# Sap bleed on deck



## DeanV

We sealed a deck with Rymar that we had also sealed 3 years ago with Rymar. The deck is on the second floor. There are areas that are bleeding sap now and the homeowner thinks it is our fault somehow.

Since the wood was dry and the coating looks fine everywhere else, is there any way to remove the sap? We scraped it and touched up, but the sap keeps oozing from the heartwood/ knotty areas. I believe the deck is just regular pressure treated wood. Why would the deck start oozing sap now IF it had not done much of that previously? I really do not see how this could be our fault in anyway, but who knows.


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## Painter Girl

From what I understand sap comes out more after the wood has aged a bit and shows up more where the wood is in a lot of sun during the day.

After you scraped up the sap, did you try a rag with turpentine? The HO will probably have to wipe up the sap a couple of times per year until the pitch pockets run dry. (not sure how many seasons it will take)

The pressure treated wood probably wasn't kiln dried to solidify the sap. Or if it was kiln dried it did not get fired hot enough to harden the sap.
Not in any way your fault.


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## TJ Paint

yeah, i had a deck like this, this year. You can't really stop it, not until its run its course. I would say since your customer is emo and blames you, try to find some resource online or otherwise that can get you off the hook with some credibility to the HO.


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## PressurePros

There is nothing you can do.. it won't stop. The boards need to be replaced. I've noticed deep penetrating oils make the problem worse.


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## Andyman

You can try using a solvent to clean it up but it won't necessarly stop the sap. It's not your fault or the HO, its just the piece of wood. You can try flipping the board over and hope that side doesn't ooze or else it needs to be replaced.


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## NCPaint1

If you powerwashed before you sealed this year, sometimes the washing can activate the sap ooze. Turps, Xylene, or Laquer thinner should cut it and remove it, only problem, it could cut the finish too, so you may have to touch up some areas. My parents deck has been bleeding sap fo 9 years in different areas. Its pretty much up to the wood.


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## nEighter

yeah the last arm I cut off someone kept bleeding.. no matter how much tape I put on the severed end.. just kept draining...


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## ewingpainting.net

Sap just sucks. Deal with it.


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## johnpaint

I mean really: What could you do about it? You could stand around and wait until it stops, but bring a lunch.


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## DeanV

I returning her call yesterday and left a message she has not called back yet. It has been one of those weeks here. Crazy customer complaint, lacquer popping off stairway on another job, some weeks just it just is not worth it.


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## nEighter

hang in there man. Your integrity is just being tested. Sounds like you are chalk full of it so don't worry, it will be okay :thumbsup:


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## EM PAINTING

*sap bleed on deck*

Or also try DEK by Sikkens this has also worked out great for us.


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## TJ Paint

EM PAINTING said:


> Or also try DEK by Sikkens this has also worked out great for us.


does it seal sap?


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## NCPaint1

EM PAINTING said:


> Or also try DEK by Sikkens this has also worked out great for us.


 
Yep, that works too.......................if you want a solid finish:whistling2:


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## johnpaint

Evere see sap roll out of a pine or fir tree on a hot day?


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## DeanV

Yep. Just had a couple pine trees cut out of my yard this week that dropped big blobs of sap all over the place. I suppose that is my fault as well. Probably watered the lawn too much.

The HO is going to get a second opinion on the sap now. With my luck, she will find some scum bag that thinks they can now shoot her a high price to fix the deck that she can then try to get me to pay for. We will see. So far, I have the opinions of the board here, other painters, Rymar tech support, and my paint reps on my side. What a hassle for a quick and easy deck reseal.


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## Bighead

This happened to us. The customer was pissed. We stained the deck while they were on vacation. They returned and I informed them that there was sap bleeding before we even started. They wondered why I did not call them (imagine interrupting their vacation to tell them that there was sap on the deck!). Anyway I sent them this article (the link is dead so I posted it below). They still think that it was my fault. Long story short he played for the Patriots and I was glad when he was finally cut.

Deck Maintenance for Pressure Treated Wood

Q. I have a deck that was constructed from pressure
treated wood. The deck is about 8-10 years old. I have
lived in the house for 6-7 years. The former owners
never waterproofed the deck or cleaned it. Since I
have been living here, I have been cleaning the wood
and waterproofing it although I do not use any stain.
I have not waterproofed it every year because I
thought the finish would build up. Each spring I check
to see whether water still beads up and let that be my
guide. For the last couple of years I have noticed a
lot of sap on some of the boards. I try to scrape it
when I clean the deck in the spring, but it continues
to seep out throughout the summer and is rather
sticky. I did not notice this happening the first few
years. Is there anything I can do about this problem?
The sap does limit the use of the deck.

A. The "sap" oozing from your deck boards is a natural
product of the wood, and it’s really pitch, not sap.
Sap runs in the spring. Running pitch has nothing to
do with stains, sealers, or waterproofing the deck. It
resides in "pitch pockets" in wood, and when the wood
gets hot enough, it melts and runs out. This is
especially true of lumber made from conifers, which
have large pitch pockets. Your deck wood is probably
made of a member of this species, perhaps southern
pine.

You’re most likely to notice pitch problems on the
sunny areas of the deck than in shaded sections, as
those are the areas on the deck that absorb the most
heat. Kiln dried lumber that has been heated to more
than 160 degrees usually does not suffer from this
problem. The high kiln temperature solidifies the
pitch and prevents it from turning to liquid again.
Evidently, the pressure treated lumber used on your
deck was either not kiln dried, or wasn’t dried at a
high enough temperature to cause this solidification.

There’s not a lot you can do about the problem at this
point except live with it. As the deck heats up in the
summer, pitch will continue to run from the boards.
There is no sealer made that can contain it under
these conditions. But the news is not all bad. There’s
really no need to let the sticky pitch ruin your
enjoyment of the deck. A bit of turpentine on a rag
will remove it quickly, and you shouldn’t have to wipe
it up more than a couple of times a summer.
Eventually, the pitch pockets will run dry, and you
won’t even have to do this minor maintenance chore.
.


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## johnpaint

That's about the size of it. It is what it is, to blame someone as if it is someones fault, maybe talk to God about it, because everyone down this way can't do anything about it.


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## slickshift

Sap bleed is a substrate issue, it's almost never (unless you coat particular bare woods too early) an applications issue

Obviously this is not the case here...time and previous applications eliminates that

It's not your fault...it's the substrate


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## TJ Paint

I guess the 20,000 pound elephant in the room is you could always replace the troubled board(s). Of course then that takes money, etc...


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## Rob Maurice

PressurePros said:


> There is nothing you can do.. it won't stop. The boards need to be replaced. I've noticed deep penetrating oils make the problem worse.


That is absolutely untrue . You do not have to replace the deck. First off , its pitch not sap and it will eventually dry up and stop running. Until it does you will have perform light maintenance consisting of cleaning up the pitch when it runs maybe 2 or 3 times a summer in the spots where it is heavier. Not the end of the world folks. I have had direct experience with this using pine that had not been kiln dried to a high enough temperature before using the wood.


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## slinger58

I’m guessing it’s stopped by now. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## stelzerpaintinginc.

Rob Maurice said:


> That is absolutely untrue . You do not have to replace the deck. First off , its pitch not sap and it will eventually dry up and stop running. Until it does you will have perform light maintenance consisting of cleaning up the pitch when it runs maybe 2 or 3 times a summer in the spots where it is heavier. Not the end of the world folks. I have had direct experience with this using pine that had not been kiln dried to a high enough temperature before using the wood.


Step 1: Join forum...*check!*
Step 2: Challenge one of the most knowledgeable and well respected members ever by disagreeing with a statement he never made 12 years ago...*check!*
Step 3: Give "authoritative" retort consisting of advice already given in this thread by several members, several times, 12 years ago...*check!*

PressurePros never called it sap. It was called sap by others though, and corrected in 2009 by others to use the proper term "pitch". I'm sure they'll appreciate the stern reminder though. PressurePros also never said to replace the entire deck. He did mention that there was nothing you could do to stop pitch bleed and that replacing those boards would be the only certain remedy. Absolutely everything else you contributed was mentioned by others as well. 

Welcome to the forum. Please make your second post an introduction and tell us a bit about yourself. I'd suggest making your 3rd post a bash on Nace, Gough, or RicKnowsPaint.


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