Tracy Handl

Hello and welcome! If I, or we, can be of any service to you at all, pleased just let us know! See all we can offer you at www.sunbritesupply.com

If the wood siding is stained, and it is an oil based stain, then using bleach can actually pull the stain out. You've probably done some damage to those areas and that is why it looks like a failing stain. Bleach is an alkaline just like strippers are. I have bleached maintenance jobs on wood decks and have removed some of the stain with a mix very similar to most house washes. Always be careful with wood sides homes. Latex painted wood siding doesn't present this problem, but oil-based paints or stains will. Use a product made for wood care on oil-based finishes on wood siding, that won't do any stripping at all.

If the wood siding is stained, and it is an oil based stain, then using bleach can actually pull the stain out. You've probably done some damage to those areas and that is why it looks like a failing stain. Bleach is an alkaline just like strippers are. I have bleached maintenance jobs on wood decks and have removed some of the stain with a mix very similar to most house washes. Always be careful with wood sides homes. Latex painted wood siding doesn't present this problem, but oil-based paints or stains will. Use a product made for wood care on oil-based finishes on wood siding, that won't do any stripping at all.

If you can't find it, though I would expect you will, we can ship bleach in a 55er. We don't normally ship bleach, but have for guys not able to locate a local source. Freight would run about $75 to $100.

Corncob is the blasting medium used for it's hardness when doing refinsh work. Like sandblasting, the finish is being removed mechanicaly, just with an abrassive that won't do damage to the wood. Many mediums are available to the blaster like sand, walnut shells, corncob, baking soda, etc. The type and hardness will make a difference to the outcome of the job. Also different medium types have different clean-up methods. Some just wash away, others need to be picked-up. Hope that sheds some light.

It has been my experience that taking money off the price makes it seem like you were chargeing too much to begin with. Sure it's a good way to "seal a deal", but wouldn't it be better to say, ' That's the price, but how about I clean your walkway, (or lawn furniture, or something) in addition for free". Everyone loves that word. So, don't cheapen your service, add value to the job your giving them. You still make the money you were looking for, and the customer still feels they got something out of you. Be creative and have fun, just don't discount.

We are a supplier of Ready Seal. Certainly the easiest of the product mentioned here to work with. You can find it on the above listed site, or you can call us direct. Our Gaitersburg, MD store also stocks it. (301-519-9274) Plainpainter - A true HVLP works like you have mentioned, but most wood guys call an HVLP any sprayer that puts out less pressure, and more volume, than an airless sprayer. No refilling of qt jars with things like the Deckster; Sureflow; or even a pump-up sprayer. They still get concidered a High-Volume-Lo-Pressure spayer even though they are different from what you are reffering to. Cabot solid color stain deffinetly has to go through an airless sprayer. Also, as we get closer to the cold weather, remember that RS is not temp. regulated, only moisture content regulated. Please let me know how else I can be of help.

Oxidation (chalking) is defined as; ox·i·da·tion (ks-dshn) KEY NOUN: The combination of a substance with oxygen. A reaction in which the atoms in an element lose electrons and the valence of the element is correspondingly increased. This leaves a chalky residue on the siding that will dull the exterior of the surface. Keeping the surfaces clean will help keep the oxidation from happening. Extreme caution should be used when cleaning. Often these surfaces will need to be cleaned, and then treated to look good again. It is very important to inform your customer prior to cleaning about the potential outcome and to discuss the next course of action to be taken. There are vinyl restorative products available. On aluminum siding, priming, then painting may be required. Cleaners made specificly for vinyl are available. They usually will contain some sort of caustic like sodium hydroxide, or sodium metasilcate, which will aid in the removale of the oxidation. Basic cleaning practices should be used when working with theses cleaners. Then restore the siding with a restorative product made for the substrate. We carry Flood Restora. Since this is not a white vinyl, this may be the perfect product to use on this job. If you do nothing after the cleaning, the oxidation will probably return, and the siding may actually look worse once cleaned. Give me a call if I can be of more help than what I have posted here.

Patrick, You won't have any problem with Ready Seals finish. However, you could end up with a little spotting if the rain left water droplets on the surface and the oil hadn't had a chance to soak in. When the droplet evaporates, oil floating on the droplet can leave a ring becuase the water tension will have that oil to the outside of the drop and once the drop is gone the oil gets left on the wood cuasing and extra layer of oil in that area, which can show. If that happens, take a flat pad and put a light application on, evening out the concentration of oil on that surface. The only other thing I can think of for this situation is the rain could wash off the non-absorbed oil causing two possibilities. 1) a mess below the deck if concrete or anything else was below. 2) No oil had a chance to soak in and thus a re-aplication may be neccessary. If there was any amount of time between when you applied and when the rain started, like stated above, you probably have nothing to worry about. Ready Seal is very forgiving and I haven't had a deck yet that I couldn't fix ANY problem associated with the job. Let me know if I can be of any other help with your RS use or power washing needs.

In my experience, a flat pad is better than a roller because a roller tends to "flip" light weight products. Work near the house with a roller and you'll see what I mean. Check the siding and you'll see plenty of splatter. This just doesn't happen with a flat pad. Also, a lot of boards are cupped, and a roller won't get into the cupped areas. A flat pad can be pushed into these areas to get good coverage. Flat pads will tear-up on rough wood, or if the nails aren't set prior to sealing. I have used a single flat pad for months. I just had to be sorta careful, and attentive to the surface being worked on. We used Ready Seal, so the hair issue was never a problem. Even if they are all over the deck, products that don't "film" will never "catch and hold" them. Filmers will, and "hairs", pollen, leaves, etc., will all be problemmatic. How do you handle those issues? The flat pad hair issue should be handle in the same way. Here's a link to our flat pad page. http://sunbrite.stores.yahoo.net/flatstainpads.html Use them if you like, if not, that's cool too. I loved them! Use what works for you. Just my 2 cents.

Sun Brite Supply is a vendor of pressure washing products, so I do not get in the field as a rule anymore. I do however still do product research and wash buildings, decks, drives, etc. from time to time both for the research, and to stay in touch with the proccesses. I also do plenty of product reccommendation and get lots of feedback from those contractors. I have in fact been in the feild every Sat. for the last month. (Don't worry I don't take work away from anyone) Ken, as a rule I still say 1% to 3% is all that's needed when applying bleach, though you're correct when you say 6% would be needed for a job like you pictured. As new guys are often on this board, I tend to air on the side of caution with advice, though I still beleive 1 to 3% is enough. Plus being primarily a wood guy, old habits come up easily. 6% on wood is too much. I know I have used bleach that strong myself when needed. I always tell guys, "use the least amount needed to get your job done". Sometimes you need some extra "kick"! Do what you need to do. Just don't cuase damage. I've seen bleach "burn" concrete at 12%. You can't reverse that. Beth - thanks for reminding me of being able to mention products. As I said above, old habits die hard. I know you know what I'm talking about. :)

Bleach should be applied to a surface between 1% and 3% for a any job. House wash mix with Powerhouse can be at a 25:1 ratio. At 15:1 it should be working great but, if you are getting film left on windows, use less of the powerhouse. To clean gutters with powerhouse, use at a ratio of between 4:1 and 10:1. Just be sure to have soaped the wall behind it first or wet the wall at least. Powerhouse should not be use at greater than 15:1 on painted surfaces.

Stucco should not worry you too much. I get the question quite often and usually recommend a butyl degreaser with a sodium hypoclorite solution of between 1% and 3%. This mix will allow you to get the black streaks off as well as the mold and mildew. It won't require too much pressure and I've had great feedback from many of the guys i've recommended this to. I can't mention a poduct here but could direct you more if you call me toll free at 877-578-7759.

John is right. You won't meet a nicer guy than Joe Walters. When we were a deck cleaning operation we used Joe. Now that we are a distrubutor, we still use him. He knows the biz well. Welcome to the community. Good luck in your ventures.

Rodney, I have been in that exact situation b-4 and heres what I did; I sprayed right through the srcreen. I had no ill effects to the screen. Finish your whole job. Don't allow the RS to dry in the screen, as others have mentioned, as it will be tough to remove then. Maybe let that area be the last place to finish. Then once everything is finished, rinse the screen with water. It will spray right out, and because of the nature of Ready Seal, you will not harm the finish. You may want to sweep off any puddling so no spoting can occur due to oils floating on the droplet and being left behind when the drop evaporates. It should really be easy to finish your project. I know of no other product you can do this with this easilly. Have fun! Call me if I can be of any other assistance with your Ready Seal applications. 877-578-7759. Tracy Handl- Sun Brite Supply

A company in your area I would recommend is Roof to Decks Restoration. Their main Co. phone # is 651-699-3504. They have a local branch near you.

When you wash with SH, (by the way, bleach is not a cleaner in and of itself. Do you wash your clothes in bleach alone?) don't you follow it with a brightener? Could the overspray be the brightener? It is true SWH and soft metals like aluminum don't get along well, but if the door was painted with a latex paint, it is unlikely the the SH would do much to if if you washed and rinsed the area. It can , but usually doesn't effect it the baddly if rinsed off during your washing. Wood britener, on the other hand can spot some paints pretty quickly. If left to dryt on the surface will most likley result in damage. If the metal door was bare and you got SH on it, then I would expect damage faitly fast; painted would be spotty, but not pitted in the metal. I like the suggestion on seeing about cleaning the whole door. Maybe it can be blended. I'm not trying to diminish the tread here, just wanted to expand the thinking to the whole process. Sure hope this works out for you!