chalking

[mas3372 14]

Hello,

I did search but was unable to find the answer. I just washed a tannish green vinyl house. The front has a lot of chalking when you run your across it. I am guessing this is from the sun since it is highly exposed. I did a wash with 12%, simple cherry and a bit of cascade. House looked great but still had the chalking. I rinsed very well.

The Home owner wants be get rid of the chalking for good or at least for a while.

Any idea how.

Thanks

[Tracy Handl 108]

Oxidation (chalking) is defined as;

ox·i·da·tion (ks-dshn) KEY

NOUN:

1. The combination of a substance with oxygen.
   
2. A reaction in which the atoms in an element lose electrons and the valence of the element is correspondingly increased.

This leaves a chalky residue on the siding that will dull the exterior of the surface. Keeping the surfaces clean will help keep the oxidation from happening. Extreme caution should be used when cleaning. Often these surfaces will need to be cleaned, and then treated to look good again. It is very important to inform your customer prior to cleaning about the potential outcome and to discuss the next course of action to be taken. There are vinyl restorative products available. On aluminum siding, priming, then painting may be required. Cleaners made specificly for vinyl are available. They usually will contain some sort of caustic like sodium hydroxide, or sodium metasilcate, which will aid in the removale of the oxidation. Basic cleaning practices should be used when working with theses cleaners. Then restore the siding with a restorative product made for the substrate. We carry Flood Restora. Since this is not a white vinyl, this may be the perfect product to use on this job. If you do nothing after the cleaning, the oxidation will probably return, and the siding may actually look worse once cleaned. Give me a call if I can be of more help than what I have posted here.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Mike, Do a search on two-stepping. That's another option. (cheaper)

[Ron Musgraves 240]

Easy answer, sound like the house has no protection. Now the actual paint is exposed.

Is the green vinyl that old? Maybe someone used something that was to strong last time.

Are you sure that your rinsing well?

[mas3372 14]

Thanks Dan, I did consider two stepping today and the heck of if, I did spray some oxalic on a section before rinsing the alkalline and it still had chalking. I do not know if oxalic is right to use but it is the only acid I have on hand.

Ron,

I rinsed real well, the chalking was there before I even started as well. The vinyl is 12 years old and the chalking is mostly on the front.

I spoke with Bob from P tek today and he feels at though the vinly might just be shot from all the sun exposure. The homeowner did mention that he lost his job while building the house and ended up going from cedar impression to regular vinyl to save money, perhaps he bought a cheap vinyl as well?

[Ron Musgraves 240]

I spoke with Bob from P tek today and he feels at though the vinly might just be shot from all the sun exposure.

Bob and i are suspect of the same thing, sun has taken protective coating off. Is it cheaper to replace coating to protect and have siding luster again? or replace it?

Try a turtle wax product, the kind you ad to your soap. spray it on and rinse, see what happens.

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Im no expert on the subject, Mike but Hydroflouric is what some use, Personally I stay away from it. I think Phosphoric is a safer substitute. Maybe you can check into the Restora. See what Tracy knows how it will work on Vinyl that old. Let us know what you come up with and how it turns out.

[PressurePros 249]

I tell people I use a pressure wand but its not a magic wand. The chalking is damage. It can be contained to an extent and your goal is to not make it worse. You can't really remove it without removing the siding's colorant. Mold growth left to its own devide will cause this to happen. Age and sun exposure are also variables. It will happen to a car's paint if you never wash your car and the clear coat is worn away.

[Adrian 155]

Try a turtle wax product, the kind you ad to your soap. spray it on and rinse, see what happens.

That's what I was going to suggest as well.(could it be that me and Ron are on the same page) Get a spray on Carnuba wax and be done with it. (Northern has it for about 12 bucks a gallon).

That should cover roughly 3 or so resi's.

[mas3372 14]

thanks for the help. I did consider the wax option but was advised by a few vendors that it will last maybe 3 months at best. I don't want to shortchange a customer with a temp. fix if the reality is that his siding is just shot. I am considering the restore as an option to provide him as suggested by Tracy but I have never used this product and would not want a good customer to be my guinea pig.

[mas3372 14]

Tracy,

Where on your site do you have the restore products for vinyl, I was unable to find it.

[john@AEC 37]

G'day Mike

I clean a lot of acrylic paint over timber and it can also oxidise badly. The only way to remove the oxidation is with physical pressure, I use a soft broom and brush every panel by holding the broom steady and walking the length of the wall. Somebody mentioned car paint oxidising and the only way to remove that is with physical pressure (polishing).

While brushing the vinyl will remove the oxidised layer and it will look clean & bright, it also exposes a fresh layer of vinyl ready to oxidise because it has no protective coat.

Once the paint (and it seems the same with vinyl) is so badly damaged it is a case of learn to live with it, or spend up big and repaint/replace. And the lesson is - use the best quality to start with and wash often.

Sorry not to have better news....

Cheers

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Brush and an extension pole.

Most cleaners work well to clean algae but you need a caustic cleaner to help get the oxidation off. The brush helps to remove it once the chemical has done it's job of loosening it from the substrate.

Apply a house wax after wards to help limit the re-occurence of oxidation.

Green tinted, some whites, light blues and yellows are the most common colors to oxidize due to a pigment called titanium dioxide used in the coloring system. It has little resistance to UV exposure and coincidentally is a catalyst in the oxidation process.

Rod!~

[mas3372 14]

Thanks for the help. I realize this house is shot. I brushed and still chalking, I tried sodium Hydroxide and it was little better. The front looks faded in comparison to the remainder of the house. I have a feeling that a combination of cheap vinyl, heavy sun exposure and 12 years has done this siding in.

I have considered the wax option but I don't feel right offering the customer a temp. solution. I will explain to him the temp fix vs. new vinyl vs. a product called restora and go from there.

Has anyone used restora? If so, worth it?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We have some on-hand but have not had the opportunity to use it yet but I have read and heard a bit about it from Tom at ACR products and it sounds promising in your case.

Rod!~

[Anthony G 14]

After reading the comments on Restora, I went to Flood.com and there is a little video that you can watch on the application of this product on shutters and if it is that time consuming on shutters then god help you with the house. It says cost to restore or replace.......that must be if the homeowner does it with no charge at labor and does see there on time valuable.

Good luck and I am keeping an eye on this thread for some answers from you guys.

Thanks,

Anthony

[william gurley 14]

www.seal-krete.com

use original waterproffing sealer.

[mas3372 14]

For those who add a wax to prevent the chalking:

What type of wax do you apply,

how do you apply it

How long does it last before the chalking starts rubbing off again.

I have another call today with a white house that has some major chalking. The vinyl looks great, just chalks like crazy when you rub it. the homeowner is interested in anything to stop the chalking, temp. or not.

Any thoughts or help would be great. Thanks