First deck strip

[Able Hands 14]

Here are some pics of my first deck strip. Notice the stain in the top right of the first before pic. The homeowner thinks it's from a citronella candle that was tipped over. I was able to get the BBQ stains up with grill magic, but that stain is still there. Any one have any thoughts on what I can use.

The after pics aren't great, and they are obviously before staining.

After I was done with the cleaning I was talking to the homeowner about getting their grill off from the deck. They decided to have me install a set of steps on the side of the deck and put in a small patio for the grill. So, the new wood will have to be washed before I can do any staining anyway.

Plus, while I was talking with them about the new steps their 6 year old tracked copius amounts of mud up onto the cleaned deck. The whole deck needs to be rinsed at the least, and I'd like to get the candle wax up if I can.

Matt

Attatchments moved to post dated 04-12-16

[Able Hands 14]

I was really happy to see how well the stains came up.

Matt

Atatchments moved to post dated 04-12-06

[PressurePros 249]

Matt, what did you use to clean? (chemical and psi?)

[Able Hands 14]

Ken,

I used a product from Xterior called CPR to clean followed by oxalic to brighten and neutralize. PSI was full bore out of my 4gpm 3700psi machine. I used a 40 degree tip and kept it about 2 feet away from the surface at all times. I had a small amount of furring from the degreaser used on the BBQ stains but no raised grain, or damage of any other kind.

I need to buy some different nozzles though, holding the tip that far away was awkward and got tiring quickly.

Matt

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Matt....

Have you sealed it yet?

DUH! Nevermind....must...have...more...coffee... :cup:

Beth

[Jarrod 22]

wood still looks kinda grey to me. Or maybe it's just the lighting.

BTW, you should just use 900 - 1200 psi on wood. Get a 4006 or 4008 tip.

[Able Hands 14]

I knew the pressure would be WWWWAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY to high straight out of the machine, that's why I held the tip so far away to rinse. I didn't figure the chemical nozzle or the M5 at full fan would provide quite enough pressure, so I chose a middle of the road approach. I do plan to buy some different nozzles before my next clean/strip.

Matt

[PressurePros 249]

I will be straight with you Matt because you are here to learn. As Jarrod mentioned, the deck looks a bit gray. I think it is from using too little pressure. Other culprits could be the choice of chemical, dilution or dwell time. You really have to move slowly and methodically to get wood to come out even. I prefer to use a 65 degree nozzle and about 1000 psi on PTP deck floors. You can get a 12" cleaning swath with decent pressure.

Please don't take this critique personally. You did a nice job of making the deck look ten times better. Now you can refine technique and go the extra distance to set yourself apart.

[Able Hands 14]

I picked up some Wood Tux from Celeste today, and I'm looking forward to applying it to this deck. The whole thing will need a quick re-wash as the homeowner put it back into use ahead of schedule, plus I installed the new steps that need cleaning.

I'm still looking for some advice on teh citronella candle spill... Any thoughts?

Hope to finish this one day this week.

Matt

[seymore 90]

I installed the new steps that need cleaning.

I'm still looking for some advice on teh citronella candle spill... Any thoughts?

Matt

You could try sanding the wax spill but it could be hard to remove if there is a lot of wax deep in the wood.

You could spray a light coat of bleach and soap mixture and that grey will go away no pressure needed..:cool:

Those new steps will be hard to match that old wood after stained and could use some touching up after a few months or so.

If you can't get the wax spot out just tell them to put a plant over that spot..:D

[Rodney 14]

Matt,

CPR is a potasium hydroxide I believe . I failed to look and see if the deck had a sealer on it before hand. Exterior sales the CPR as a cleaner and a stripper by the dilution rates. I too started out using CPR and quickly try other product due to the results of CPR. Granted, I have not used it since they went from a liquid to a powder. I will tell you that it has been hard to find low pressure tips local. I have to order them.

[John Orr 206]

Matt, I have to be honest, its really hard to tell the difference between your before and after pics. On this pressure treated deck, in its current condition, it should look like new after cleaning. Use a 40100 tip and the right chemical (I prefer Roof Magic from RPC) followed by neutralizing. This cleaning should also remove most of the wax (and any other) stains.

Please do not seal this deck until it has been properly prep'd. I'm not trying to be rude, but since this is your first deck, now is the time to learn. I'm sure there are plenty of us on this bbs (myself included) that would be willing to have you go for a "ride-a-long" to get some hands-on experience.

[Jimmy M 14]

I use a varible pressure wand to clean wood,adjust the pressure with the twist of a handle, wouldn,t leave home without it.

[Deck Guy 14]

Ken,

I used a product from Xterior called CPR to clean followed by oxalic to brighten and neutralize. PSI was full bore out of my 4gpm 3700psi machine. I used a 40 degree tip and kept it about 2 feet away from the surface at all times. I had a small amount of furring from the degreaser used on the BBQ stains but no raised grain, or damage of any other kind.

I need to buy some different nozzles though, holding the tip that far away was awkward and got tiring quickly.

Matt

Try a 4010 tip...that gives you about 600 PSI from that machine and no worries about carving the deck up. If you get the right mix, that should be all you need to strip most decks. I also have some 4008 tips just in case I need a little more hitting power. Order three or four to save yourself the hassle of shooting one off into space and having to look for it so you can finish.

[Able Hands 14]

Based on the posts above it has become obvious that I have a little more work to do before staining.

I would like to thank everyone for the input. For those of you who were worried that I may take offense to your comments... Fear not. That is precisely why I am here. I am a firm believer in knowing ones limitations. My limitation on this type of work comes stricktly from lack of knowledge and experience. As a result I have to open myself up to critiques from others that know more. I have no problem being told that I have no clue what I am doing because, simply put, it is the truth.

In the next few days I hope to finish up the hand rails on the steps that I added and rewash the deck. I will post new after pictures when the wash is complete.

So, before I screw it up again, a few questions.

I was told to use HD80 at 2oz by weight per gallon to re-clean the deck, and remove the balance of the crud. I can use the scratch test to make sure the last of the crud is going to come up before rinsing. Any thoughts on approximate dwell?

My next question is about oxalic acid. What dilution rate? What dwell time should I be looking for?

I realize the dwell time questions may be a bit subjective, I'm just looking for a ballpark idea.

I will be picking up a supply #8 orifice QC nozzles tomorrow, hopefully that will help in getting everything to look better as well.

Lest anyone get the impression that I am charging a regular paying customer... This deck belongs to a friend of mine and is being done for free. That is not to say that I'm willing to accept sub-par work because it's being done for free, quite the opposite actually. I spend a lot of time on this little deck and I want to be proud of the work everytime I look at it (weekly).

If I left anything out that I should have asked, please feel free to add in your thoughts. Believe me, my skin (and BRAIN) is thick enough to handle the toughest comments.

Matt

[James 625]

Acetone will remove wax- Get a varible speed wand for doing decks.Great for controling pressure (max to least), stairs and corners.

[Littlefield 65]

Also, Matt, pick up a variable pressure wand for those times you want to adjust the pressure of the water hitting the deck, and not the speed of the water... ;)

Just teasing, Jim.

By the way, these work so great, I had a couple of my guys strip three coats of 6 month old Sikkens Cetol system, (wrong color) from a railing on Friday, and the furring after a couple hours dwell time was finer'n frogs hair. Just enough to let me know where I'm at when buffing. What we did was adjust up the pressure slowly until the stain juuust started to slide off, then tweak it up an 1/8 a turn more and go to it.

Here's a shot of the Sikkens givin' up the ghost at about 200 psi....

[Littlefield 65]

Matt, dwell for 15 minutes each stripper and acid, then rinse after each.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Sweeeeeeeeet Rich! Looks great!

Beth

[Able Hands 14]

Here are the pics of the strip after the strip.

[seymore 90]

Looks good just like the wood should look like after it's been cleaned..:cool:

[Able Hands 14]

Followed advice from above, and used HD80 2oz per gallon... Let dwell about 6-7 minutes (not 15 THANK GOD) and this puppy furred up enough to make a coat. Had to sand the whole deck.:lgangry: Must say I was less than happy about that. Followed with 7oz of oxalic mixed with a gallon of h2o and it did brighten up imensely:lgsideway . Was very happy about that.

I will be staining this tomorrow.

Need to get all of the sanding dust removed from the surface, so a couple of questions. Should I use a backpack leaf blower to remove the sanding debris, or power washer to rinse. Do I wan't/need to apply WTW to a wet surface or dry?

This is the last step on this SOB so I'd rather not mess it up. There is also a party scheduled to be on this deck on Friday. Will it be dry in time, given full daily sun?

Plan to brush edges, and attempt to spray center section with pump up, unless directed otherwise. I don't own a sureflow so that isn't an option.

Please fill me in, I can't afford anymore screw ups, or lost time on this one. I know I'm learning, and thank God that it is for a friend so I don't look like a schmuck in front of a customer (only everyone here).

Matt

[PressurePros 249]

If the deck is dry, you can either wet it (no standing water) or my preference is to add water to the WTW. I add 1 gallon water to a fiver of Tux.

I think you will have problems spraying through a pump up. It doesn't atomize well in those types of sprayers. Get yourself a Wagner Control Sprayer. They are HVLP sprayers and they are around $100. I picked up a few when I have my guys working on lattice work and they spray quite well. I was surprised.

[Jonathan Chiplock 14]

I also use a wagner sprayer... great investment that isnt much $$. I like to apply my stains by hand on the verticals with pads but I spray lattice and other areas that are too time comsuming to do by hand. Always turns out good.

[Rodney 14]

Matt,

The deck looks good. Practice makes perfect. I have a deck that I have to strip on Friday around noon. I believe its behr. My sample sray bottle barely touched it.Not like the sample area we did on your deck yesterday. If you want check it out give me a call. Hopefull f18 will come to the rescue.

[VanDiesel99 14]

Furring seems to be inevitable sometimes. I have heard it is because of the chemical, too much pressure, older wood. But I am still not satisfied with just one of those factors. For you guys who use the osborne brush to remove fuzzies, do you try to do all the spindles, floor boards and everything?