plainpainter

I find this statement to be a load of B/S. I find that even solid oil stains just flip off like mad from horizontal surfaces worse than a semi-solid or transparent. I painted a whole house with solid oil stain - all new construction with pre-primed lumber. I even re-primed all the window sills even though they were primed and oil solid stain is a self priming product - no matter, the stuff still flipped off the window sills back down to bare spongy new growth pine wood.

Interesting - why the difference in prep of the one step bleach process vs. the two step percarb stripping and citric application? Is there a difference in price - customer choice? Or you felt one deck didn't need a full strip? Or were you just experimenting? I think the key to some of you readyseal guys is that you really load up the wood with stain - I've heard you guys will come back after a couple of days for another coat - is that true?

Rick - that's a very pretty stain right there - I suppose it's readyseal - but it won't look like that in a year's time, right?

Mr. Potter - this is the first time I realized that you built decks. I have no experience with penofin - but I hear only harsh criticism. The products I used were far better than penofin - but this chase over a 'pretty' stain has been elusive. Everyone at one time or another used a 'pretty' stain that had all the characteristics they wanted. But somehow the recipes get mucked up, the EPA comes storming in. And that truly pretty deck stain that still looks pretty after a year seems harder and harder to find. The last 3 years one manufacturer got alot of all our business around here - all based upon how the stain performed back in '04 - and it took 4 years to fully convince most everyone that the stain doesn't live up to it's former glory.

200 Fahrenheit water and loads of sodium metasilicate is the bomb for removing paint from wood!

Tammy - you have to think of yourself as a 'consultant' - basically you are consulted for a job - and you tell the folks what you think and what service you offer and how it fits them or doesn't. 5 years ago I thought it was my job to meet every homeowners requirements. But now I know better. I 'walk' constantly - it hurt in terms of sales - or lack thereof. But I have since corrected the problem with more effective advertizing to acquire more sales leads. Tammy - there are alot of lopey people out there. If you allow folks to take the easy route by telling them 'yes' all the time - of course they will take the option. You'll learn once you start telling folks how you conduct your business and if it doesn't suit their needs - that you understand perfectly - you'll find more people will come around and give you a call back.

Jeff I did this combo 2 years ago - I remember have to 'cut' the top of the balusters and stringer boards going underneath the trex railing board. Small deck - also had trex floorboards - it was the most painful deck job I have ever done. To be honest - I don't know of any price increase that would ever justify doing this again. I can deal with taping off the 4x4's and tarping the floor. But I think in the future the easiest thing to do will be to replace all the handrails with new trex - I remember it taking me on the order of 10-12 hours to stain by hand the 'frame' on something like a 14x20 deck.

Wash houses?

Walnut hull blast media? Years ago I had a customer go on a two month vacation - and I had to strip 150 yr trim down to bare wood and start back up again - I blasted all the doors, mouldings, baseboards, and crown moulding with walnut hulls. Heck you could even use the wet blasting attachment for pressure washers and blast it the same day you wash it - LOL!

you're really bored, Rick! LOL!

I respectfully disagree, Ken, I've used the 'standard' ptstate mix - and there are times when you have to reapply to certain areas - especially algae on the bottom rows of vinyl siding. I've had mixes turn mildew instantly yellow {which is a tell-tale sign the mix is too strong} yet had to reapply to algae areas 2-3 times with that same mix! Different organisms die at different rates, some of those real nasty black gutters take 2-3-4 swipes with the downstreamer before they look bright white again. I'd say if you can kill algae in one swoop - then your mix is way way too strong for most ordinary cleaning.

I have this ptp deck that I have been staining with timberoil for the past couple of years - and every spring the knots bleach out. Then a couple of days ago it hit me what was going on. Knots in softer woods, such as yellow pine which is what pressure treated is, are much more dense than the surrounding wood. In fact the density of knots in a piece of pressure treated lumber is about equivalent to the overall density of much harder woods such as Ipe. These knots tell a story of how long we can expect a finish to last on a much harder wood species. So if I see the finish seriously 'bleaching' out in the knots after 6 or so months - that's perhaps how long I could expect an overall finish on an ipe deck to last. Just a random thought.

Nothing lasts on ipe - you could try stripping it - don't bother neutralizing. And then tell the homeowner to let it age and grey for a year. And then come back a year later - wash and restain - that's about the best prep you can hope for.

I get enough 'feedback' from folks on fading from a curing product - there is no way I would ever use a 'baby' oil stain for customers. I wouldn't be able to deal with all the calls. I personally like it for my own personal deck - just a wash and recoat every spring - and I buy into Jim's logic of what's it doing to the wood. But it doesn't fit a business model that I can think of. A.C. will have to be a 'best' compromise from here on out.

I did a total of 15 house washes for '08 - I washed alot of other things, roof, pergolas, decks, deck restos. Now April is never ever ever never a big month for me. But so far I have done a total of 5 house washes with more scheduled! Not big numbers - but for a guy that's built his business on a self-financed shoe string budget - I feel good I've already done a 1/3 of the homes I did all last year and the month isn't over yet!

I am cautiously optimistic, Chris. But as well - I think it's also a result of more marketing efforts I've been working on all winter long. More Marketing = More job leads = more overall work.

Hopefully I'll do much better in the deck resto business as well, Scott. I'd love to really lay down some A.C.!

Why not just mix TSP with bleach - it's a synergistic detergent builder that increases the power of bleach. I know this because when I mix a heavy duty tsp/metasilicate cleaner and combine it with bleach - I can clean up grey wood with the same %'s most guys use for gentle house washing.

painters watch paint dry and deck guys watch mildew grow....interesting!

5% Boric acid eye drop solution - for when I get caustics/bleach into my eyes.

my 3800psi,4gpm direct drive machine draws from a 35 gallon buffer tank and the supply is 6 inches below the entrance into the pump - have no problems.

I liked this forum better when everyone posted pictures of their finished decks - and the bleach wars were funny too. I forget what the war was about - guys were arguing against bleach to clean homes?

Lately my steering wheel has been getting looser and looser - I can swing it like from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock without the car going in either direction. So I talked to the mechanic and we set an appointment up. Turns out the steering knuckle is bad - I had the entire front end rebuilt - so the 'weak' link in the chain went bad real quick. Turns out GM discontinued this part on my '95 - and 9 out of 10 'bone' yards said they didn't have it. Supposedly one guy says he has one still in the van that is good, crossing my fingers. But it didn't leave a very good feeling in my stomach. What are you suppose to to do - trash a perfectly good van over a stupid u-joint in the steering column? What a fiasco if these companies go out of business! Sure the thing drives like a 'bread' truck but that astro van has been so reliable. I'd hate to see it go.

Well - there is a bone yard that has the part. Just spooked me, up until now finding parts for the vehicle hasn't been a problem. I'll have to plan on updating in 2 years, give me enough time to get through this recession with minimal spending. She's a hard worker - but just was never designed to pull a tandem axle trailer - I am very 'ginger' when stepping on the throttle.

Really? I hope some of those guys who think their equipment is 'bought 'n paid for' as an excuse why they're cheap, read this thread. Might knock some sense into guys.