Not Gutters, but painted facia

[Outlaw 14]

Theres a lot of threads around the boards on removing black streaks on gutters, and I see lots of different solutions for fixing this problem, my main problem is the same black streaks on painted facia, both Hardy board and wooden and my concern is stuff that may work on gutters may damage paint on the facia.

I've got a really good customer I told I would try and find a solution for this and go back at my own expense and do my best to fix the problem, any suggestions.

Gav

[ron p 500]

i think i would use a citric based cleaner or 2 step with alum brightner and alk. soap.

Good ol gutter zap might work just fine.

krud cutter from home depot is easy to get and test.

[Aplus 525]

Gav,

You may not be able get those painted fascia boards clean. Painted surfaces can be like that. Permanently stained.

Gutter Zap may work, but don't let it dwell too long on a painted surface, because GZ does have sodium hydroxide in it, which could start lifting the paint.

Limonene will damage paint if applied too strong, or allowed to dwell too long.

Bleach may lighten some of the streaks.

Don't even think about higher psi when washing.

Sometimes repainting is the only solution. Explain to the customer that you used as much cleaning power as you could without damaging the paint, and it would not come clean.

There can be a fine line where increasing chem strength, or vigorous scrubbing will damage the surface. The trick is to work up to that line, but don't cross it.

Painted surfaces are not forever maintenance free. It should be expected that once a surface has been painted, it will need to be painted again some time in the future, at regular intervals.

[Outlaw 14]

Thanks for the replies, I tend to agree with Tony and that is pretty much what I told my customer, however, she is a great customer and uses my services frequently, so I did tell her I would look into it, I've been meaning to try Gutter Zap anyway, so I guess I will finally try it>

Gav

[Paul B. 523]

Acid based cleaners will normally not harm paint such as Hydrochloric, Hydrofluoric or Phosphoric.

I would try a weak Hydrofluoric based acid cleaner or Phosphoric acid based cleaner. Some household cleaners contain Phosphoric acids. I would also try a household cleaner such as Simple Green

or a citrus based cleaner.

Remember, almost all stains can be removed with the correct chemistry.