Greg Rentschler

Extremely busy here and while the weather hasn't been the most cooperative we've pcked up the sunny dry days whenever available to finish. We're about two weeks behind but I'm not going to complain... we're booking for late July and August right now. Working alot more weekends here lately :(

Have another log home we should have finished up by the end of next. If so (and if its okay to do so) I'll swap it out with one of the entries on PT or here. This ones a blast job of Cabot Solid Latex peeling like mad. Finishing it with Cedar Semi thus far.

We use the Makita's with the 8" backer disc and hook and loop 80 grit for sanding. They work well but it puts you on your hands and knees is the ounly rough part. I've never had good results out of drum sanders other similar models when it comes to solids. The best thing you can do is to strip as much off as possible then sand as little as possible :) We do alot of these but strip them with either boosted Stripper or Restoration paint remover. More and more I'm even thinking of glass blasting these babies... probably the easiest way.

Goto Northern tools and buy a 5 gallon fuel tank.. get a hose and do away with the 1 gallon. Fuel it once a day and forget it. I did this with all of our washers for 1) I was worried about that exact thing happening and 2) the inconveniece of having to refuel all the time. Just mount it above the washer and let gravity do the rest. gas tank from Northern Tool + Equipment

Scott - Isn't the Super Cedar more in the toner family? I have a gallon here but haven't used it other than a brush out. From what I recall it didn't have as much pigment at the semi's.

In my years of doing woodcare I have the say the AC rivals anything I've used to date. Some products over the years have treated me well while others have been a total nightmare but nothing has been as close to perfect as the AC (semitrans specifically) to date. A big problem over the years has been obtaining consistant reliable results out of ONE quality product line for the various applications we service. With the AC you can expect great results on virtually everything it goes on and to me thats priceless (don't take that literally Jake, Scott & Steve :D ).

pressuretek.com Bob is the man and will be there for any help.

Thanks Rick - I wanted to put the cedar semi on it but they (she actually) wanted it as light as we could get it after it was blasted out so we opted for the toner. The toner actually had a TON of red in it while it was wet but lost nearly all of that red undertone as it dried.

3m pads here... it's all we ever use. We don't usually get a whole lot of raised grain though. We used about 80 pads last year in total.

My Candidate for the contest. Finished with AC Cedar Toner. This was supposed to be the cedar semi but upon application the customer decided they wanted to see more of the grain and stuff. This house was a blast job with cob and crushed glass as it had permachink lifeline on it. Some areas were "layers" thick while others were next to nothing. Just finished it up yesterday! :D

Try rustic brown and sierra redwood 50/50 - seems to be a winner around here as we've already put down about 50 gallons of it.

Yea our guys are picking up Saturday and Sunday if the weather cooperates this weekend. Next week is looking hit and miss right now too unfortunately.

ARGHHH ... the rain won't stop! :( I'm sure your catching as well huh Scott :)

The unit you want to get is a Makita 9227C or 9227CX ... this unit has the specs that work the best with the pads. Greg Rentschler

You cannot mix an alkaline and an acid (EFC-38 and citraulic) as their chemistry will neutralize each other out rendering both ineffective. This especially applies to a high alkaline stripper and is a big no-no... as a chemical reaction will occur and you could potentially get hurt. It's kinda like dropping cold water into a deep fryer :) Take Care, Greg Rentschler

Just FYI - Envirospec no longer sells any TUFF equipment.... and shipping on that skid is around $200. We bought one back when they sold them :) Greg Rentschler

I second that.... we keep a couple cans of Easy Off in the trucks. It has a caustic base to it and will remove any oil based finish (overspray or otherwise) - wet or dried. Greg Rentschler

We strip latex with Bix. At least as much as we can :) Then sand out the floor. When we do these we always two tone them though in order to save on stripping down the railing. We do typically strip the top of the handrail and go back to semi trans though. Greg

I cant speak for any products other than our own but we normally will boost our percarb with around 3-4 ounces (volume) per gallon of TimberStrip.

Hi Paul, I wouldn't even use a stripper on this job other than maybe as a booster to a percarb. There doesn't look to be enough product on there. I would mix up a stronger percarb based cleaner (maybe 12-14 ounces per gallon), test a spot, and if needed boost the percarb. I would bet it would come off :) Greg Rentschler TimberSeal, Inc. 866-966-3227

We also have always used a stripper on a deck with heavy mold and mildew, even if it was only thompsons. The caustic base of a stripper does a better job of dissolving and breaking down the mildew than say a percarb we have even done tests with our own products that have proven so. At the same time though, if mold and mildew wasn't a serious problem we would clean with a percarb (easier on the body and surroundings :) ) Take Care, Greg Rentschler TimberSeal, Inc. 866-966-3227

Hi Paul , We've done a few reimbursement type jobs like this before and they usually pan out fine. One in particular was for BEHR. They paid the homeowner after receiving our estimate, then the homeowner paid us. Charge accordingly and profit :) Take Care, Greg Rentschler

I like your thinking ron. We have encountered some latex jobs that just wouldn't come up 100% without mechanical removal. We had one yesterday that was peeling badly on much of it but the areas that were stable wouldn't come up easily at all. These require a different stripper all together... who wants to strip a deck 5 times. Find an ICI delux nearby and by a gallon of Hydrostrip. This is Napiers Removall under the ICI name. Greg

Hi Howard, Hydroxide based products are not extremely reliable on latex based stains... we run into the same problem with our TimberPro line. The best resolution for latex is a product like Back To Nature or even something off the shelf in regards to a paint stripper. Take Care, Greg