Deck Stripping

[RGilliam 46]

okay I got 2 seperate decks to do at this house. One of them I stripped fairly easy. I think they both have diffrent stains on them. The second deck didn't work out so good tho. I used "rip it" from sunbrite on the second. On the first deck I used "remove" from sunbrite. I thought the "rip it" would be fairly stronger? Should I use more stripper tomorrow?

[RPetry 564]

Ron,

Sun Brite's "Remove It" is a sodium percarbonate based wood cleaner. It is not made to strip out intact finishes.

Sun Brite's "Rip It" is their sodium hydroxide wood stripper. It is formulated to remove old oil based stains. Try a stronger mix, and let dwell, keeping it wet with additional stripper or misted water for a while. Then try again.

[RGilliam 46]

okay, the pictures didnt want to upload. the first pictures are the deck that I stripped with "remove". Everything came off fairly easy. The other one is the deck I tried "Rip It" on. The stripper was not wanting to come off.

[PressurePros 249]

Its clean. I see stop and start lines in the last picture but that was intentional, yes? You have to put acid on after you use a stripper to neutralize and pH balance the wood. It will brighten up during that step.

[Chappy 138]

okay, the pictures didnt want to upload. the first pictures are the deck that I stripped with "remove". Everything came off fairly easy. The other one is the deck I tried "Rip It" on. The stripper was not wanting to come off.

It looks to me that you just did not finish washing the stripper off. The stain looks like it is coming off pretty good. You need to practice your wand movement so you dont leave the check lines. Like Ken said, apply acid to neutralize. it will lighten up the wood after the stripper darkens it.

[Tracy Handl 108]

Our Remove is NOT a precarb. It is a sodium hydroxide based stripper. Our precarbs are Safewash, and EZ Off. EZ Off has some caustic in it to be a light stripper. Rip It is the Strong, sodium hydroxide based powdered stripper everyone has been switching to. Just wanted to clear that up.

[RGilliam 46]

yea the "remove" done a great job on that first deck. It took everything right off. I scrubbed it a little bit then just pressure washed it off with low pressure. Then applied brightener.

The other deck (The one thats the problem) I applied the "rip it" and some spots came off. Not much tho. I applied 8 oz to a gal. Should I make it stronger or try "remove"? I scrubbed the heck out of it and then hit it with a pressure washer. On some spots it didnt really do nothing. I think its 2 diffrent stains. The home owner has no idea what kind of stain was put on these decks either.

[RPetry 564]

Our Remove is NOT a precarb. It is a sodium hydroxide based stripper. Our precarbs are Safewash, and EZ Off. EZ Off has some caustic in it to be a light stripper. Rip It is the Strong, sodium hydroxide based powdered stripper everyone has been switching to. Just wanted to clear that up.

Tracy,

My mistake. Pete sent me some for testing some years ago prior to production and my memory is a bit "long of tooth". The percarb was EZ Off, not Remove.

Rob,

From your pictures, it almost looks like a waterbased, possible old acrylic semi or clear stain on the wood. Hard to tell from pics but these can be difficult to strip. May want to try 12 oz./gal. of the Rip It, keep it wet for a longer time, and then wash.

[RGilliam 46]

thanks Tracy, I really appreciate it. Do you mind if I give you a call later if I still have problems?

[Tracy Handl 108]

Call me when you have these kind of troubles. We can talk through it and make sure you have what is correct for the job.