# What Chemical



## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

Just wondering what kind of chemical out there would be the best to take off weathered and dried on stain drips(deck above) on vinyl siding.

It has been on the house for a long time and just plain water from the power washer will no take it off.

The reason I am asking this is because when I go to Home Depot they don't have many cleaning chemicals for a power washer. 

Do I need use some kind of house chemical, or can the power wash chemical work just as good. (if they have any)

Also, (this might be a stupid question) What kind of chemical (if at all) would use to clean an exterior house(chemicals). Or would just power wash it and call it good.


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## rehoboth (Dec 9, 2007)

When thinking about power wash chemicals of any kind, forget about home depot here are links ton2 of the companies that I purchase from. They are both very knowledgeable and friendly and not priced too expensive. The quality of the chems is also top notch.

pressuretek:Your one source for everything pressure cleaning washer

sunbrite supply:Pressure Washers and Power Washing Supplies From Sun Brite Supply.

For the problem with the stain on the house, any sodium hydroxide based chem with a minimum dwell time on the surface should do the trick


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

Really? Buddy lets thing about this. You have stain you need to remove from basically plastic (very chemical resilient). Just get some stain stripper, some hefty rubber gloves, and a rag. Mix with a little elbow grease, problem solved. Stain stripper is readily available at any hardware store or home center, even home depot. Right now my favorite liquid stripper is the Flood brand.


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

Keep in mind also that when you remove the stain you will also remove the oxidation. What you are going to have left may stand out as much as the stain. Just keep it squared off and don't go crazy on the vinyl.


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## JacksonPaintCo (Jun 3, 2008)

As far as cleaning solutions for vinyl goes; I use 1 gallon degreaser, 2 gallons heavy duty 12.5% bleach, and 2 gallons of water in a five gallon bucket. 

Stain stripper will clean those spots right up. As Tsunami said, wear gloves and I recommend goggles. That stuff is nasty.


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## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

OK, thanks fro all the help. I will try the stain stripper first. The spots are not very big and not very noticeable so it should be OK. I will let you know how it works out.


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## rehoboth (Dec 9, 2007)

just for those that may not know,sodium hydroxide is the main ingredient in most stain strippers


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## Tonyg (Dec 9, 2007)

rehoboth said:


> just for those that may not know,sodium hydroxide is the main ingredient in most stain strippers


Drano too


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

sodium hydroxide strippers will work best on oil based stains. water/acrylic stains will come off most easily with a solvent based stripper, most commonly containing methylene chloride (nasty nasty stuff). 
Tsunami, you should try sunbrites strippers (Rip It is a powder product that is great). the flood products are still geared toward diy'ers, imho. 

on vinyl, another option is sanding, but be very cautious and go slowly. you don't want to make it obvious when you're done.


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

johnisimpson said:


> sodium hydroxide strippers will work best on oil based stains. water/acrylic stains will come off most easily with a solvent based stripper, most commonly containing methylene chloride (nasty nasty stuff).
> Tsunami, you should try sunbrites strippers (Rip It is a powder product that is great). the flood products are still geared toward diy'ers, imho.
> 
> on vinyl, another option is sanding, but be very cautious and go slowly. you don't want to make it obvious when you're done.


I know the flood stuff is for DIY'ers to go along with their behr stain but that stuff rocks. Way better than any of the zisneer stuff I have used. I am not a huge fan of mixing powdered chems.

when you sand vinyl, you should use like 240 and give it a wax when you are done so you don't have reverse flash spots. I would probably use a paste wax.


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

tsunamicontract said:


> I know the flood stuff is for DIY'ers to go along with their behr stain but that stuff rocks. Way better than any of the zisneer stuff I have used. I am not a huge fan of mixing powdered chems.
> 
> when you sand vinyl, you should use like 240 and give it a wax when you are done so you don't have reverse flash spots. I would probably use a paste wax.


Flood is made by Azko Nobel and Behr is Masco... not sure if you were implying Flood and Behr were made by same company... What type of stripper or stain does Zinsser make?


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

no, I wasn't just saying it is sold side by side with behr at HD. Zinsser owns Wolman who has an extensive line of deck care products that are mediocre. Their F & P stain is decent though, but don't plan on walking on it for about a week.


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

Yeah I guess we can say they all are RPM's then.. the Zinsser and Wolman that is and we can throw your buddy from Rustoleum into that group too


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## tsunamicontract (May 3, 2008)

MAK-Deco said:


> Yeah I guess we can say they all are RPM's then.. the Zinsser and Wolman that is and we can throw your buddy from Rustoleum into that group too


Yup :yes:. Doesn't rustoleum own em all now? or it all now RPM?


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## MAK-Deco (Apr 17, 2007)

tsunamicontract said:


> Yup :yes:. Doesn't rustoleum own em all now? or it all now RPM?


I believe RPM is the parent company...


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## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

So I have tried the stripper and my can of OOOPS and nothing is working. Well it is, but its removing more then just the stain. Its also removing the color from the house. I didn't do anything big so nothing is really visible but I can see the color difference.

What should I do now. Should I just tell the HO that the stain has to stay.


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## PVPainter (Jul 26, 2008)

Its time to use your judgment Jr. Scrape it lightly, sand it, use different chems, there has to be a way to get it off, use your imagination and some common sense. It sounds like this is very important to you, so find a way to make it work


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## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

Thanks PV. It is very important, I just want to make the HO happy. I will see what I can come up with. 

Its just all over the house, that's the sad thing. If I remember I will take pic of the mess.


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

jr. do you know what type of stain is on the house? specific brand and type would help a lot in determining what will take it off.


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## jr.painting (Aug 30, 2008)

I have no Idea. The Ho said it was there when the moved in 4 years ago. This why it makes hard to remove it.


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## Bender (Aug 10, 2008)

Paint it to match?


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