Aplus

Today I go out to stain a deck that I had washed three days ago. Well, the birds had been very busy, there had to be at least 20 droppings all over the deck! If our pilots in Iraq could bomb a bunker as accurately as those birds straffed this deck, the war would be over already. If you asked me what the thing I dislike the most about deck restoration, cleaning up bird droppings would have to be up there. So I whip out my spray bottle of Simple Green along with some paper towels, and attempt to clean off 20-some spots. Usually this works very well. Notice the word "usually". Today, the stuff was like dried latex paint. Dang. I had to let the spots dry, and then sand with an 80grit sanding block. Anybody have movement removing advice? How do others do it? I hope there isn't somebody out here that stains right over the droppings.

I have used TWP Cedartone 101 for over 12 years with outstanding results. Starting in 2010 I will no longer be able to purchase it in Michigan. Does anybody know of a good quality, strippable oil stain that has a very similar color to the TWP? I ask because I have not found a local product with that distinct orange/cedar color that many of my customers request. Thanks.

Here was a 14 year old, extremely weathered, 10x44 cedar deck that had multiple coats of stain. The deck is located in a condo complex with rows of similar decks. The last two coats, applied over the past two years, were Behr Alkyd/Acrylic. See here...http://www.behr.com/behrx/act/view/products_detail?prodGroupId=68&catName=Wood+Stains&catId=12 The homeowner indicated he washed the deck and applied the stain overtop whatever other finish was on the deck. It appeared to be a light beige finish of some kind, maybe Olympic, based on the color. There were so many layers, the finish almost looked semi-solid, or opaque. The homeowner really wanted to get back the semi transparent look, and liked many of his neighbors decks, which I have been restoring for many years. It was to be TWP Cedar Tone. Since the homeowner had a can of the nasty stuff in his garage, I was able to see exactly what the top two layers were, but didn't know for sure what was below. I told Mr. homeowner I would need to conduct a test patch in order to see if the stain could be adequately removed to allow for a new semi-transparent stain to be applied, as well as look decent. First I mixed up a small batch of HD-80 at full strength, and applied to some vertical surfaces as well as fascia boards, and an area of the floor. The mix was allowed to dwell about 20 minutes. The washer was fired up, with a 2509 tip installed. At best, maybe 50% of the stain came off, no where near enough for the deck to be restained with a semi-tran. So out to the trailer I go, retrieving a fresh gallon of Boost that I just ordered from Russ. I mix in an appropriate amount, and immediately, the pail of brew starts fizzing and hissing like a volcano about to erupt. Heat is emanating like crazy. The smell is so powerful that the fumes were burning my eyes, and I could slightly smell the odor right thru my 3m respirator. By this time, my helper was backing further away, fully aware of the powerful odor. I start spraying the mix on another test area as well as the area that I previously tested, about a 5x10 area. Within 5 minutes, the old finish was visibly lifting and dissolving. We wait another 15 minutes and perform the finger scratch test.....the old layers were melting off. So I crank up the washer again, and attempt another wash. This time, the old finish was washing almost completely off, a good 95% coming off with minmal effort, and about 600psi. When applying the boosted mix to the deck, a white foam immediately appeared, kind of looked like the appearance when applying a percarbonate cleaner. Four hours later, the deck was completely washed, rinsed about a million times, because the white foam kept coming back, and I felt sure there was still stripper lurking in the weathered craters....err cracks in the 14 year old lumber. I applied a nice strong citric acid bath, and the old cedar deck quickly turned from almost black, to a pleasant orangey cedar look. It was what I fondly call, the Kodak Moment. After all the brightening was done, a thorough inspection revealed that the boosted stripper worked quite well, only slight tell tale signs mostly visable around the knots in the wood. It was really difficult to tell just how well the mix worked until the brightening stage was complete. As expected, the homeowner was quite pleased when I informed him that applying the TWP CedarTone would be no problem, and that the knots may be a little darker, but will still look good. If anybody has any questions, don't hesitate to ask, but I can fully recommend that every wood restoration expert should have some of the Boost product in their arsenal. Previously I reported that the Boost did not do an adequate job removing a solid latex stain, and I stand by that finding. However, as I did previously mention in other threads, the Boost is the ideal solution for many other stubborn semi transparent stains. The attached pictures show a corner of the deck unwashed, the same area after washing and brightening, and a look at the Boost in the mix in a bucket, showing what it looked like. I wish I could have taken more pics, and some during the action, but I had my hands full as it was just getting the job done. Plus, I didn't really want to chance getting any mix on the camera, even if it is only a cheapie 2mp job.

What grade of gasoline do you use in your power washer, and why?

If you're going to stain with a solid latex, you don't even have to strip the old stuff. A good washing, brush off any flakes/peelings when dry, and stain away. Not even worth trying to strip the acrylic latex stuff. Never comes out good enuff to satisfy for a nice semi-trans finish.

Harbor Freight - 2 inch white china bristle brushes. About 12.00 for a case of 36. Works every bit as good as the pricier ones. I know cuz I've been using them for about 14 years.

The Flood I'm seeing must be newer, it's called TWF, wonder if it's just a re-name of the awful CWF? I asked the guy at the ICI store why they are carrying Flood? He said that's the direction corporate is going and he can't do anything about it. Amazing how that particular store sells dozens of pallets of TWP yet he has no influence whatsoever with corporate. I know for sure the FLood crap will not sell to the pros and that store will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars when it's all done.

Howdy all!! Been a long time. A lot has happened during my absense, but I've missed everyone, and still hanging on power washing. I hope the economy straightens around soon, sheesh already. Been looking at the Armstrong line but the fact it has vegetable oil in it seems alarming, as though it may be a food for mildew and algae. My local paint store (ICI Dulux)where I get my TWP does not yet have firm info whether they are going to carry the new TWP or switch entirely to Flood products, which they have already brought in the store. Yuck.

I use a citrus cleaner on my own which works well.

None of the commercially prepared awning cleaners I use contain butyls. Sometimes I add a few chems to spice up the mix a bit, but again, not a butyl based product. Like Rod said, test first.

Why don't you take some pix and post them here? It would be great to see how the job turned out for you.

As Ken stated, those are the downfalls. But since you asked if you can use a roller, yes you can, but you may need to brush to get between the boards. And as long as you roll the length of the boards (with the grain), and keep a wet edge, you won't have a problem with roller tracks showing. I use a roller for applying solid stain because I'm just not a big fan of spraying outside, since it always seems to be windy only on days when I would want to spray...lol! You would need an airless setup to spray the latex, well a homeowner Wagner would work too. When spraying latex, it's a good idea to mix in some Floetrol additive or something comparable to make it spray smoother.

I use a #9 on a dual lance so I can dial down or turn up when needed. The #9 ensures that too much pressure is not advertantly applied.

Flipping boards only works if the boards are straight cut on the ends. If they are miter cut, the cuts will be backwards when flipped. Also, many decks are nailed down with spiral shank nails, which do not come out without tearing the heck out of the board surface. There are chems used that can and will remove the solid stain, but I am not going to say what they are because they can be dangerous, and I'm not going to put it out there for others to hurt themselves. Replacing the floor boards would be the easiest, and likely cheapest way to remedy the problem. Cleaning, light sanding and restaining with a solid is only a temporary fix, and without a doubt in my mind will still fail and start peeling again. Going this route, you can plan on doing this process every year to keep the floor looking satisfactory. I've been in this biz for 12 years, and have encountered your situation so many times I can't even count them.

Two reasonable approaches as I see it. First, explain to the customer what has happened, regarding the UV exposure, etc. Either leave the rug off and deal with the lighter spot for a year or so, eventually it will blend in somewhat better. Or, put the carpet back down.

Anybody ever use this stuff? Here is a link to it..... http://www.sorbtech.com/integrated/default.asp?Page=Catalog.asp&PageID=1261 It costs a kings ransom, but I'd be interested to know if it works like they say it does.

IMHO, hot water house washing appeals more as a marketing tool. It's easy to build a case for, and sell a wash job on the basis that hot water cleans better than cold. However, water conditions are different in various geographic regions, which is to say, some areas the water is harder, softer, or has more mineral content. All these things can affect the way detergents perform. In my location, I can get any house as clean with cold water as I can with hot.

I just use a spring clamp on the top of the pail to hold the hose in the bucket. Also, I prefer using a 6 gallon bucket, so I can get a full five gallon mix and carry it without sploshing all over.

Maybe I should use up my Northwest frequent flyer miles before it's too late!!

You mean like this.....

OK, Been gone for awhile. No, I did not clean those awnings using only a power washer. I used a cleaning mix that started with Winsol products, and added a few of my own propietary items to the mix to achieve the performance I needed. Brushing....and lots of it is required to properly clean awnings. A power washer is of course useful for rinsing, as long as the proper nozzle is used. A #12 served the purpose very well, without causing damage. We cleaned 92 awnings like the ones pictured, and they all came out beautiful without any damage. Oh, and just because I have a power washing wand in my logo doesn't mean that's all I use to clean stuff.

Or like this....????

You mean dirty like this????

The only way to "beef up" a pumps output is to change the pulleys to increase rpm's. That makes the pump work harder, and even though there may be extra capacity untapped, I don't like the idea of working a pump to it's max. I liken it to overclocking a computer cpu to make it faster. Yes, it's faster in the short term, but the extra heat generated will shorten it's lifespan.

Yes. I always run R/V antifreeze thru mine after removing the water. If you used air pressure to blow the water out for winterization, that alone is not enough to prevent freeze ups. There will still be some water left inside. That is why you'd want to instill the antifreeze to displace any remaining water.