Silicone Caulk

[Tonyg 14]

Woohoo did my first deck estimate of the year today.

New deck built the first week of December. It's weathered good but the homeowner didn't like some of the nail holes/indentions in the wood (builder used nail gun set too deep) so he filled them with clear silicone caulk. I figured sanding them off but is there going to be a variance in the stain penetration? Anyone run across this or have any advice so I won't have surprises later?

Second question is the gazebo - I'm assuming removing and re-screening the screen on the bottom in order to do the railing for the gazebo. Should I plan on replacing all? or a stupid question - clean and shoot through the screen?

oh, btw, it will be an AC Semi on the wood after cleaning with a percarb

Edited March 7, 2010 by Tonyg

[Chappy 138]

you'll need to remove the screen. Plan on replacing with new. Its difficult to put old screen back up.

[James 624]

I had a pretty long reply and its not here ? oh well

[RPetry 564]

Tony,

Silicone, at least stains that contain silicone, can be a real problem stripping. Not sure about silicone caulk, it would depend on how deep into the wood it penetrated. A hard sanding may get it off/out of the wood.

We did an ipe'/mahogany/cedar job last year with screens similar to your job. Initially, the project was without doing the interior of the screened in porch. However, after finishing, the owner requested that we come back and prep and stain the interior. Sorry, don't have a picture after that was finished but the pic below shows the interior spindles/balustrade built against the screens.

We cleaned and stained right through the screens without problem. Just make sure you wipe down the affected areas of the screens immediately after stain application. We used RS on this job, which might be easier as the paraffin oil does not dry quickly on non wood surfaces, but with care, A-C should not be a problem. Try it in a test area first.

[James 624]

Sillycone problems- I will scrape off and do a little sanding before the cleaning prep. This way you can see if water is still beading in the area to prevent the sealer from going in.

[Tonyg 14]

Thanks, I put the bid in Monday and just planned on replacing the lower section of screen behind the rail. Depending on what color he decides on I may try going through the screen first just to see what happens but kinda feel like it would be cheesy.

The silcone caulk is another story. It's new wood so it shouldn't have soaked in and I will only be using a light percarb so nothing strong enough to strip. Was planning on sanding the spots but wasn't sure if that would get deep enough. Wasn't sure what solvent would break down the silicone enough for the stain to penetrate. Didnt want to have poka dots.

Not a big deal - I priced it high because of the gazebo so may not get it anyway. The silicone was something new that's all.

[James 624]

If you don't get the sillycone off. The stain won't penetrate and you'll have little bare spots in a few months.