Best Way to Restore a Wood Deck?

radfly

radfly

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Guys, I tested a small area with direct sprayed SH 8.5% mixed 50/50 with H2O, and it did nothing to remove the grey oxidation except for a small patch that I rubbed with my foot when it was dwelling....

Should I bump up to straight 8.5% and mix in a little lye?

Thanks in advance.

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Just try water at a medium pressure..Pre-soak it first...Hypo isn't the answer to everything. Do each board from end to end not across the boards. use a 40 degree tip and hold it about 100-150mm 4-6 inches) from the face of the timber. Keep the lance moving or you will get a water cut on the timber. Start with a low pressure and increase it to suite until you are getting the optimum wash. Do it on a wet day if you can and all of the shit on the timber is pre-soaked and nice and soft. drowning everything in Hypo isn't the answer to getting it clean. just water and the right pressure does a great job and after it's clean, if you feel the need, then put on the wonder dung of your choice....after all it's the timber you want to treat not the dirt on top of it.
 
I am sure one of the wood experts will chime in shortly, but when we restore wood decks like these (I only do about 20-30 decks a year so I don't consider myself and expert yet) we clean them with our preferred method of cleaning. There are many ways to clean a deck some use bleach, sodium precarb, water, etc etc. We also personally use citric acid in most circumstances to neutralize.

After cleaning, most of the methods will bring you similar results... Sometimes we sand, and sometimes we use Osborn brushes, as well as some other pads and tools. Now this may not be the best method, but for us it has worked very well, and has helped us achieve excellent results.

With that being said, I am definitely all ears to hear other methods as well!!
 
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Best way to do that type of graying (And Fastest),... is to mix 8 OZ. Sodium Hydroxide per gallon of water, add 1-2 OZ. of the soap of your choice as a surfactant and DS. It will begin to work immediately,..but let site a few minuted and rinse the gray away. Then neutralize with 8 OZ. Oxalic acid per gallon of water and DS.

My second choice would be to use Sodium Percarbonate applied through dedicated pump at 8 OZ. per gallon of water and neutralize as mentioned above,..

Jeff
 
814jeffw said:
Best way to do that type of graying (And Fastest),... is to mix 8 OZ. Sodium Hydroxide per gallon of water, add 1-2 OZ. of the soap of your choice as a surfactant and DS. It will begin to work immediately,..but let site a few minuted and rinse the gray away. Then neutralize with 8 OZ. Oxalic acid per gallon of water and DS.

My second choice would be to use Sodium Percarbonate applied through dedicated pump at 8 OZ. per gallon of water and neutralize as mentioned above,..

Jeff
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Jeff... When cleaning a gray deck like this, is there any prep you neep to do after washing before staining? I'm always looking for faster routes to the finish.

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Just do the wash and neutralize,..let it dry,..then stain.

**Some do sand decks and especially handrails before staining,..but that is added cost to the customer, so they make most of that decision. Me,..I knock off any "catching" splinters from hand rails as part of the job,..even if they don't want a total sanding of the deck.

Jeff
 
Thanks Jeff, I will give that a try!
 
814jeffw said:
Best way to do that type of graying (And Fastest),... is to mix 8 OZ. Sodium Hydroxide per gallon of water, add 1-2 OZ. of the soap of your choice as a surfactant and DS. It will begin to work immediately,..but let site a few minuted and rinse the gray away. Then neutralize with 8 OZ. Oxalic acid per gallon of water and DS.

My second choice would be to use Sodium Percarbonate applied through dedicated pump at 8 OZ. per gallon of water and neutralize as mentioned above,..

Jeff
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Thanks Jeff, I tried a sample area with your second choice... Applied Sodium Percarbonate per your ratio, dwell for 15 minutes, sprayed with low pressure, applied Oxalic per your ratio, dwell for 10 minutes, rinsed with low pressure....

Too cool.... No furring, no damage to the 8 year old untreated wood that I can see... still waiting for it to dry...



So..., now I need to try your DS method of lye (Sodium Hydroxide) on a greyed fence.... lol.

Thank you sir....
 
Hey Joseph,..glad it worked for you. Nice to have options instead of being limited to one product and/or method. You'll most likely like the Sodium Hydroxide method better,..simply fast and easier to mix.
I'll use different methods or products sometimes just to keep my "options" skills honed.

The Sodium Percarbonate is a better choice if your concerned about delicate landscape.

*When dwelling,..always keep any product damp,..if it dries it stops working. And with oxalic, it will possibly leave a whitish looking finished product if it dries on the wood.

Jeff
 
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