TWP color mistake!

[Karen 14]

We used TWP 101 Cedartone natural on our old cedar deck last weekend. We prepared it by cleaning with oxygen bleach and then oxalic acid. The result is bright orangey-yellow. Does anyone know how long it will take for the color to fade? The fault might lie in our prep and obviously, we should have tested first and looked harder for a color we liked, but our Dunn Lumber only had cedartone and the sample looked good. If it takes forever for TWP to fade, is there something we can do at this point to make the color less yellow? We'd like for it to be more like TWP 116 Rustic...Thanks for any help, Karen

[Jarrod 22]

TWP Rustic sucks! It is really hard to apply right. I would say it is a prep problem. (Sorry) It will gradually lighten, but that's it. This is why I never use bleach of any kind on wood. Maybe it was the mix of the bleach and the Ox?

[SLHC 14]

101 is yellowish orange,my deck looks same way,except i am ok with that.

Use the same oxygen bleach to remove it,mix it twice as strong and powerwash .If that doesn't work,use a chemical stripper.

It will look about the same for 6 month to a year depending on the exposure.On my pool deck it faided in 6 month,but it stayed wet every day.

[PressurePros 248]

Newly applied and cured TWP will probably require stripping with a sodium hydroxide based stripper. We carry a product that is oxygen bleach based but is stronger. I cannot in good faith recommend it to you as I am 80% certain you need a real deal caustic stripper if you want to start again. Behr makes a stripper that sellls at Home Depot for about $10 per gallon. It is not a wonderful product compared to what many of us contractors here use professionally but it might do the trick for you.

You may be best to live with the color for this season and start fresh next year by hiring a contractor to complete the task for you with proper prep and pH balance.

[seymore 90]

Karen,

The final stain color will change in time but if you are getting a yellow color now i doubt it will change to anything real drastic.It will only lighten up as it cures but the yellow tint you are getting now will still be there.

Stains like TWP 100 series enhance the natural wood tone of your deck and your deck being cedar it's natural color has a more yellowish golden natually.

That series of TWP has a light pigment so that's why you are seeing more of the natural golden yellow tone of your wood.It's more of a transparent stain than the higher series TWP 200-300 that have more pigment which are more darker semi-transparent stains.

These stains will change the natural look of your deck and the color tone you choose will be more noticeable.

I would use chlorine bleach this time just like i use all the time working with a similar product as TWP.It will lighten the deck up and remove some of the stain already applied but not completely.It would be easier than trying to start all over by stripping the 101 stain you have already on the deck.

I wouldn't strip the deck completely because the oil already in the wood is still good oil just wrong color tone.Please don't waste your money stripping the deck completely and then now have to use twice as much stain.

You might not be able to achieve the exact color tone this time but lighten up the 101 cedar tone with the light bleach/soap cleaning.Then use the TWP Rustic tone you are looking for and it will probally be darker but in time it will lighten up in time.

Feel free to call me anytime I'll be glad to help.

[James 624]

Western Red Cedar and that color produce orange. If there is enough room in the wood a med brown color will tone it down.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I agree with James.

Beth

[Karen 14]

Thanks so much for all the information! After looking at pictures of other decks stained with twp cedartone, I think it looks the way it should, I'm just not crazy about it. We're going to leave it for now, see if it grows on us. When it's ready for a new coat of twp, we'll use a different color or tweak a color (after testing) and yes, maybe hire a professional who knows what to expect with different types of woods and finishes.

Do other people agree with Jarrod that twp rustic is a pain to work with? Of the twp 100 series colors what would you guys consider a medium brown? Dark oak looks really dark...

Thanks again-- great forum.

Karen

[JFife 14]

TWP doesn't have a great color selection. For a color that I expect is more similar to what you want, you'd probably need 4 parts Cedartone to 1 part Dark Oak.