Blending new/old PT

[bigchaz]

I've got a 20x10 deck with a 10x10 addition. (Rails are all new on the whole deck) Old part is 4 years old, moldy, gray, no stain. New deck is less than a week old.

They know it will never match but is there anything I can do help this process? I'm not comfortable waiting a year while the old section gets even worse, and I don't see the point in cleaning only the floor on the old part while the rails and 100 sq foot additional surface have nothing.

If you absolutely had to stain brand new pressure treated, what would you do to prep it? And how do I best blend with the old wood?

[CarolinaProWash]

Tint

[RPetry]

Charlie,

We use to do a hard NaOH on new wood, trying to kind of "age" it to help match up with old wood. Not anymore.

We can do various mixes with different colors of Ready Seal to minimize the coloration difference. But in the end, there is still a noticeable difference.

[bigchaz]

I figured the color won't be perfect and homeowner seems to recognize this. My fear is more with the fact that this wood couldn't possibly get any newer.

Planning on armstrong cedar toner for this deck and I mainly don't want to have the new wood wear off in 6 months.

Rick, will a strong NaOH help with penetration? I don't read all these threads with opening the pores of the wood, etc. I just don't want to end up putting one light coat on and have puddling since none of it soaks in

[PressurePros]

Strong acid or strong bleach and a couple months exposure to the sun helps but.. you can count on the fact that in one year that the new PTP will be nearly bare. Let the homeowner know you will be back for maintenance.

[Beth n Rod]

You can also sand the old wood....THAT works well!
Beth

[RPetry]

Strong acid or strong bleach and a couple months exposure to the sun helps but.. you can count on the fact that in one year that the new PTP will be nearly bare. Let the homeowner know you will be back for maintenance.

Charlie,

Ken makes a good point. A very strong acid may help a bit, not sure about the bleach. Maybe Diamond Jim knows.

You can also sand the old wood....THAT works well!
Beth

Beth makes a score! Sand the snot out of the old PT wood to get down to bare tacks. Good idea but 'ya got enough belt sanders, time, and $ in the job?

[PressurePros]

That would help the toning issue, but the fact remains that ACQ treated wood is terrible (when it comes to staining) for the 3 months its down. Even the KD stuff sucks.

[Beth n Rod]

Charlie,

Ken makes a good point. A very strong acid may help a bit, not sure about the bleach. Maybe Diamond Jim knows.



Beth makes a score! Sand the snot out of the old PT wood to get down to bare tacks. Good idea but 'ya got enough belt sanders, time, and $ in the job?

We have done a number of them. Customers were thrilled! Replace only the boards too far gone to sand. Offer it as an option, let them decide how important it is, or is not.

Beth

[bigchaz]

The older part of the deck isn't in bad shape it just has a good amount of mold and certainly needs a cleaning for sure.

So here's the plan according to what I've gathered from yall. Heavy strip on the new wood and regular cleaning on the older parts. Then do heavy acid on the new and regular acid on the old. The wood definitely doesn't need sanding but I will do some to help blend

Rick: Don't have the job yet, just thinking ahead for options. Money is good and time won't be a problem. As for sanders...my two orbitals and makita buffer burned up but I've bought new. I don't have belt sanders but not sure how I would utilize them. Seems like they all have 3" drums which is pretty useless IMO. What are you using?

[acegot]

If they really want the best chance of getting it to match: Restore the whole deck and rail as you normally would. (no sealer/stain) wait 4to 8 weeks (depending on how wet the new PTP is) then sand the whole deck, old part heavier sand, new wood lighter sand, then seal/stain. Put a darker color on the new wood(about 2 shades), it should blend pretty well. Look at the job 2 weeks later & be proud of your efforts. Here is a job I did like that. The deck was 16 years old, replaced a bunch of boards, sanded the whole thing & applied 2-3 shades darker color on the new wood. There was still a dfference, the new boards should darken & the old boards will lighten when cured. Went back in 2 weeks when cured. Wa lah! Last 2 pics are after 2 weeks.

[PressurePros]

Lyle, you are a wood god. You can even make PTP look like cedar! I couldn't resist. You do nice work.

[acegot]

Thanks Ken, They call me Woody Sensei! LOL

[decker]

I will be working on a project with a somewhat similar situation.

4 year old previously stained cedar which is ugly. HO powerwashing (attempt to strip) made it worse. The HO has just put in new PT rails with aluminum bars in the middle.

I don't think curing is an option as I get the feeling they want it done asap.

Here's my plan:
-Strip everything
-Bleach the rails
-Brighten everything
-Sand with 60 grit on everything, extra attention to the rails

They want a cedar semi-transparent stain, but I am just wondering what the difference in look will be between the rails and deck - they are concerned about that. I tried to sell them on a two tone, but they were hesitant.


Here are my questions:
1) Will my plan work

2) Can anyone suggest a colour scheme, which takes into consideration the black aluminum (pretty sure its aluminum) rails?
-pending they don't go for two tone, would an extra coat of stain help blend it better (I would have use a different stain than my normal sikkens srd)?

3) What is your most efficient and effective method for covering up the rails to make sure they don't get damaged from the stripper?

Wood really appreciate some input.

Also:

Don't mean to hijack this thread, just thought it would be beneficial for everyone as it is a similar topic.

Let me know if I should start a new thread.

[acegot]

Decker, To protect the rails, throw a 9x12 canvas dropcloth over the rail & move it as you go. Those balusters are usually powder coated, very durable finish. Your plan sounds pretty good except maybe the bleach on the railing, unless you mean wood bleach(percarb). Then just use darker color on railing & tell the customer you cant match exactly, theyre' goingto get some two tone no matter what. Or you could use AC cedar-semi-trans on the deck & AC super-cedar ( has more pigment) on the rails, or AC Cedar semi with a little AC rustic brown added to it for the rails. See Pro Sealer Store for mat. colors. Here is a pic of a deck I built. Does their railing look like that.