I would like to start washing wood. Decks, fences, etc.
I have tried many products on my deck and my fence - the deck and the fence are old and in bad shape. I have been UN-successful at cleaning it satisfactorily. I have been able to get the fence to go from grey back to a "new" wood color, but its not really a bright clear "new" like wood surface. Some of it I did with just water and pressure, Some I tried bleach, some i tried oxy clean, some i tried with sodium hydroxide, some i even used a deck/fence wash which was liquid oxalic acid, but it was one gallon that was SUPPOSED to make 3 gallons if i remember right. Even then It took some serious scrubbing with a deck scrub brush and I used it pretty much full strength. It was like $12 a gallon and the results still werent totally satisfactory. It provided the best results so far but still not good enough.
And I worked my a$$ off on a 6x6 section scrubbing and spraying. This is simply not acceptable.
Now. First off, is it possible the wood in my fence/deck is too old and in too bad of shape to be cleaned up properly? And second, is it possible that the gallon of deck wash (that was supposed to be mixed with another 2 gallons of water) too weak?
Ive found oxalic acid at one of my local chemical suppliers for .90 cents a pound and is sold in 55# bags. That makes a bag about $50.
Caustic soda beads (lye, NaOH, sodium hydroxide) are .60/lb and sold in 50# bags. That makes a bag $30.
The killer at this chemical supplier is the 12.5% bleach - $5.80 a gallon!! Good thing that isn't what I want to use on wood. I use that for houses (and I'm looking for a different supplier for that - ive been using 10% bleach used for pools @ 3.99/gal)
But anyways. If I need to use caustic soda - say for stripping stain/sealer or severely weathered wood - How many pounds per gallon of water? And how many pounds of oxalic acid should I use per gallon of water for deck/fence cleaning - for both normally weathered wood and for severely weatherd wood? Really need some help here guys. Its costing me business and thus money not being able to do wood. And I have a deck job I can get here in just a couple days.
I have tried many products on my deck and my fence - the deck and the fence are old and in bad shape. I have been UN-successful at cleaning it satisfactorily. I have been able to get the fence to go from grey back to a "new" wood color, but its not really a bright clear "new" like wood surface. Some of it I did with just water and pressure, Some I tried bleach, some i tried oxy clean, some i tried with sodium hydroxide, some i even used a deck/fence wash which was liquid oxalic acid, but it was one gallon that was SUPPOSED to make 3 gallons if i remember right. Even then It took some serious scrubbing with a deck scrub brush and I used it pretty much full strength. It was like $12 a gallon and the results still werent totally satisfactory. It provided the best results so far but still not good enough.
And I worked my a$$ off on a 6x6 section scrubbing and spraying. This is simply not acceptable.
Now. First off, is it possible the wood in my fence/deck is too old and in too bad of shape to be cleaned up properly? And second, is it possible that the gallon of deck wash (that was supposed to be mixed with another 2 gallons of water) too weak?
Ive found oxalic acid at one of my local chemical suppliers for .90 cents a pound and is sold in 55# bags. That makes a bag about $50.
Caustic soda beads (lye, NaOH, sodium hydroxide) are .60/lb and sold in 50# bags. That makes a bag $30.
The killer at this chemical supplier is the 12.5% bleach - $5.80 a gallon!! Good thing that isn't what I want to use on wood. I use that for houses (and I'm looking for a different supplier for that - ive been using 10% bleach used for pools @ 3.99/gal)
But anyways. If I need to use caustic soda - say for stripping stain/sealer or severely weathered wood - How many pounds per gallon of water? And how many pounds of oxalic acid should I use per gallon of water for deck/fence cleaning - for both normally weathered wood and for severely weatherd wood? Really need some help here guys. Its costing me business and thus money not being able to do wood. And I have a deck job I can get here in just a couple days.
