The deck is nearing completion

[jimj]

Dear Utemad,

I am not using pure oxalic acid but a commercialy prepared solutuion. There are probably 6 or so products on the shelves where the decking coating products are sold. If you look at the containers you will find they are made up of 10% oxalic acid and water. I use Flood Spa&DEck prep which is oxalic acid. I use this as the last step in the cleaning process before coating. I hope this will be of some help

regards,

jimj

[Tom101]

Hi Jim J,

What is the time period you would allow between cleaning the deck with your suggested napisan mix and oiling? I've been told you should allow for atleast 2 days drying time. Is this correct?

cheers,
Tom

[jimj]

Dear Tom,

I would agree that at least 2-3 days would be needed to feel confident that it is dry. One of the nice aspects of Flood spa&deck is that it can be applied immediately after the cleaning process is finished as the first coat is applied to wet timber. Sometimes this works out and other times after I have cleaned time runs out or the weather won't let me coat. Sometimes I can't coat for several days and when I return the deck is dry and I have to apply water to the timber to start the first coat. There are always pros and cons to each scenario and product.

Jim J www.restore-a-deck.com.au

[johnmurrell]

G'day

A good deck cleaner is "Marine Clene" by Septone (www.septone.com.au) - it contains Oxalic as well as Phosphoric acids at the same concentrations as the paint company products. I recently bought 20 litres for about $70.

Cheers

John

[Jimbeam]

Dear Nabs,

Once this has taken place you can clean back the oils, tannins and dirt with 50 grams Napisan( active ingredient Sodium Percarbonate}/1 litre of warm water applied over a wet deck. Leave it for some 10-20 minutes and it wil draw out an amazing amount of oils and dirt. Make sure you rinse off thouroughly. After you have cleaned off the timbre I would follow up with a mixture of 10 % oxalic acid and water and coat the deck for another 10-20 minutes. After all of this you will be ready to coat.


Good luck,

Jim J

From one Jim to another, how do I apply the cleaners?? Do I just let them sit or do I need to rub or scrub them in?? My deck has weathered for over 18months basically due to my lack of motivation to get te project finished. Will I be able to restore some youth back into it??

Cheers
JB

[cyco]

hi
with my experiences with deckings as a painter i would usually just wash it down with oxalic acid( found in paint shops ) granules mixed to the recommendations, then once dry, coat with a weather proof oil. every 3 months for the first 2 years then every 6 months after that. i like this method as all you are doing is substituting the natural oils. any kind of clear coating shall break down over time and if it gets away from you its a nightmare to fix.
should just add that if you miss oiling the deck and it starts to look a bit s*#t just wash it back down, oxalic acid it again and start again.


thats a great looking deck, keep the pics coming

[jimj]

To Jim Beam,

I find that byusing a product that is based with sodium percarbonate you will loosen and draw out a large amount of dirt, tannins and oil. I wet the area down that I can keep damp. So if you have a large area divide it into parts. I spread the mixture with a pad applicator, you could use a mop, brush or pumpup sprayer. I like the applicator as it is fast and spreads the detergent quickly. I find the trick is to not be in a hurry to get it off but let it dwell for a good 30 minutes or longer. If it starts to dry lightly hose over and you will see some suds reappear. You should see if there is a lot of oil the soap will start to turn brown. Depending on your deck you could now scrub. A STIFF brush on a pole is great and hard work. I use a scrubbing machine but I am on decks daily and the novelty of hand scrubbing is well and truly gone. After the scrubbing let your eyes tell you the story. If you see stunning timber with fresh water only then you are on your way. if thee are remnants of small grey streaks or patches you may be able to get them off with high water pressure. If not then I would do the deck as mentioned then redo the process over. This week I just had a deck 3 years old that was totally undercover. It had originally been coated with Feast watson decking oil. A year ago the owner reapplied a very liberal coat of the same oil. The deck was a yucky brown colour. I used the detergent scrubber and water blaster to 1800psi/15l/min and still had remnants of the oil in the board. I redid the whole thing again and this time it came out however in some zones I needed to go up tp 2500 psi which is the max I will use on good sound hardwood. After I had the entire deck cleaned back to good CLEAN wood I then use oxalic acid. This will brighten the wood,reneutralise the surface of the timbres PH and tends to open up the pores of the wood which is good for the coating to sink in a little. I let the oxalic acid dwell for 20-30 minutes and scrub and rinse. I use Spa&Deck and the 1st coat goes on wet wood. Flood have just released a 2 year guarantee from cracking, peeling or blistering. I have found most people don't want to recoat that often. I know that in full exposed sun the product will stand up easily for 18 months. I do encourage the home owner to lay a 4th coat in full sun for a little more longevity. I hope this helps with your question.

jimj www.restore-a-deck.com.au