Topic: Fence help from the wood pros

[pressurepros]

Hows 1000 psi and a 40 deg. tip?

Thanks Ken. 

Im getting mixed suggestions. Do I clean then strip before neutralizing? Or strip then clean before neutralizing?
Or does it matter?

Thanks again guys for the responses.

There actually is a difference in pressure when switching spray patterns. Its not because of the pressure leaving the nozzle at 1 cm, its the dissipation of the pressure at varying distances. 1000 psi on a 40 is good.

You are mixing the bleach and stripper. You don't need a strong stripper on that fence. In fact Dan's mention of not even bothering with neutralization is valid. The most prevalent effect of using a caustic on wood is a darkening. The bleach factor should cancel out that effect. Spend a little extra time rinsing with fresh water and your pH balance should be fine to apply an oil. Use the chemical ratio I suggested above.

I would reconsider, if you can, staining the fence. At $20 extra per 8 ft section and using a product like Baker's Gray Away, you can make some nice extra coin.

[Johnson]

So ken, you mean to mix this together and apply?

3% bleach (hitting the fence) and some F-18 (hitting the fence at a dilution of 3 oz per gallon) will make quick work of the cleaning.

The guy I know is setup for staining/painting etc. Im not unless I break out the pump sprayer.

Did you mean $20/section just for stain?

[plainpainter]

The only thing I would change with Fenner's recipe is perhaps the bleach strength.  I don't think you need to go as strong as 3% especially if you will be mixing 3 ozs. per gallon of F-18.
But that's just my opinion - you have plenty of fence to experiment on - but then again you are dealing with lichens, so who knows.  Bakers will easily go into a pump up, upsell the bakers and make some good coin.  All you have to do is a little backbrushing after spraying.

[Johnson]

The only thing I would change with Fenner's recipe is perhaps the bleach strength.  I don't think you need to go as strong as 3% especially if you will be mixing 3 ozs. per gallon of F-18.

I was thinking 2% strength originally before he posted. But I can always bump it up if needed. Or start at 3% and roll with it.

[pressurepros]

Dan, he definitely needs 3%.. maybe even stronger to handle that lichen and keep dwell times within reason.

Chad, the $20 was per side of fence including labor and materials. I forgot to factor both sides ($40). You could even go $35 per 8' section length but that's pretty low. Get yourself one of those backpack sprayers. You wouldn't need to backbrush. I never backbrush fences.

PS: The above is just the add-on staining and does not include your cleaning price. At $35 you are charging $.15 per s/f labor to stain.

[plainpainter]

Dan, he definitely needs 3%.. maybe even stronger to handle that lichen and keep dwell times within reason.

Yeah I agree, lichens are a game changer.   I sprayed on reclaimed roof cleaning mix that I mixed at 3.75%
and didn't rinse - and that fence was 20x worse with lichens and moss - and I came back a week and half or
two weeks later, and I swear you'd have thought nothing ever grew on it.  I guess if you are going to rinse
with 800psi and 25 degree  nozzle then 3-4% is acceptable - but you won't need more than a couple minutes
dwell.

[Johnson]

Dan, he definitely needs 3%.. maybe even stronger to handle that lichen and keep dwell times within reason.

I guess if you are going to rinse
with 800psi and 25 degree  nozzle then 3-4% is acceptable - but you won't need more than a couple minutes
dwell.

In this weather thats questionable. But it might work pretty fast.

[offdutyfireman]

This may not be as scientific as what Dan and Ken have come up with. I just write it on the days schedule, give it to one of the guys or keep it on my list. Either way, someone pulls up to the job, washes it, rolls up hose and goes to the next job. If they called me asking about percentages I would go thru the roof. DS potash, rinse, no neutralizing, leave.