Tom DeFrancesco

Here is another house I went to look at that is about a 100 years old and has never been cleaned. NOTHING I have tried so far has even made a dent to take this stuff off. I plan on trying safe restore next to see if that works.

I had the same problem on Friday. I cannot figure out how to get rid of the apparent water marks. i was affraid to try ox because i figured it would then make it brighter then the rest of the house. Any suggestions ??? BTW this is the second stucco house that has been a PITA to clean. The mold does not just rinse off like it does on vinyl.

I know what you mean. I have been trying to stain 2 decks since second week of June. HO dead set on semi-solid Cabots. The rain is killing me.

Walk away...........That is WAAYYYY to high.

That's good Jeff. very funny.

Since I have never done that type of job, how did u clean it and what did you spray on it ???

Matt, show some after pics. Let's see them stained.

The only thing I would like to add is check right below the soffits and or eves. It is very common to see dark dirt below it and from the ground looks easy to clean. Most of the time it is the aluminum that is actually pitted and cannot be cleaned. When I have to do an estimate on houses with aluminum siding and see that, I get the ladder and check it first and let the HO know what the outcome will be.

Rod, you asked if there was apine tree near by. Would that cause the black spots ?? I just did a composite deck and just used ox to get the spot out and it worked. I did notice a pine tree near by it though.

See how simple you make everything sound....lol...thanks Ken

What about over spray wwhen downstreaming ???

The seems to be a recurring problem for me. I cannot get my stripper to cling to vertical sections and i am constantly re-applying and rinsing. Any ideas ???

Any suggestions are much appreciated and welcomed please.

More pics

I am in the same situation. I am in the process of doing a large deck which has had Cabots #44 driftwood gray semi on it for three years. I was under the impression that I could do a light stripping and go right over it since the HO wants the identical stain. After thinking about it for a couple of days, I get the feeling it will not come out right. There will be darker spots and since it is an OIL based stain how is it going to take onto existing stain. Also HO is hell bent on getting a second coat. I called Cabots direct and the UNSURE technical advisor said she would strip it to the bear wood. Here are some before and after light stripping photo's

I aggree. Stay firm on your price. Do not lower it for your portfolio or because you are not that experienced. Customers should NEVER, NEVER, NEVER dictate your price. Danny boy could not have said it better. walk away from the nail biter shoppers.

Question, I used F-18 on a 20 year old deck that the owners swear they never sealed. It removed the dirt, mold and grayness and looked a 100 times better but still had some blackness. I understand this is what happens when stripping so I used oxolic acid and let dwell for 20 min and rinsed but still did not see much of a difference. Is this normal ?? Should the surface of the deck be dry before applying ?? More dwell time ?? The HO is amazed but not sure I am.

That is a good point Jason. I tried a stronger F-18 on the spots and it did not make a dent. Unfortunately for some ridiculous reason they do not want any type of stain. All they want is clear waterproof sealer so I am using, (and yes it hurts to say it) Thompsons. This is what they want. The deck really needs to have some boards replaced. I offered my services but explained it will not match what so ever and they refused. Oh well.......even though I am not happy with it, they are and I guess that is all that matters come pay day.

How did it work out for you Ed ?? Here is an idea.....sub it out to John T. He has that big fancy mower....eh...I mean swabby.....lol...he will do it and be done in 4 days.

Sorry for the delay, but for some reason it would not let me post. Anyway to answer your questions, yes I am 95% sure I rinsed it well, yes I rinsed the ox off because I always thought we had to, I tried scraping with my nail and it really did not come off. It actually feels like crud. It is regular PTW. I am going to sand the hand rails before sealing and see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

OMG.....you are so right.....They really, really do think it is a good job. Here are pics of a similiar job. This shop owner SWEARS it came out like a pro. All I could do is walk away because I could not believe how serious he was bieng.

X-JET all the way. No need for a ladder. Don, you must always have a minimum whether you are new or old. Set it to what you are comfortable with and covers your costs. e.g.: Mine is $150.00 no matter how small the job is.

Yeah Chris, believe it or not the closest one is about an hour and a half away. I am going to look up some Ace hardwares stores. It reall has been a PIA.

At least you guys can buy it near you. I still cannot find any place near me that will sells it. I have to travel pretty far to get it. Would you believe I have tried a couple of pool supply places and they have no idea what I am talking about.

Does anyone know if there is a miracle chem to help remove decals from a vehicle instead of just using a heat gun and adhesive remover ???