This weeks project (UK)

[Roger Oakley 14]

Here are some before, prepted and after photos of a pair of Teak chairs (the whole set was cleaned etc)

Furniture had never been cleaned, around 3-4 years old, and not put away in the English winter.

Owners very happy now want a yearly maintenance.

Roger

[seymore 90]

Looks smashing Roger nice job :cool:

[Roger Oakley 14]

Looks smashing Roger nice job :cool:

Cheers Shane, it was a BDA method I used to clean. :cool:

Roger

[James 625]

Smashing!! Fellow BDA'er. I've done 20 peices of Pressure Treated furniture this weekend and a " Glider Slide table thing"

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

They look beautiful. What did you seal them with?

Beth

[Roger Oakley 14]

They look beautiful. What did you seal them with?

Beth

Thanks Beth, It was Cuprinol Golden Teak, it's the look owner wanted, I personally like the natural Teak look softer, warm.

They now want decking cleaned at the end of the summer, which would be my first deck strip and reseal, its an USA style deck too, no ridges (Hooray!!!) its around 90 sq mts

Here is a couple more photos.

[Jarrod 22]

Roger, I saw your website. Those pics are priceless!!! Jeeze man! You better be a millionare soon!! What kind of stain do you use?

[Roger Oakley 14]

Roger, I saw your website. Those pics are priceless!!! Jeeze man! You better be a millionare soon!! What kind of stain do you use?

Jarrod, Thank you, I've still got a long way to go to get to you guys levels.

Stain used on this was Cuprinol's Golden Teak (oil based) I have just got some testers/samples of another brand to try out, which I'll do this week.

Roger

[RPetry 564]

Roger,

Nice job. Looks like the property should be in the U.S., decking lumber without those strange ridges and even a Weber grill.

Did you have any luck obtaining sodium percarbonate and sodium hydroxide from your chemical supplier?

[Roger Oakley 14]

Roger,

Nice job. Looks like the property should be in the U.S., decking lumber without those strange ridges and even a Weber grill.

Did you have any luck obtaining sodium percarbonate and sodium hydroxide from your chemical supplier?

Rick, yes my chemical supplier has sodium hydroxide which they say is caustic soda is this correct ? They will sell it to me, but I will need to speak to Shane, to get some info, as they want to know how I intend to mix it before they sell to me, as they state it is dangerous stuff to handle in raw form. I have now got citric acid from them, so this is good for neutralizing and brightning.

Have a deck wash furniture wash, patio and two paths tomorrow so need to search the boards for citric mix.

Roger

[RPetry 564]

Roger,

That's great! Knowing the problem you have had getting decent strippers and brighteners in the British Isles, I'm glad that you have found a supplier.

Caustic soda is the common terminology for sodium hydroxide. Your supplier is right, it is a nasty chemical that should be used with much care. From what I know, in raw form it comes in "flakes" or "beads". Not sure of the difference, but as I recall, Shane uses the "beads". Shane would be the best reference for creating your own "mixes".

Most of us use sodium hydroxide based wood strippers already pre-mixed with "buffers", surficants, and possibly other ingredients, from specialty manufacturers that combine the chemicals especially for stripping old oil based stains off of wood. Unfortunately, it seems that in England, you do not have that luxury. All that I can tell you is a mix of 3 to 8 ounces of sodium hydroxide material to each gallon of water is a common strength solution over here. It depends on what stain and in what condition that you have to remove. The best scenario is for the lowest concentration effective, and keeping wet with solution and allowing to dwell or "sit" for a time on the wood before rinsing with the lowest effective water pressure. Many of us carry a variety of stripper strengths, already premixed, in spray bottles when we do estimates. We test a few spots to determine the proper strength when we are on the property to do the job quote.

Wear chemical resistant rubber gloves, and eye protection when mixing and applying to the wood. Pre wet any grass or plant life susceptible to exposure. Rinse said plant life immediately on any exposure. This sounds rather technical, but if you are just starting out, take your time and just be careful. In my opinion, any sodium hydroxide treatment is not good for wood, and should be avoided if possible. However, for removing old failed stains, it is necessary. After a while, concentrations, dwell time, and handling become almost second nature.

The sodium hydroxide is very caustic, and will darken the color of the wood after treatment and a pressure rinse. What you want to do is neutralize the pH of the wood back to near 7 or neutral. This is where the acids come into the picture. Most use oxalic acid, I have always used citric acid. Both perform the same function, neutralize the stripper (or sodium percarbonate if working with bare wood), which in turn brightens the color of the wood back to "natural".

With the stains available in England, it is probably best that you allow the acid (citric or oxalic) to dwell for a time then rinse with water. I happen to apply my citric acid then leave the job site, but I use a stain not available to you that prefers acidic wood. With citric, a normal concentration is 6 to 8 oz. per gallon of cold water. You will see the wood brightening after 20 to 30 minutes and then rinse off. Allow the wood to dry and you are ready to stain.

This may all sound rather difficult, but in practice it is not. After doing it for a while, you can judge times and concentrations, protect plant life, your customers property, and yourself and your workers. Just take it slow, be careful, and learn.

[Roger Oakley 14]

Rick,

Fantasic info Thank you Very Very much, just finished a deck and furniture wash and used the citric, worked great.

I'll post photos later.

Roger

[Anthony G 14]

Roger,

I was just over in Stevenage last week. I saw a lot of things that needed to be cleaned down that way. I was there for job training and wishing that I had a pressure washer with me. Of course I wouldnt have known the regulations there nor where I was going. The whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing 'bout drove me nuts. I narrowly missed getting run over on multiple occasions due to looking the wrong way to cross the traffic.

Take care over there and keep cool. It was different with no Air Conditioning. I never thought that I would stay in an approx $700K (USD) townhouse that had no method of cooling in it.

Anthony

[Roger Oakley 14]

Roger,

I was just over in Stevenage last week. I saw a lot of things that needed to be cleaned down that way. I was there for job training and wishing that I had a pressure washer with me. Of course I wouldnt have known the regulations there nor where I was going. The whole driving on the opposite side of the road thing 'bout drove me nuts. I narrowly missed getting run over on multiple occasions due to looking the wrong way to cross the traffic.

Take care over there and keep cool. It was different with no Air Conditioning. I never thought that I would stay in an approx $700K (USD) townhouse that had no method of cooling in it.

Anthony

Hi Anthony,

Wasn't the heat just to much last week over here !!! I was working on a property in the region of £4 million (GBP) and it had NO A/C either, I was outside but owners were just dying inside with the heat we have been having. A/C is still only really in shops etc, not that many homes have it as standard. I know we are the only country in Europe that drives on the left, most probably why our cars are so expensive :mad:

Anyway hope you enjoyed your stay in England, Stevenage is about an hour away from me, via the M25 might just have to have a drive over that way.

Roger