Can you power wash stain off a fence?
How to Renew a Fence Overview
When did your cedar fence lose its warm and rich glow? Whom had the discolored, shabby-looking impostor welcomed into the neighborhood? Do not worry, the glow still remains beneath the thin gray skin. To reveal a new layer of wood, all you have to do is remove the surface layer of aged wood cells. It's as simple with a power washer as washing your vehicle. To protect this new layer of wood, then add an exterior wood oil fence polish. It's going to extend the life of your fence to boot.
Power washing makes the huge cleaning task easy
Much like a fence cleaner, power washers are aggressive. As well as washing the dirt and grime, they'll strip the wood, but you can also erode the wood too deeply and ruin it. Using the correct sprayer tip and technique is the key. In any case, on smooth wood, the power washer's spray can slightly lift and roughen the grain. This is actually good, allowing more sealers to soak in and enhance the finish.
Rent a power washer running at 1,500 or 2,000 psi and avoid more powerful units of 3,000 or 3,500 psi. Be sure to get both tips for 15- and 25-degree mist. Have the rental workers demonstrate the use of the washer. It's an easy working machine.
Start the power washer
Don't run the power washer without first loading the pump and hoses with water to prevent damaging the pump. Attach a garden hose and the power washer hose to the system to do this, clip on the end of the wand in a 25-degree tip, turn on the garden hose spigot and hold down the trigger on the wand until water squirts out for a fast fence cleaner. Release the button with the wand and power the engine. If the starting cord is difficult to pull, pull the wand trigger to release the water pressure.
By tying back plants that are growing alongside it, clear the field along the fence. You may get wet from the spray. Wear water-repellent clothes.
Keep the sprayer moving
With the wand tip 18 in, start spraying. From the surface of the wood. Step-in closer as you slowly move the tip along the board's length. Keep the fan spray's width balanced around the boards. To stop gouging the wood, pull the trigger and keep the sprayer tip going. Using a number of angles of attack to strip the inside corners.
When the surface is stripped away, the wood's color will brighten. If no further color shift happens, watch closely and avoid stripping. In order to expose fresh wood, you don't have to remove too much surface, and continuing to spray will not enhance the color.
To arrive at the correct tip distance and pace of movement needs a little practice, but you can catch on quickly. It is easier to make two or three passes than to risk attempting to accomplish this work in one pass by gouging the stone.
Close up of sprayer tip
You would need both a 25-degree sprayer tip (less aggressive) and a 15-degree sprayer tip (more aggressive). You can turn to a 15-degree tip as you gain experience. This tip cuts more aggressively than the 25-degree tip and operates better.
Simple repairs add years to the life of your fence
It's time to patch or substitute broken boards, refasten loose boards and countersink any protruding nails with the fence clean. To patch any split and cracked boards, use waterproof glue. To pull loose parts firmly together, push corrosion-resistant screws instead of nails. Straighten it with a turnbuckle help if a gate is sagging. Often, coat a wood preservative with the posts where they emerge from the earth or concrete. That's the place that first rots.
Glue damaged pieces
When the wood has dried for at least 24 hours, the glue breaks and fragments. Apply waterproof adhesive and securely clamp or tape together the pieces.
Tighten loose boards
Tighten loose boards by driving weather-resistant or stainless steel screws. 1/4 in. Recess the head And fill the caulk with a light color.
Straighten gates and doors
A turnbuckle realigns the sagging gates. To make it less noticeable, spray-painted the glossy turnbuckle black.
Apply wood preservative
To help prevent rot in this vulnerable area, drive a wood preservative into the posts around the foundation.
Did the posts of your fence rot at the bottom? Here's how to install new ones and stop the issues that have caused your old posts to rot.
Stain makes the fence look brand new
Using an external semi-transparent oil stain to retain the natural color of the wood. It seals the wood while enabling the differences in grain and color to show through. And its pigments add a general tone of color. Make sure that the stain contains ultraviolet inhibitors that slow down sunlight bleaching and a mildewcide that slows fungal growth. At the paint shop, look for cedar samples, or bring in your own piece of wood for testing. The safest approach to ensure a good outcome is a test sample.
Make sure the fence is dry before applying the fence stain. Give yourself 24 hours at least. Enable another 24 hours if it's cool and humid.
Roll a section of fence stain
To apply a soaking coat to the wood, use a paint roller with a "medium nap" cover. Let the wood absorb the sealer as best as it can. Roll a soaking coat of semi-transparent fence stain onto the dry timber. Coat the fence for about 3 ft., then brush the sealer out into the wood.
Brush out the fence stain
Into the wood grain and all corners and holes, brush the stain (back brush). Brush out any drips or runs.
Roll on additional sealers if the wood still appears to be dry. Work the sealer into all corners and recesses. The roller applies the paint, but in order to work it deep into the wood's surface, you need the brush.
Stain all areas
Using a trim roller and a 2-in stain to work the stain into small and tight areas. Keep the edges damp to avoid lap marks. One generous coat ought to suffice.
It is guaranteed that most semi-transparent oil stains can last two to five years. Fences normally face extreme weathering, so expect the finish to last no more than three years. (Solid-color stains last longer but are more difficult to renew.) To keep your fence looking new, intend to recover the fence within this time frame. Wash the fence with a garden hose sprayer before recoating, and use a bristle brush on stubborn soil deposits and stains. Using the same process, let the fence dry and stain it.
Do You Need a Fence Contractor You Can Trust?
Why pay more when you can restore? That's our motto and the way we approach every project. Fresh Coat Restoration specializes in new deck builds, new fence builds, deck repairs, fence repairs, arbor restoration, fence restoration, deck restoration, pressure washing and sealing/staining. If it's in your backyard chances are we specialize in it! When you call FCR you will be working with a licensed, insured, honest and reliable contractor with years of experience and thousands of satisfied customers. We are the top Fencing contractor in the Vine Hill neighborhood of Martinez, California, serving the fencing installation and restoration needs of homeowners throughout Contra Costa, Solano and Alameda Counties. Contact us today to start your project!
