a squeeze bulb primer inline to force the mix into the lines.

Rig your trigger guns like this picture. Then put plugs on everything else.....lance, surface cleaner, whatever. No need for a ballvalve at all. I know Alan also outfits his guns like this, I'm sure he'll chime in how sweet it makes switching between devices. Who said work smarter not harder?

Agreed.....same way I handle it.

Any quality stain that would be used on any other wood deck is fine. Sure there can be issues with chlorinated water splashing on the deck, but it is your job to educate the customer of the potential issues involved.

Sodium hydroxide and sodium percarbonate are generally used for two different reasons. S/H for stripping, S/P for cleaning. Yes, the mixes can be adjusted up/down to perform in a particular manner, but that is not typically the case. I like to think that cheap stuff ain't good, and good stuff ain't cheap. It never hurts to look for the best prices, but not to the point where you are skimping on vital points....such as safety, health issues, conveniance, liability, etc.

For me, each job is different. Some get sanded, others not. For example, I have a couple entire condo complexes that are bid at a single price per deck, and some are in good shape, while others are horrendous. Because the price point I had to bid was too low to include sanding, they don't get sanded. Generally speaking, individual homeowner decks can be sucessfully bid higher, while condo complex decks cannot. It's just a fact of how the environment is here, and I can't fool myself and say I can sand everyone at every price point, because it can't happen. And I can't pass up the work, because it just doesn't get any better than having 30-40 decks or more lined up in a complex where I can service all of them.

Why do cornish hens come to mind? (formerly green parakeets)

Here is a pic of an xjet in action.

You don't see many 50 yer old roofers either, come to think of it. Some physical labor just becomes too rough on the body as we age. Even now, I find that I can still work hard, but not as long as I used to be able to. I sure hope that by the time I hit the big 5-0, I don't have to pull the trigger anymore, and can focus on just running the business.

I've seen that ugly Penofin look so many times I almost have nightmares about it! Thank goodness it's an easy stain to strip. I'm sure the homeowner will be thrilled with the final results! Very nice indeed!

I have seen decks with multiple coats of TWP 100 series, and by about the third coat, they look more like a paint, the semi-transparent affect is gone, and you pretty much don't see the woodgrain anymore. Same thing goes with Penofin. I use 200+ gallons of TWP per season, and I would consider TWP a penetrating film. TWP should be stripped before reapplication, which classifies it more as a filmer than a pentrating oil. It does not behave like Ready Seal, for example, which can be cleaned and a second coat applied on the first.