Wood Furring

[Degraffreed 21]

Hello to all. I have a few questions that Maybe some of the Vets could answer.

I just did my second deck cleaning job today. I used sodium percarbonate from E-spec. It stated 4 oz to a gallon of hot water. I made a 5 gal mixture for two pump up sprayers. WE applied let dwell 15 min, then used a 4010 ( 800 psi) tip. My machine is 3000 psi, hot cold 5gpm.

I was cleaning deck and railings. The deck did not " Fur up " but the railings did.

What did I do wrong if anything? Is Furring a normal part of the deck restoration process and something that happens on all cleanings?

The deck was pressure treated pine and about 2 years old.

Did I let the Restore mixture stay on to long? So I waited about 30 min then brought out my belt sander and tried to sand the railing and the deck. It took the "fur" off some what but I could not use the belt sander in between the railings. I did this while the wood was still wet. Should I go back and resand after the wood has completly dried? The customer was happy with the results. Camparing the current deck to the "green" deck she had for the last two years.

I am always trying to be the best at what I do and need some advice from you wood guys on the proper procedures. I see some of the posted pictures of past post and I use these as guides to what my result should look like. Please e-mail any advice, tips, articles and experiences, concerning wood deck cleaning that could help me meet this objective to degraffreeds@aol.com

Thanks in advance for your help

Degraffreed

[yazbird8 17]

As I undestand it, one of the great advances in deck restoration in the last few years is the advent of the use of Wood Tux Wet as a same day application........No more waiting a day or two for the deck to dry to come back to do the sealing.........Great advancement right......Hmm...................I am in the process of deciding on materials and quantities and was thinking how wonderful it will be to use WTW on a deck and be able to finish a job in one day.........Great potential for more profits......Beautiful....................Then I read a post that says that most decks, when stripped, will have furring.......If that is the case then I see that as a problem, or at least an issue that I would like to get some feedback on........As I understand it, you cannot do a good job defurring a deck if it is still wet. You would need to wait for the wood to dry first.........I would think that would defeat the purpose of the biggest benefit of WTW..............Same day use....................................Help me out with this one.............. please................. (lie if you must)....lol

Stephen Andrews

POWER WASHING

HOME & PROPERTY

CARE & MAINTAINENCE

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Ok I have not read the whole thread, but my .02 is this...

On a vertical surface, any prior product will last longer. It is a harder surface to remove a product from. Dwell times tend to be longer vertically, thus if the dwell time is longer as a matter of routine, it is possible that the verticals will fuzz more. Take a long look at the verticals before you apply chems, and if the integrity of a sealer is not better than on the floor don't give it a bunch more time. If the sealer from before is still there, do a scratch test with a stick or wand tip to see when the bond breaks from the wood. Removing the sealer as soon as the dwell time is complete is the best way to avoid the fuzzing.

Additionally, be sure your PSI is low enough so you doing splinter the wood or raise the grain.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Good point Stephen,

That is probably a detail that should be pointed out.

WTW same day applications are not suitable for decks that have just been stripped due to the furring issue. The decks we have used WTW with no problems were on decks that were just given a regular wash removing mildew/algae and old failed sealers that do not require a stripper to accomplish.

It is a given among those who have been doing decks for a number of years that they automatically understand what conditions would be suitable.

Thank you for pointing out the oversight.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Forgive me, I'm multi tasking right now. As i'm typing, I'm painting a huge target on my butt! What's up with all this "furring" stuff? I understand why it happened to Degra and now, so does he. Are all you guys and gals saying that every time you strip a deck you have to defurr or sand it?

Degra, when you wash a grey deck, pre wet the whole thing first, then apply the chem. This will eliminate the fuzz. Dwell time should be - none. First time deck washes are to be handled very carefully. Chems should be sorta weak in strength. We strip EVERY deck. Grey ones, stained ones, old moldy ones, and so on. On the newer ones that are sorta grey, we pre wet, apply injectible stripper then wash (1000 psi) & brighten. Old, moldy & grey ones - inject on the stripper, wash (1000 psi) then inject on the brightener - same with stained decks. Fuzzies don't happen if you do it this way, we don't ever have to sand any deck - ever. WOW, the target & the typing are finished at the same time! - COOL!!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I guess it comes down to what one is referring to in relation to what others are referring to.

For clarification:

Stripping a deck is not the same as washing a deck.

Stripping is removing a stain whose integrity is still intact and will not come off readily. A stripper is used 'eat away' the stain by caustic reaction.

Washing is simply cleaning a gray or mildew/algae covered deck or one whose sealer has failed or no longer has the ability to withstand any agitation and will come off easily with regular cleaning solutions.

I think for future reference, the terms we use should literally reflect the appropriate use or context to avoid confusion.

Thanks Jarrod (pot stirrer) ;) for pointing that out for us.

Rod!~

[Jarrod 22]

Well, I guess I used the term "strip" loosely. What I should have said is "we apply stripper to every deck." Thanx for helping me clarify Rod.

BTW - BULLZEYE! Thank God it was a Nerf arrow! LOL