Stain on Vinyl Siding

[CannonW 14]

So... I spend a 1/2 hour taping along a deck so I woudn't hit the house with the stain. Then, of course, I hit the house with stain right above the tape. I quickly wiped it off and was pleasantly surprised when it wiped right off. I hit the house with stain later and discovered that it wiped off even easier if you have a little paint thinner on your rag.

So my question is... does anyone skip the taping and just carry a rag to wipe off the stain marks on the house... or is that a bad idea?

[andye629 14]

i use sheets of cardboard and put them between the deck and house. they r about 3 ft high so its pretty hard to hit the house but if u still do hit the house i use krud kutter and a rag u can also buy shields at home depot or sherwin williams for about 15 bucks and they also work well but nothing beats good ol cardboard

[CannonW 14]

Where do you get the sheets of cardboard?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Appliance stores always add them to their cardboard dumpsters.

Beth

p.s. we plastic up anyway, since if you don't manage to see something right away it can harden and be a royal pain in the rump to remove... better safe....than scrubbing and mumbling under your breath...

[andye629 14]

plastic is good depending on the job but whenever i mask a house with plastic the stain seems to drip down the plastic and then when u remove it there is stain on the bottom of the house. it doesnt do that with cardboard. it just seems to stick to the cardboard and very rarely do i have any cleanup.just take 3x3 or 4x4 pieces of cardboard and put them between the house and deck (overlap them) and u r good to go. it takes about 2 min to put up card board and u can keep using them over and over where plastic takes time to tape up and then u just throw out. i'm not knockin plastic but this is just my opinion and it works very well.

[reed 500]

is the splatter coming from spraying the floor or spraying other areas? If just the floor, cut in about 1' with a brush first and then use the cardboard or sheets of luan boarding.

Overspray is the chief concern when spraying and unfortunately you are experiencing the problems associated with spraying. The more spray time you get under your belt the better you will get in preventing overspray.

Heads up everyone--- I recently was turned on to a liquid cleaner that auto detailers use. It's called "the Green Stuff". If you can get an Auto Dealership or big time auto detailer to sell it to you, GET IT. You can spray it full strength on vinyl siding sprayed with sealer, let dwell for just a couple of minutes and wipe the stain off with a paper towel.. Auto detailers use this stuff for getting stains off of cars for improving resale value based on appearance. The name they refer to for this product is The Green Stuff and is not to be confused with any other product with green in the name. I am trying to locate the manufacturer of the product and when I do I will post it. Meantime the only place you may get it, is as I just mentioned.

Reed

[Firedkm 14]

I always have a rag dampened with mineral spirits while I am staining. I hate to tape and hang plastic. Its really a matter of preference. Most of the time I am by myself when sealing so I don't want to waste time masking off. Do I get sealer on the places where its not supposed to be? Of course I do at least a couple a times each deck I seal. I usually catch it before it's to late and dries on the surface.

[CLASSICPW 14]

I also use cardboard sheets, and always carry a box of rags and mineral spirits. I hate using plastic because of the drips, also because it comes in a small roll and rolls up into a huge sticky bundle. Canvas tarps are the way to go for concrete and such under the deck, they can be expensive but well worth it.

[CCPC 26]

Reed,

I think the "Green Stuff" you are reffering to is carried by The Pressure Washing Store here in Jacksonville, FL. there web address is: http://pressurewasherstore.com/chem/stuff.html

[Rodney 14]

oven cleaner will get stain off siding if it dries. Mineral spirts and a rag is my best friend.

[CCHSNC 14]

I preffer to use the pretaped plastic when I spray. I use simple green and a rag it works really good on removing splatter.

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

I agree with AndyE....cardboard and shields are the best and fastest. And that KrudCutter removes any overspray quickly. Andy worked with me for a few years and we devised many tricks. You would be suprised how handy a tack stapler and a tarp is to..hanging it over a rail to prefent spray from hittint the house...and much easier to work with than plastic.

Andy

[Aplus 525]

I don't spray so I don't worry about it. A paper towel moistened with mineral spirits cleans up any fresh stain on siding, trim etc. I don't use cloth rags because of the concern of spontaneous combustion in my trailer. Paper towels dry quickly outside and pose less risk.

[CLASSICPW 14]

BTW, I,ve said it before, but Walmart sells these HUGE thumbtacks that are great for setting tarps on the neighbor's decks on townhouses and other uses. You just tap them in w/ a hammer and pull them out when your done.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Huge thumbtacks? Got a pic?

Also try a bucket of degreaser with a rag in int. Makes clean up a breeze.

Beth

[CLASSICPW 14]

Sorry, no pic. They're in the office supplies aisle in any of the 1 billion WalMarts across the US.

[Paul B. 523]

I buy mineral spirits by the 5 gallon container for the airless sprayers and for other clean-up including brushes and wiping stain off paint and siding.

We use a variety of tools: cardboard, canvas tarps (both can be stapled to the railing), aluminum shied (Lowe’s, Home Depot and Sherwin Williams), shield that holds cardboard or other materials, plastic for large areas, small sheet metal painters shield to use between walls and columns or between house and deck floor or between floor and railing.

Mineral spirit works great on siding.

MEK works great on removing stain and paint off concrete and brick.