Wish me luck...

[plainpainter 217]

I have to go strip a customer applied ultra thick Sherwin Williams oil based deckscapes decking stain done a month ago. I don't know what crazy person's figment of imagination this product is based on - but this is a scary MOFO of stain! And it's ugly too!

I use a store bought degreaser as a 'proxy' stripper for doing test spots. It gives me a good idea of what I can and can't do. An miraculously - it was just barely able to strip the Sherwin and this black dark remnant crap underneath it as well - but it needed 4 applications and brushing before a hose could rinse it off.

So I put the order for the first time in my life of butyl on monday - coming in today - 2 days late on the job. But I am between a rock and hard place - this job is on the verge of needing a true paint stripper - it's going to be a hot brew today to get this stuff off! Customer has no idea of the ensuing miracles I am about to conduct - they're just worried about the barbecue on monday. Life as a 'woodie'

[John Orr 206]

You might try adding either Behr's or Flood's Deck Stripper to your mix. (The Flood is thinner) I accidentally discovered that adding this stuff to a hot mix will help to penetrate. Worth the $20 to try.

[plainpainter 217]

I came, I saw, I conquered - but man what a flagrant *****!

Elevated 14x18 deck - decided just to use a pump up, didn't want to get stripper all over the painted siding. I used HD-80 at full strength and spiked it with antifreeze and extra surfactants. I doused the deck with the pump in hot sun and then let it sit while I cleaned gutters. Then I came a half hour later after it dried and hit it again. Washed the deck - and then hit the floor again. Used 6 gallons of stripper through a pump up sprayer. then I made 4 gallons of efc-38 at full strength - and emptied that on the whole deck right over the third application of stripper - let it sit a while. then connected both my machines together to get more flow - and washed the deck off again. Then finally brightened. Finally the deck looked decent - this stain was applied so thick it was like pine tree sap that kept dropping on the deck. And in some ways I don't think the stripper truly dissolved the stuff - just made unbuckle so it could get knocked off.

I couldn't wait for the shipment of butyl -- so I made do with antifreeze, I wonder if the butyl would have been better? Some of the overspray got on my skin - the fine mist and it was like getting bit by a thousand bees.

For future strip jobs like this, I am going to consider a job for stripper cream - and it's going to be surcharged a minimum of 25-50% more money. this was the hardest strip of my life. I've stripped latex paint easier than this! What a gummy oozy mess. And to boot this guy's carpenter recommended the product!!!!!!!

[offduty 25]

I would have just passed:)

[plainpainter 217]

I would have just passed:)

Trust me - the thought crossed my mind.

[John Orr 206]

Dan, the strippers I mentioned have antifreeze in them, plus sodium hydroxide and surfactants. Works pretty well in a pinch, particularly on the verts.

[plainpainter 217]

John - I've stripped many decks - many very hard to strip decks. The mix I used was extra strong. But that characteristic 'brown' you see as strippers 'bite' into the old finish just wasn't there on this stuff. You could see how it was sticking to the wood like gum - like I said - the stripper was dislodging it - but at some point as I turned on both machines through the same gun, this ended up not being what you could honestly call 'low' pressure stripping.

[John Orr 206]

As I always tell my stipping customers, I use as low a pressure as possible, though 8 gpm helps!

[Douglas Hicks 128]

Have any of you guys tried laying plastic on your chems to retard the drying? Just a question from a greaser

[Joe Ortiz 14]

Dam always let the "stripper do all the work":D

do u have any pics?