Sodium Hydroxide Mix

Aspen

New Member
Sodium Hydroxide beads

Yes, precuations are understandable. I just wanted to ask for a piece of advice from pros. I read here that 3 oz. per gallon water of oxalic acid to nutralize, as for the sodium hydroxide, I was just eye-balling it. I did follow intructions from this forum and rinsed continuously after sodium hydroxide and after oxalic acid. I hope I did everything corectly and the stain I applied lasts.
 

Bryan C

New Member
Oldtimer -

Most of the store-bought "cleaners" are ineffective and over-priced. The same ingredients can be bought directly and for much less.

I am not a back-yard chemist. I read the MSDS sheets and know what I am dealing with...
 

chrisecs

New Member
I reccomend using sodium percarbonate cleaners. They are much safer to use and are much more eco friendly. I was in the cleaning business eight years before I discovered these cleaners. They are great cleaners, especially on wood. Many pros do use sodium hydroxide cleaners or strong bleach. Then they apply oxalic acid as a neutralizer and brightner. It will make a deck look great!

But so will percarbonate cleaners without the use of more dangerous chems.

Be careful with any sodium hydroxed cleaners. They can give you serious burns if you spill or splash. Same goes for bleach; use caution.
 

Aspen

New Member
Sodium Hydroxide beads

My project was to strip an old seal, not just to clean wood. Sodium percarbonate will not strip, will it?
And again, I have the same question: What is Sodium Hydroxide beads mix with water proportion? Anyone?
 

Bryan C

New Member
I do not use beads - I use F-18 from pressuretek.com or downstream PowerSolve directly. 6-8 oz per gallon, applied straight with a pump sprayer should give you a good starting point. You can go hotter if you need to depending on the difficulty of the sealer you are stripping.

No, a percarb will not strip.
 

Aplus

New Member
I've been in the deck restoration business over 13 years, and restored thousands of decks. It is not as simple as buying raw materials and throwing something together, or eye-balling how much stuff to use.

There are many reputable dealers that sell professionally formulated products at prices that are not much more than buying all the raw materials and mixing it yourself.

Anybody reputable will not endorse self mixing materials and just throw information out here where others may get hurt or cause liabilities.

And yes, sodium percarbonate will strip certain oil based finishes, but not all.
 
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Aspen

New Member
The result I got

Last fall I worked on this deck. It was a solid stain - grey like the siding and railing, but was old and was coming off. I spent a lot of time there and learned a lot - had to sand in between the boards, so that the grey isn`t showing. Used sodium hydroxide (beads mixed into water)to strip and oxalic acid to neutralize. Wolman F&P "Golden Pine" with a cup per gallon of "Natural".
 

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chrisecs

New Member
Deck Stipping

I must have misunderstood the original question. Percarbonate is not a stripper, but it will remove a lot of stain that is already degraded. However it is an excellent cleaner and much safer than SH or bleach.

Be careful with SH, if you make a mistake in mixing or splashing you will get a severe burn. I had a back sprayer leaking one time and got a severe burn from SH on my backside. Not pleasant! I would only use it as a last resort, even though it is an excellent stripper.
 

Aspen

New Member
Safety

Yes, rubber gloves, protective eyewear and clothes are a must. I decided not to spray it - I used a roller on an extension pole to apply it, so it don`t get vapors.
 

Torque454

New Member
How well would 1 tablespoon of sodium hydroxide to one gallon of water work? Too much/Not enough? Just about right? Is oxalic acid the only neutralizer out there that works to neutralize the sodium hydroxide application and wont the oxalic acid itself clean the wood? Or am I missing something? I have 100% sodium hydroxide around for drain cleaning and biodiesel production but dont have any oxalic acid and i'm not sure where to get it besides online.

Also how will the sodium hydroxide, and the oxalic acid affect the grass and other vegetation around the work area? Will pre-wetting and post rinsing prevent damage or destruction of the said vegetation? What do you do when you are in the city and are cleaning a fence that has a neighbors garden or flowerbed or even just grass on the other side? Climb a ladder and presoak/post rinse? Do you go up to the neighbor and talk to them and tell them whats up first or just do what you're there to do?
 
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