HD-80 not working???

[sturgisjr 14]

Question on HD-80...I have a job which was a 1500 sq ft Pressure treated deck that had dark stain...the homeowner stripped what he could off of it and then gave up and called me. I was able to strip off easily with HD-80 on sections of the deck that the homeowner did not touch. BUT...I sure had a rough time removing any leftover stain in the areas (mainly deck floor) that the homeowner worked on...WHY IS THAT??! I still am trying to figure out how I can make this work. Please help!

Also when you neutralize, do you do it right after stripping and its okay with the wood wet or should I wait till the next day when the wood has dried a little? How often should I rinse?

[the_GUNN_man 14]

Are you x-jetting the HD-80? I used to and got semi good results. Then I applied it one day by pump up and it made a ton of difference. When I x-jetted before it diluted it way too much. I neutralize right after I am done washing while the wood is still wet.

[Firedkm 14]

Steve,

If you say x-jetting it diluted to much you need to make it stronger for it to work. I x-jet my stripper with great results. I will say you do have more control of the spray if you use a pump-up or shurflo type set-up. Using the x-jet is just so much faster, imo.

As far as the sealer not coming off in some places. You may have to agitate it with a brush to help loosen up the sealer. This is not always necessary but it does work good. The best thing to do is neutralize right after your done cleaning/stripping the deck. Having the deck wet is fine and I dont always rinse it when I am done. If you wait for the deck to dry like the next day I feel you should rinse it when your done. I would just neutralize the sam day. Why make two trips when you dont have too.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Remember that you can only mix HD so strong before soem ingredients will not continue to dissolve in water while others will, The max (by weight) you can put it no solition of HD is 9 ro 10 OZ. to the gallon.

Steve is right, HD is best applied with a shurflo or pump up if it is a really tought to remove finish, so you don't get the dilution. It is true that half strenght HD works great, but it also depends on:

what is on the wood

how many coats of it

how old it is

and most importantly - how long did you let it dwell???

The key to using HD is patience and application methods.

Hope this helps. Call Rod's cell phone if you EVER find yourself in the field working with the product and are not sure what to do. He has more field time with it than anyone does, and helped with all the testing. He's to the point he can strip with a garden hose...

Beth

[CLASSICPW 14]

I would kill to x-jet hd-80, but every job i have has either aluminum siding or painted windows or doorways.