Cedar deck with aluminum Spindles

[krpalex 14]

I just got a call from a home owner that has a 25 x 12 cedar deck with 15

6 x 6 posts and about 150 metal (aluminum) spindles. My question is should I mask the spindles when stripping with HD-80 and brightening with Citralic, I will be brushing and rolling with Ready Seal as I have 30 gallons on the way to my doorstep. What would be the most efficient way to tackle this job. I am thinking of bidding the job at $890.00 that is to wash/strip/brighten,sand hand rails/seal by brush and rollers.

[seymore 90]

Are they painted spindles? strippers tend to strip paint if the paint is old or the stripper is too strong.

[Deck Guy 14]

If they are the type I'm thinking of, they screw in to the top and bottom rails from the outside with one screw into each. I've wondered myself about what to do if faced with one of these, and I think I would just remove them if the deck is on the ground or easily accessible. As far as pricing, I would price it the same as if I were staining them, since removing them will take about the same time. Just be sure to keep everyone off the deck while the spindles are off!

[RPetry 564]

Krpalex,

Test your stripper on a small spot of spindle. Use a shield to protect the aluminum from the NaOH when applying to the wood. You should be fine.

[YVPW 20]

I've sprayed a light mix of stripper on them before and it didn't hurt them at all. I would do like Rick said and to a test spot. As far as staining, the stain should wipe right off of them. It's according to if it's like the ones I've done, but you could just spray the whole deck and then wipe off the metal if some gets on them. Ready Seal will work better if it's sprayed, hard to get enough on with a brush.

[Greg R 82]

Yes it can take the finish off of those balasters - we did the interior of a 4200 sq ft all pine horse barn last year and learned the hard way. I tested the aluminum (w/ black powder coat) initially with stripper for fear of exactly that and it didn't seem to have any effect. Given the dwell however it started breaking down the finish. We then had to remove all the aluminum gates, fans and trim from the horse barn (what a pain!) in order to strip the interior down.

Sodium hydroxide will actually disolve a chunk of aluminum entirely if given enough time so all I can say is use caution. It's hard to mask when using stripper since it pretty much disolves the glue on tapes as well. Thus far I really haven't found a good solution to doing these unfortunately. Also - if thats not enough the acid based brighters can etch the finish if left to long.

[James 625]

I ve done a few and haven't had an issue. I pre-wet and kept them wet. I thought about spraying with Rain-X or WD-40.

[Greg R 82]

What stripper were you using Jim? Im curious if our batch wasn't just too hot. We were stripping 3 day old BEHR off of there from a painting contractor who goofed up.

[reed 500]

I'm with Jim. Not necessary to mask these. As stated, just keep them wet and you should be good to go. Also, when you neutralize be sure to rinse the spindles. They will sometimes have residue of the brightner on them when it dries. I always keep a rag damp with mineral spirits and wipe each spindle as I roll on the stain. This will get off any ReadySeal and residue from you brightner.

reed

[James 625]

I use F18, Hd8o and fast finish remover. I do block the spindles with card board as I'm spraying to limit the stripper going on. If the spindles are real chaulky stripping would be an issue. I haven't seen this problem yet.

[big mike 14]

I've done lots of these. Be careful of the Oxalic, that reacts with aluminum (think about aluminum door and window trim). James and Reed are right, keep them wet and rinse, rinse, rinse. As for staining, don't worry too much about getting stain on them. Just be sure that when you are done staining the railings, you wipe every spindle down with mineral spirits. This will hide any residue from the stripper or acid, and will remove the Ready Seal. This seems to be the trend in new deck construction in my part of the country. As a side note, they are fairly inexpensive (about $1.00 each), so if you do mess it up, they can be replaced easily.