Has anyone had this problem before?

[Brad 14]

I was called to clean up somebody else's mess.Some guy did a 30 x 30 deck with pure bleach [clorox customer say's] and sprayed it all over the deck and other thing's that he thought needed cleaned like there plant's and shrubs! Anyhow the bleach is only one problem the tip and cut marks are the other and it's patchy lite to dark areas it looks like total destruction.And it only gets better the home owner wants to go with a clear sealer!!! I tryed talking them into a stain but they said only if it's a must.The good new's is this guy is my only competition in my town.Can anyone help?Can this be fixed to be able to seal it?I've been doing this for 12 years and never seen anything like this.I'll send some pic's when I go back out there.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

Strip the deck and follow with a brightener to neutralize the stripper. Tell the customer to enjoy the dead plants

Andy

[Paul B. 523]

"And it only gets better the home owner wants to go with a clear sealer!!! I tryed talking them into a stain but they said only if it's a must."

Tell them IT IS A MUST if they want good protection for their expensive deck.

As for the tip marks, they should be sanded out.

Depending on how much chlorox was used and how long it was left on, the dead wood fibers will also need to be removed by sanding or if lucky by de-felting. See if you can work the sanding $$$ by the hour. Quote cleaning, stripping and refinishing at a fixed price and hourly rate for sanding if it's over what you normally allow for. State how much sanding is included in your contract. You'll see how much work you have after you've finished your cleaning/stripping based on what, if anything was previously on it.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Adding to what Paul said....

When sanding don't just "spot" sand or you will end up with uneven spots if you sand too hard. Do the entire board at least lightly. If you seal with a semitransparent, try to go away from a gold and head towards a cedar or brown tone this time. It will help hide any remaining damage if you are uncertain of your sanding skills. If you are experienced with sanding, gold should also be a good color, but you'll want an even smooth result or any remaining damage will be obvious.

1. rewash, and neutralize focusing on the stop start marks and such to even them out

2. come back to sand and defuzz/defurr, once the boards are back to the way they were prior to the first wash or better in texture, then seal. Look for a spot on the deck where he didn't mess up the wood to much and use that as your visual guide of what you are working towards if that helps.

Call if you need support during this project. We are more than happy to help you out.

Beth :groovy:

[Firedkm 14]

Brad,

If you need to sand the floor check out your local rental store. See if they have a 7x13 orbital floor sander. This was recommended to me by Everett this year and it worked great. It cost a little under a hundred bucks for the rental and the cost of the sandpaper. The deck floor was about 300 sq ft. and took me only 45 minutes to sand. I started out with 36 grit paper and finished off with 50 grit. The floor was great. The picture show what the railing looked like. the floor was worst. The deck was sealed with Ready seal dark red.

[Everett Abrams 501]

Glad to some of my tips get used. Worth the rental fee? If you do any volume it helps to buy one. As usual, Paul with more great advice.

[Firedkm 14]

Glad to some of my tips get used. Worth the rental fee? If you do any volume it helps to buy one. As usual, Paul with more great advice.

Hands down it was worth the rental cost. I would probally still be sanding if I never used it.

[paul-uk 500]

dale...that sander looks awkward to use...how did you find it handled ?.....must be good if everett recomended it

[Firedkm 14]

dale...that sander looks awkward to use...how did you find it handled ?.....must be good if everett recomended it

Paul,

The handle comes down like a floor scrubber does. Its also an orbital sander so it vibrates in all directions. It was very easy to handle and went the direction I wanted it to go with ease.

[Cassman 14]

I'm thinking maybe I should use one of those on a job I have coming up. It's a cedar deck, about 40 x 20. The homeowner has powerwashed it himself, twice, over the past 4 years. He never used any solutions, and I don't think he sealed it, because the cedar looks *extremely* weatherworn for a 5-year old deck, much like Dale's close-up pic above, with deep grooves. The customer asked if it should be sanded first, but I never thought of a floor sander. That would certainly speed things up.

[James 624]

If there's no divit marks from pressure. Just clean the weathered wood. If cedar is left to season 4 or 5 years it comes out great with a product like RS.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

:zipit: ....we'll just have to disagree on letting the wood age....

Beth :groovy3:

[Aplus 525]

I've found that older cedar accepts stain better than new cedar, provided the wood is prepared properly. Brand new cedar is too tightly grained and does not accept stain very well.

If the deck has deep grooves, caused by too much pressure power washing, then sanding may be in order, because those grooves will show up. If they're not too deep, then just prepare the surface as usual and stain. The normal aging process of the wood will correct the minor surface imperfections over time.

[James 624]

I cleaned and stripped a cedar deck 2 years ago that was sealed every other year with cwf and other film formers. The worst deck I every saw for divits and miss used bleach. It is 1200 sq of floor. It creaked and all the nails were loose. 15 gallons of ready Seal it took stop and restore the wood. Im doing a 5 year old cedar deck now one coat of CWF and two Sikkens. It drank Ready seal. I guess my point is using a film forming finish right away does not seal in the natural resins !!!