fireandrain

Hey Rick, do you think I'd be OK spraying this direct from my deckster the same as I would with EfC38?

Hi Scott, thanks for the info, love to try one. Can you email me a paypal order form for 1 of the mops, 2 refills, and the wideboy tray with lid? I was gonna order straight from your site this AM, but couldnt add on your wideboy tray... thanks

thats funny Larry, I was just reading from the same sight... ;)

Is the Sodium Tripolyphosphate a surfactant?

Hmmm... can I mix in some TSP? Just need it to soap up Im guessing...

Thanks guys~ im gonna head out to HD today, ill order them from the sealer store if I cant find em locally (as if HD is a "local" business! ) Just in a pinch for about 4K sq. ft. of redwood deck i need to finish next week...

glad you guys find this one as amusing as I do. Im really excited to tackle it! I think its gonna look great when Im finally finished with it. yeah, Im thinkin' extension ladders, low pressure tips that will make it easier for me to manage when im up there. Also, I'm planning on working that efc-38 dwell time, multiple washes if neccessary. ANYTHING to avoid having to hit every centimeter with swiss perfection. After spending 30minutes walking around it yesterday I told the client that I want him to have a 'heart attack' when he pulls in the driveway, want it to look that good! He laughed. Thankfully,, Oh yeah, those shingles are also Redwood. The house was built appx. 30 years ago, mostly out of salvaged old growth redwood from a warehouse in Oakland. Client took me on a tour inside as well, AMAZING exposed rafters, all hand carved and shaped... really impressive work.

Thinkin about getting a larger battery for my deckster set up. Possible? I know, pretty ignorant. Im thinking of dropping in a larger 12V marine battery. Anyone done this?

Heres another shot, gives you an idea about the issue hitting the front of the structure due to sloped hillside access issue...

Thanks for all the information guys. I appreciate the chiming in from the guys at Sunbrite. I should have begun by saying that I DO have the special battery that Sunbrite sells to accompany their deckster. So far, it has performed great for me. I keep a conventional small 'landscape' battery on board now in the event the main battery runs out on a jobsite. I have been trickle charging at the end of the day as a ritual and so far no worries. My post was really just to explore other alternatives, longer run-time,etc... I get it now. A deep marine 12V will run longer but may be prohibitively heavy and a real pain in the keister to carry around a jobsite. Makes sense! Thanks to everyone who has chimed in!

Hey Guys, hope you all are having a great weekend! So I got my first batch of Ready Seal Med. Redwood in last week.. Tomorrow is going to be my first spray with this famous stuff! I'll be spraying 2 suspended redwood decks, spindles and rails as well. Ive attached some pics from last week's cleaning for your amusement. I cleaned with EFC-38 and brightened with Citralic. Going to spraying with my deckster Any last minute advice on spraying the Ready Seal? I usually spray suspended deck spindle (back-sides) first, leaning over the rails technique. Any help would be great, would really boost my pre-game confidence goiing into this. Thanks!

I really should just post a picture on here from today, a snap of myself covered in stain. Man, it gets so hot out here in the summertime, just cant deal with wearing anything too hot when Im spraying a deck. What do the pros wear when their spraying decks? Coveralls? Face masks and respirators? I really want to get my gear up to par, tired of coming home and having to take a mineral spirits bath! Okay, so my fiance nudged me to post this one..;) If some of your pros could share your secrets on how to stay clean when dealing with deck spraying, I would appreciate it! (and so would my fiance'....and come to think of it, my dog, he hates lickin my stain saturated face when i come home at the end of the day... woof!)

sounding a bit paranoid now, but, i usually water down my rags an let em sit out. your suggesting that i plunk em in the metal can after watering down afterwards... when will they 'evaporate out'? i mean, how can they if theyre in the can covered? thanks for you input Kevin.

wow, looks like i really opened a can of worms with this one! Great topic though, none of us want to end up in the ER or return to pick up a check from a deck job and find nothing left at the property but a chimney and a half dozen firefighters waiting around for our sorry ass to show up and "explain what happened"... So, thanks for all the input on the RS flammability issue. On a related topic, where can a guy find some of these 'approved' metal containers in which to toss the soaked tarps,rags,disposable overalls,etc.? Cant we just toss them back in the empty RS 5'er and take to the dump?

are there any 'extension' wands out there that could get me up to spindles on a suspended deck? Maybe an extra 5-6'?

im using the adjustable deckster spray gun, about 24" from trigger to spray tip. I try to spray "with" the wind as well... maybe i need to work on my technique a bit more... i usually leave the deck as a west-indian from the knees down.

thanks Kevin, yeah, a real ***** not being able to find any 12.5% around here! Ace has the 10% 3.25 p/gal. How big of a deal is that extra 2.5% anyways? Ive been using 4% so maybe 10% would be sufficient for now.

yeah Shane, that was me today.... cargo shorts and a t-shirt... i wear these "crocs' sandle things, great for wet work. dont know how you do it w/o respirator though... my head is still buzzing from spraying RS all day without one.

thanks Kevin.. yeah, read the label today before spraying RS, does say combustible. I watered down my rags and locked them in the empty RS pale. GREAT advice on the combustility of stains, where to store,transport,etc... I left a partially saturated sponge out near a pol last year, overnight... came back the next day and it was torched! burnt to a crispy lil/ knuckle of a thing..also burnt a hole though a shirt beneath it... It must have combusted overnight at some point, lucky me it was AWAY from the house or I would have been in one heap of trouble!!!!!!!!! Brings up the question of what to do long term with stain soaked rags, overalls,etc... Im thinking water em down and lock up in empty 5'ers.

Hey thanks Kevin... Looks like its only us on the w. coast up tonight,eh? Anyyyyyways, yeah, I may be interested in your face mask. Can you explain to me how the battery aspect works? Not familiar with these masks. Hey, Im still hunting all around here for some 12.5%, may have to get up to Sac. to pick some up at your place! That was Sierra Chem right? What do you pay p/gal for this yummy stuff?

THANKS for all of the pre-game support, appreciate it. Knocked the job out today, looks great. Love that RS! Aside from the fact that it was bloody sweltering out there today it all went pretty well. Thanks for the help guys~

I agree, price this one high. Also agree with Beth, defineteley be clear with the client with regards to expectations. This is always a good idea when dealing with tricky situations.

Ready Seal is not combustible? Is that true? Its oil-based though,right?

love these things! I use them to keep my guns open, saving my wrists (or whats left of them...)

Actually, deck was still wet, and the pic is pre-brightener.. Looks much more uniform pre-staining. great tip on the bedsheets technique....i imagine that sheet is going to be pretty well soaked with ready seal when im done with the spindles... any suggestions as to what i should do with these soaked sheets when im done? (besides light them and toss them in Bin Laden's cave that is...)