Pics- Tux Wet on Cedar

[PressurePros 248]

Here's the first shot I got at using Wood Tux Wet. The stuff is THICK. I had to lower the viscosity to get it to flow through the sprayer. For you guys that think this stuff is expensive, You can probably turn a five gallon pail into a seven and it's probably still superior to everything out there. (don't quote me on that though) Besides you get what you pay for..

I used HD-80 full strength to strip, 350 psi, 25 minute dwell, brightened with regular oxalic. Now the lady was a real wreck. She watched over us almost the entire time. You're not getting that on my plants are you, whats that stuff you're spraying now, is that the color it's going to be when it's dry, etc etc. I felt like dipping her yappy poodle into the stripper, but I digress. Anyway here are the pics. Notice how when taken from different angles the color seems to change.

[PressurePros 248]

[PressurePros 248]

[PressurePros 248]

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Looks great Ken!

[PressurePros 248]

odd

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Looks like light possibly refracting off the wet sealer to me...

Beth

[Celeste 341]

Looks great! Personally I think I like the way the color changes - looks kinda cool. We have our next Wood Tux project beginning next week :)

Celeste

[PressurePros 248]

Here is the walkway we also did for her. Home brew concrete cleaner followed by light acid wash.

[Celeste 341]

Beautimous :)

[Aplus 525]

Great Job!

[tropical wave 22]

Outstanding !!!!!

[FullBlast 14]

pressure pro you said you used regular Oxalic to brighten it. What is that and how and when do you put it on??

[PressurePros 248]

When you use any type of caustic on wood, especially cedar, it will darken. You need to pH balance/brighten the wood before you apply your sealer. Oxalic acid is what most guys use. There is a product called Citralic from Extreme Solutions that is a milder blend of acids that achieves this result also. I loaded in a hundred lbs of oxalic at the end of last season, but when that is done I may give the Citralic a try. You put the acid on right after you are done stripping.

[GymRat 14]

Great Job, the customer had to be pleased.

[Pete Marentay 14]

Ken, I agree that the Wood Tux is quite thick. It's all part of the VOC thing. The suggestion Russ makes is to dilute the sealer with Xylene (available at Home Depot and other places) rather than mineral spirits at a rate of a bout 16 ounces per 5-gallon pail. That should be sufficient to thin it for spraying.

What color did you stain the poodle?

[ReflectiveClean 14]

excellent Job ken,

I hope you charged the customer for watching a pro work.

[reed 500]

Great Job Ken.

reed

[PressurePros 248]

Thank you for all the kind comments.

[CCHSNC 14]

Hint...When covering vegitation don't use clear plastic. On a sunny day you will cook the plants.

[seymore 90]

Hint...When covering vegitation don't use clear plastic. On a sunny day you will cook the plants.

You got that right Robert i learned my lesson with grass while cleaning....Plants will fry like an egg under wet plastic.So if you are covering plants and will be a while cleaning take a break and uncover them for a few minutes rinsing them.

When i'm staining i use bed sheets to cover plants they are light and plants don't get smothered. :cool:

[PressurePros 248]

Hint...When covering vegitation don't use clear plastic. On a sunny day you will cook the plants.

Excellent point, Robert, been there, done that too. I warned this lady about this effect but she was insistent. We do exactly as Seymore Butts aka Shane does... Take the plastic off as soon as we can. This time of year and with the more opaque mil it doesn't get too bad under there. I also use the thin mil blue tarps as they are more rigid and tend not to collapse around the plant making it an airtight greenhouse underneath. But they are also more of a pain to secure and you have to clean them.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Actually, we do use some plastic, and there is a way to do it and leave the plants intact....

It it is a bush for example, leave a side open, and don't cover until you are set to spray. Remove the plastic as soon as you are done. Also you can cut slits in the plastic to let the heat out. (vents)

We use a combination, but we are extremely careful with plastic. We have not killed anything yet, but we check the plants as we work. Also water them when you are done.

Beth