Trevor C.N

Thanks for suggestions guys. I've got a lot to go on here. Rod... I won't tell Beth about the bleach suggestion :) Rick, I'll check out Ready Seal and see if their product is approved for Canada.

Hey Rick, Thanks for the link. I'll call up Scott and get some Ready Seal and Defy stain samples and try them on old pt. Thanks for your input! Trevor

Hey Rick, Appreciate your comment. I did all the preparation steps including percarb. There was no previous stain on this deck (otherwise I would have stripped it.) I also mixed stain very thoroughly. I think Jason is on to something. Can anyone recommend a good stain that doesn't have predominantly transoxide pigments? I get my stain at the sealer store. Trevor

Thanks Jason, That really makes a lot of sense, i'll look into that stain! Does anyone else have thoughts or stain recommendations? Trevor

Would love to get your thoughts on staining old PT - it's the bane of my summers! The biggest challenge I have is making old pt look good, and here in the North (Canada) I stain a lot of pt wood. This is the problem: The older the deck is, the darker the final finish is. This photo is great example - I washed, brightened, even buffed this deck - and i'm not happy with end result. The deck looks inconsistent, and dark and dirty. On this particular deck I used AC amber, but I get a similar result with AC cedar semi transparent. The only solution I have right now is to use a semi-solid, but most customers really desire a cedar semi-transparent finish. Trevor

How much sanding did this require? Trevor

Rod I don't use sikkens, but i'm interested to hear why Sikkens is a particular bad alkyd stain. Thoughts? Trevor

Depending on the build of the deck, you could flip the boards.

I feel the same way with precarb and new decks. What alternative would you suggest then - a light bleach mix perhaps ?

Hey Rod thanks for your comment. In my experience, the precarb slightly darkens the wood, so I end up using the brightener anyways. So why not just use a brightener as the only chem on a deck? Of course, i'm only talking about fairly new decks that are just grey - no mold or mildew. Has anyone done this before?

I've been thinking... if a deck is just a bit weathered from 2 - 3 years of sun exposure, why couldn't you just clean it with a brightener (and some TSP or Dawn) and save yourself an extra step (by not applying the precarb to it). Assuming that there is no mold, or milder on the deck, this seems like a viable option.

Thanks! So I can probably get away with using the same hose for all my chemicals, as long as i'm careful to clean the hose out before I switch it over?

So Let's say I end up getting a 200 ft chemical hose that's mounted from my truck. When i'm done spraying the stripper, what would I do with everything that's left in the hose?

I use oxalic acid for my brightener.

I was hoping someone could give me advice on purchasing a chem tank and sprayer. I’m looking for a 25 gallon chemical sprayer to reduce the amount of time it takes me to mix chemicals on site. I typically work with sodium hydroxide (stripper) and brightener. I found a duel 25 gallon tank with a single hose (It has a control valve for tank selection). This seems like a good option for me, but i’m wondering if sharing the same hose would be a problem with these two chemicals? Should each chemical tank get a separate hose? Also, what length of hose is adequate for residential jobs? I need to make sure it can stretch far enough into most backyards. Any better suggestion in mind? please tell!