Stripping a solid stain off of this deck.

[WoodDoc 14]

First of all I'd like to say how much I appreciate being a new member to this site. While I was waiting to be registered I've been reading quite a bit of info on here and this site is absolutely amazing. I had a customer call and ask for a quote on restoring his upper and lower deck and someone evidently tried to stain the deck with a solid stain and from the looks of it got tired of it and quit. So now I've got to strip the stain and basically clean up the rest of it and restain. I'm going to strongly recommend not going with a solid stain and instead going with a semi trans (Ready Seal). Here are some pics of the decks and any observations would be much appreciated. Any suggestions on stripper would be appreciated. Two of the photos are of a wet floor because of the rain I've not gotten to quote to the customer yet.

Edited February 14, 2013 by WoodDoc

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Welcome WoodDoc,

Signature please...

Beth

[WoodDoc 14]

How do I do the signature?

[seymore 90]

How do I do the signature?

Click on the settings on the top right corner by log out and look for edit signature on left of the page.

That is a mess of a deck....

[WoodDoc 14]

Thanks Seymore. I filled in the signature but it still isnt showing up on my posts.

[WoodDoc 14]

There it is. Any thoughts on a stripper product for the deck. I thought about using Rip It and probably will have to do some sanding to get it all off.

Edited February 14, 2013 by WoodDoc

[seymore 90]

There it is. Any thoughts on a stripper product for the deck. I thought about using Rip It and probably will have to do some sanding to get it all off.

Well since you in Ga. You could try that Rip it from Sun Bright don't forget you need to brighten after you strip it. Is that where you getting your stain from?

[WoodDoc 14]

Yea I figured I'd try the Rip It and deffinitely brighten afterward and then apply the Ready Seal. Once the customer okays it I'll place an order with SunBrite they are good people to deal with. They also have a product called DRP and your're supposed to be able to apply it to wet wood but I'm gonna stay with what I've used before and maybe try to get a sample of the DRP later.

[seymore 90]

Yea I figured I'd try the Rip It and deffinitely brighten afterward and then apply the Ready Seal. Once the customer okays it I'll place an order with SunBrite they are good people to deal with. They also have a product called DRP and your're supposed to be able to apply it to wet wood but I'm gonna stay with what I've used before and maybe try to get a sample of the DRP later.

Cool good luck let us know how it turns out also the sample of DRP..

[WoodDoc 14]

We'll do. Thanks for the replies.

[WoodDoc 14]

After going back over the photos I took of this deck, I'm thinking about giving the customer 2 quotes. 1 quote would be for cleaning/stripping, brightening, and reseal with a semi trans. The other quote will be for replacing all of the horizontal wood, washing, and then maybe apply 2 coats of solid on all of the vertical wood and semi trans on the floor, cap on the rails, and steps. I'd rather do that than have to fight to get the paint off of the floors. When I was looking at the deck I mentioned to the customer that, that might be a good option since some of the wood is cupping on some of the butt joints and splitting away from the nails and he said that would be fine because he wants it to not only look good but also to be done right. If I give him two options he can decide which one he wants to go with. If he was wanting to fix it up to sell I'd just try to strip and reseal but he wants to keep this house as his home. Plus if we replace the flooring and cap rails we'll use deck screws as opposed to nails. We'll see how it goes.

[RPetry 564]

Jon,

Once you obtain some sodium hydroxide stripper, mix up a few concentrations, for example the equivalent of 6 oz./gal., 8 per gal., 12 and 16 per gal. Put in plastic spray bottles and use them on estimates to approximate the difficulty in removing the old finish.

There are also additives available to make NaOH strippers more powerful. Make up a "buster" stripper sample bottle for estimates. Be aware that higher air temps and longer dwell times, as long as you keep the stripper wet, are more effective in removing difficult finishes.

Solid stains are various and different. Oil based, especially if weathered for a while, can be fairly easily removed, without much more than spot sanding. Some acrylics can be a nightmare. Horizontal wood is relatively easy to strip, but vertical wood can be much more difficult. Test before making a quote.

[Mathew Johnson 123]

Mr Petry,

What is this "sodium hydroxide" you speak of?

Mathew Johnson

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RPetry 564]

Mr Petry,

What is this "sodium hydroxide" you speak of?

Mathew Johnson

Matt,

A secret ingredient used to melt iPhones. More commonly known as lye. Not suitable for human consumption. A terrific chemical.

Have a great event in Albany. Wish you and Tom had been able to buddy up earlier and schedule a week sooner. Keep Jake and Diamond Jim in line.

[seymore 90]

Mr Petry,

What is this "sodium hydroxide" you speak of?

Mathew Johnson

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

He's talking about Sodium Hydroxide beads I use them also for stripping and I also buy Oxalic by bulk from the same chem company along with 12 %.

Rick I add some anti freeze on that I posted yesterday that boosted my stripper great.

Edited February 14, 2013 by seymore

[RPetry 564]

He's talking about Sodium Hydroxide beads I use them also for stripping and I also buy Oxalic by bulk from the same chem company along with 12 %.

Rick I add some anti freeze on that I posted yesterday that boosted my stripper great.

Shane,

Ahhh... 12%, I can smell it now. It will be another 6 weeks or so before we get decent weather and rolling in wood work here. Matt's just poking fun, but as Jim Foley, BDA charter member, is going to Albany, maybe he can teach Matt a few tricks about wood!

Never tried the antifreeze trick but have purchased a similar additive from ACR for years. Along with a surfactant additive such as Tergitol NP-9 to keep the mix wet, a custom mixed stripper can work wonders on difficult strips.

[seymore 90]

Shane,

Ahhh... 12%, I can smell it now. It will be another 6 weeks or so before we get decent weather and rolling in wood work here. Matt's just poking fun, but as Jim Foley, BDA charter member, is going to Albany, maybe he can teach Matt a few tricks about wood!

Never tried the antifreeze trick but have purchased a similar additive from ACR for years. Along with a surfactant additive such as Tergitol NP-9 to keep the mix wet, a custom mixed stripper can work wonders on difficult strips.

It didn't dawn on me till i posted it I realized he would know what it is ..Sorry Matt i know you know your stuff.

I used the pink anti freeze and worked wonders on the verticals and I got off 90% or so some light sanding should help. The propylene glycol helped quite a bit next time i'll try adding some Butyl also heard how that kicks it up a notch.

Yeah I would like to hear Mr. Foley speak I would also learn a thing or 2 from Jimbo!

[James 625]

In my opinion your first step to preservation is to bring it back to nature . Pray and meditate and oil with a one inch chineese brush . This will bring you to a place of peace and a understanding of preservation young grasshopper .......

[Mathew Johnson 123]

Matt,

A secret ingredient used to melt iPhones. More commonly known as lye. Not suitable for human consumption. A terrific chemical.

Have a great event in Albany. Wish you and Tom had been able to buddy up earlier and schedule a week sooner. Keep Jake and Diamond Jim in line.

Sorry to hear you wont be their Rick. We didnt know Tom and Barb were canceling their event until Tom contacted us about coming to our event as a sponsor. We are happy to have him.

Keeping Jake and Diamond Jim in line is not possible, Jack and I dont have enough hours in the day.

Matt

[Mathew Johnson 123]

Shane,

Ahhh... 12%, I can smell it now. It will be another 6 weeks or so before we get decent weather and rolling in wood work here. Matt's just poking fun, but as Jim Foley, BDA charter member, is going to Albany, maybe he can teach Matt a few tricks about wood!

Never tried the antifreeze trick but have purchased a similar additive from ACR for years. Along with a surfactant additive such as Tergitol NP-9 to keep the mix wet, a custom mixed stripper can work wonders on difficult strips.

Wood??? What is wood? The last deck I tried to stain was a mess. Then I had my carpenter guy to look at it to help me fix it. Damn, that trex decking sure looked real before I applied the stain. Uugh!

[WoodDoc 14]

Appreciate all the good info on the stripper. I didnt realize you could add antifreeze.

[Adrian 155]

wood??? What is wood? The last deck i tried to stain was a mess. Then i had my carpenter guy to look at it to help me fix it. Damn, that trex decking sure looked real before i applied the stain. Uugh!

lmao.......

[Mathew Johnson 123]

In my opinion your first step to preservation is to bring it back to nature . Pray and meditate and oil with a one inch chineese brush . This will bring you to a place of peace and a understanding of preservation young grasshopper .......

Jim, all we can get at Walmart are 1/2 inch chineese brushes. If I pray twice and have Mary help me meditate will the 1/2 brush be sufficient?

[WoodDoc 14]

Well the customer wants all new wood laid on the floors of both decks in the rear of the house with a semi trans applied after the new wood cures and the same for the 8x12 on the front of the house. I'm so glad that I dont have to fight stripping that old stain/paint off. Once I finish the project I'll post pics.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Appreciate all the good info on the stripper. I didnt realize you could add antifreeze.

There is an environmentally better alternative to 'anti-freeze- (aka-ethylene glycol) that we use from a company in pa. called ACR Products.

Someone down in your area may have an equivalent but the purpose of the product is to extend the reactive range of sodium hydroxide based products to include acrylic based stains.

You may also need to use warmer water than tap to ensure the effectiveness of the chemical strippers ability to remove the stain.

Rod!~

[RPetry 564]

... You may also need to use warmer water than tap to ensure the effectiveness of the chemical strippers ability to remove the stain.

Rod!~

Rod,

Good point. Tough strips are the only reason I can imagine using heated water on exterior wood. But with most species, you are still going to need a sander!