anyone ever tried a surface cleaner on a wood deck?

Just looking on youtube to try and get a idea since a lot of ppl here put stuff on there, and found that. There is thia old beat up pier on the property. Its in really bad shape. Even a bad job would be an improvement on this monstrosity.
 

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Becuase that is over water i would use a 40 degree nozzle and clean board by board then clear seal it by hand using a brush.I know the karcher video says its ok to use the surface cleaner but trust me its jus too much psi for wood. Use sodium percarbonate and oaxilic acid as a nuetralizer. This is the best way to achieve great results.
 
I done it once on a buddies deck that was going to get replaced (boards were rotted) not recommended due to it will stripe the crap out of the wood if you dont keep moving and I was using 1503 nozzels with engine idled down
Use a 40 degree nozzle that will reduce your pressure to between 500-800 psi. Idleling down your engine will not allow it to cool properly, the engine is designed to be run wide open. Follow this advice and use the proper chemicals for the job and you can breeze through this deck in no time. Chemicals clean and strip the wood and the water does the rinse.
 
I have heard this before about idleling engine down, what exactly does it do when you run one at half throttle? I have been doing this for house washing with 4035 nozzle for rinse after downstreaming chemical on house. I placed my hand on pump head a few times and its cold, but I have been wondering about this
 
I have also heard this.

Most small engines are air-cooled so it needs the full-throttle to move air to cool the engine down so it does not burn up.

Not sure of the problems that may arise from not running full-throttle but this is what I have always heard.
 
Ok so its the engine you have to worry about not the pump .... well I guess if ur portable unit is direct drive it would have a heat transfer from engine to pump ....

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Here's one I cleaned yesterday with a 40 degree tip and percarb with sodium hydroxide and some of my house wash detergent. Then I brightened it with citric/ox blend. I will run a dry stiff nylon brush across it and spray on some pecan ready seal in a few days. I will have maybe 3 hours into it. You guys pray that I get the fence next?

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No im not going to use the surface cleaner. And i apriciate the advice of everyone one here. But Personaly i can do without any advice from the gentlman from Corpus Christie. He and i are starting to devlop a history, and a bad one. Fyi this deck is already been treated. Customer will retreat it after i am done.i didnt know if it was safe to usd a surface cleaner. Was the reason i asked. But i got an answer, an intelligent, professional answer and i thank you all for that. To avoid any further fueding witht this guy i'll just move along. Thanks guys.

If you have the time look up my friend Richard Fleming in Prattville, he knows the correct way to clean, neutralize and seal decks.
 
Its all about the Experience

Wow Ron this thread is months old.
Diggin in the bone yard are we?

Experience is why I sought out this forum. To learn, to grow and sucsessful.
EVERYONE had to start SOMEWHERE.

@ Russ ty. i will look him up. Untill then i have avoided wood work like the black plauge.
Far too easy to screw up and to much of a liabilty. For now at least.
 
Wow Ron this thread is months old.
Diggin in the bone yard are we?

Experience is why I sought out this forum. To learn, to grow and sucsessful.
EVERYONE had to start SOMEWHERE.

@ Russ ty. i will look him up. Untill then i have avoided wood work like the black plauge.
Far too easy to screw up and to much of a liabilty. For now at least.

Yeah and sometimes topics have to be rehashed


Text me anytime for question 480-522-5227
 
Lee,

I am not a wood guy (yet) although it does interest me.

Forgetting about all the coments about the pressure, temperature, and lack of proper chemicals...one of the big things with wood work is to clean with the grain, never across it. A surface scrubber spins 360 degrees meaning a lot of the time you are going against the grain.

If that does not convince you that a surface scrubber is not the way to go, a simple search on this forum as well as others will lead you to learn that it is not a good ideal.

Good luck with your business. There are tons of guys here willing to help if you are able to ask nicely. I have several people on speed dial who I can call for help. They are willing to help because 1) they are good people and know what it is like to start out 2) they know what it is like to lose business (money) because the public perception of their industry has been hurt by people not knowing what they are doing and screwing things up.
 
Wow Ron this thread is months old.
Diggin in the bone yard are we?

Experience is why I sought out this forum. To learn, to grow and sucsessful.
EVERYONE had to start SOMEWHERE.

@ Russ ty. i will look him up. Untill then i have avoided wood work like the black plauge.
Far too easy to screw up and to much of a liabilty. For now at least.

dont avoid it, embrace it. You can make good money doing wood.
 
Well I had to try it, and I'm very pleased with the results. I took my old 15" surface cleaner (the kind you can get at Lowes for $60 that attaches to the end of the gun). I drilled out the tips with a 1/16 bit (I think this gave me two #6 tips, which dropped the pressure below 800 psi according to the chart, I'm at 5.5gpm). I used it on an untreated cedar deck and the surface cleaner could cover 2 boards at a time. I was able to go pretty fast (at least half the time of using a wand) and I got good results, no furring, very thorough clean. I usually use 40 degree #10 tip. Going against the grain didn't seem to cause any problems at this psi and speed. Yeah, if you don't keep it moving you are going to have some issues but that's no different than using a wand. I'm not sure the results would be the same with #6 tips on a 24inch surface cleaner, maybe it wouldn't spin fast enough to make up for the lack of pressure.
 
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