brightners

[reedsterstl]

Ditto on what Mike stated, "goof proof". One can do the spindles drip it all over the deck floor and when you do the deck floor the blending is unreal, thus goof proof. I cut in to the side of the house with a four inch stain brush (keep it in a zip lock baggy and it stays good forever) and when I go back to either roll or spray (no wind of course) you will never know a brush was used first.

As Mike stated with "new cedar" it doesn't soak it real quick. Several light coats should be used. Had the same situation with rain on new cedar. I wasn't a happy camper, but the homeowner stated his 3 runs of 4" siding was never applied right until I did it. I hate doing siding!!!!!

If you run into any western red cedar like we get around here in St. Louis, try the ReadySeal Gold. Wow, really looks nice.

Reed

 

[ron]

ron p

i use citric acid from www.thechemistrystore.com as a brightner my prob. is i dont know how much to mix per gal of h20? I use 1/2 cup to a gal of water and it works well but would like a second opinion.
Anyone out there making there own brightner from 80% citric acid and 20% oxlaic acid?
Still need to know how much per gal?
Russ has been real cool about helping me to make my own stuff but i dont want to over step my boundries.

 

[Tim Smith]

I have a contract for 37 decks in this sub division- I have strip with hd 80 and brighten with oxalic acid - did not rinse & they look amazon.

HD 80 is awesome!

 

[Tim Smith]

Russ told me to use 2 to 3 ounces per gallon.

Does 100% Oxalic Acid work as well as the Citrus/Oxalic blend?

 

[Greg Rentschler]

Hey Reed,

After heavy stripping (CWF-UV or Sikkens) we usually have to go back and brighten cedar one more time after it's dried up. I've rarely been able to pull 100% of the darkness out of the wood on the first brightening.

Greg

 

[reedsterstl]

Greg,

That explains my experience to the tee. Went back and did the same the other day. MUCH betta now.

Anyone want our rain? We get a break from it for just a couple of days. Got 4 decks waiting for sealer.

Reed

 

[Tim Smith]

Reed

This rain just keeps coming! Evertime the moister level gets close to 12% - it has rain over the past month.

At what point do you have to clean again?

 

[reedsterstl]

I have been checking the decks everyday. So far, no greying going on. Plus, I can tell if I need a little more brightner on them. So I am taking brightner with me when I check them.

Hey East coasters, rain is coming your way and you can have it. I am really getting backed up.

Reed

 

[Jon Fife]

What a pain!! We've got about 15 decks,fences,etc. waiting for sealer, and it rains every day!

As far as brightener goes, i use oxalic. We use about 48oz. to 5 gallons of water. This will keep you less than the 10% dillution rate. I used to only use about half of that, but the difference in the finished product really shows when using a larger amount.

I have not used RS brightener, but i have used Sunbrite brightener and it does work very well, much better than staight oxalic acid. I don't know what it has in it, but it does work better. But i prefer to save the money and use oxalic.

Ron, i used to mix citric/oxalic, but i have found that pure oxalic works much better (brighter substrate). Obviously, neutralization will occur either way, but oxalic gets the wood lighter and that tends to make a stain application look better in my opinion. Oxalic is significantly cheaper as well.

jon

 

[ron]

ron p

JON Citric acid is $1.26 a lb, oxalic acid is $1.07 and is considered a poison
Thats why i use the citric acid but have never tried the oxalic.
You say what your mix is but not how you apply it.
pump up,downstreamer, flo-jet,ect...

 

[Jon Fife]

Ron,

your prices sound high, i believe i pay about half that price. As far as being bad for you, that is correct. But i have heard that the amount needed to cause you any problems is way higher than you could ever be exposed to in an entire lifetime of cleaning decks. But i'd hate to wrong and find out the hard way.....

I apply with a shurflo setup, rinse after 10 minutes or so. Hey Ron, did you read the article in BM about quats?? Have you studied up on those at all??

jon

 

[Tim Smith]

Jon

Do you mind telling where you get you Oxalic Acid. I have found it for $1.00 a pound, but you have to buy at least 200 pounds at a time.

 

[Jon Fife]

i buy from Harcros Chemical, and they have plants across the country. They'll ship for $60 any order up to 800 lbs (i think)


I just called and checked, and i am paying $0.47 per lb. for oxalic, and $0.71 for citric.


jon

 

[Tim Smith]

could you email me the phone #

 

[Jon Fife]

615-256-8636, harcros chemical, check and see if there is one in memphis or stl.

 

[ron]

ron p

Thanks JON. WWW.HARCROSCHEM.COM/DPRODUCTS.HTML

 

[ron]

ron p

No JON i have not read the artical on QUATS yet.
I do know that its a salt. I also know its used for sanitising and killing germs and mold.
On these NO CHLORINE type roof cleaners that people sell, are more then likely made up of POLYQUATS. Quats are 5 to 10% active amonia salts[cant spell worth a damn,sorry] and are used to help prevent mold growth. While POLYQUATS is 30 to 60% active and kills the mold much faster. It can also kill's some molds that chlorine cant. Also quats has a high surfancent in it and foams up. Polyquats wont foam up.
Im say that if i were to make a safe housewash or roofwash it would be a mix of polyquats,alk. soap,and surfacent to make it stick.
Im just a dumbass with a pressure washer and a computer, so i could be way off.
They spray this stuff on food you eat[or they did] so its got to be safer then SH. It's sprayed on oranges, so im sure its safe on plant life. It's used to keep pools clean and you swim in it so its got to be OK to get on you.
The active ingreadent is called benzalkonium chloride wonder if anyone has a MSDS sheet on there safe roof wash? Is it in there?

 

[Target P/W]

To heck with it, I have been reading old posts and went shopping for deck cleaner stuff.
-simple green - 1.5 cups
-pool bleach- 1 gallon
-water - .5 gallons.

- I will upstream this solution through my pump, therefore I have a low water mix.

I have found something very interesting however.
A unit that sits on a dolly. 50 gallon tank, shurflo pump, all the toys (minus the wand and extended hose etc),

Get this - $200 Cdn.

I don't care if it is not designed for mild chemical use. This baby is comin out of my next deposit.

She's a beauty.......one in a million girls, .........why would I lie?

 

[Tim Smith]

So which is better Citric or Oxalic Acid to brighten/neutralize.

What are some of the advantages/disadvantages of both?

 

[ron]

ron p

TIM citric is a hammer and oxalic is a sledge hammer
citric is safe , ox is considered a poision, if you use a light duty stripper or cleaner then citric is fine if you use HD-80 then it will need 2 applications of OX.
It depends on how high a consentration of SH you use to get the job done.
OX is instant, POW IT JUMPS citric takes longer
They sell/make a combo of both.