Cleaning Stained deck Joist clean solution? - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

plazaman · 06-03-2008, 07:57 PM

We recently stripped a deck off all its deck boards and applied 2 coats of acrylic solid stain in white. Then then installed new compostite deck boards.

Then came the big rain storm, and streaked everything! its looks so dirty now because of the brown streaking. What can cause this? Was it because the compostite wood was new?

How can i remedy this without painting all the deck joist? Its a pretty long deck plus now that the deck boards are on, we would actually cut in all the tops.? We tried hosing it down with water and scrubbing a little, with very little success. i do believe maybe a mild to med. cleaning solution, it should be able to come out, but i dont want to hurt the finish. we took some time to paint those joist and i would hate it very much to have to do it all again.

**slickshift** · 06-03-2008, 09:16 PM

How long from Stain The Joists to Install The Deck Boards?
How long from Install The Deck Boards to Big Rain?
What kind of composite deck boards?
What kind of fasteners?

plazaman · 06-03-2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slickshift

How long from Stain The Joists to Install The Deck Boards?
How long from Install The Deck Boards to Big Rain?
What kind of composite deck boards?
What kind of fasteners?

stain applied maybe 1 week before deck board installation

Veranda Composite boards, we used composite deck fastners

Maybe 1 day after installation, then it rained. I know its coming from the boards becaused where the creases are left in the boards, thats where the stain is happening.

**slickshift** · 06-04-2008, 05:19 AM

Huh...
Well, I can't say why the composite stained the joists
Talk to the supplier...that ain't right
They are NOT supposed to do that

Unfortunately, the only solution I have is to re-stain the joists
I wouldn't until hearing from the manufacturer of the decking though

plazaman · 06-06-2008, 08:36 PM

i know its not a bleeding problem, because i did a 2nd deck with the same composite boards the same time and the samething happened. except i didnt stain these joist, left as it (PT wood) you can see the streaking, not so much since the wood it dark

billy d · 06-07-2008, 06:51 AM

Hi Plazaman I've been thinking about this and I'm only guessing but the rain storm may have little to do with the problem.Could it be that this streaking has to do with the joists weathering between the old boards.Then when it was painted bleeding through to show as streaks on the joist.You said the same thing happened on the dark joists but not as prominent this could be for the very same reason.The fact that you can't wipe it off says to me that it is bleeding.I've seen timber left in the weather and then painted and the stains bleeding through.So how to tell what it is and this is just an idea paint a section on 2 joists and cover over the boards on one(a sheet of plastic or something similar).Leave them the same amount of time it took you to notice the streaks in the first place and come back and take a look.If both joists are streaked then its bleeding if both are clear then another coat of paint is the answer,if the covered one is clear and the other one streaked then the problem is with the boards.If it is bleeding from the joist there are people better qualified here than me with paints to give you an answer to that.Any way good luck I hope you crack it man,It would be interesting to know what the out come was.Good luck Billy.

buildenterprise · 06-07-2008, 07:54 AM

The wood flour in the composite decking is what caused the streaking. I've seen it before, and it seems to be worse with the cheaper brands of decking, with some not doing it at all. I guess it all depends on the species of wood they used. Once the board has gone through several rains, it usually stops. Not sure how to remove it though. Did you try a vinegar/water solution? Or maybe that Clorox outdoor formula.