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neb
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 19:09
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I would like to clean up some western cedar. Would it work and do you think I could use river sand for the blasting?? This sand is very clean and great to work with.
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Martian
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 19:21 - Edited by: Martian
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I've done a little sand blasting of wood, but it was to make it look old and weathered. When you say, "clean up", I think pressure washer, not sand blaster. With sand, your going to end up with a very rough surface.
The most important part about sand, it needs to be really dry to prevent clogging. I'd sift it before using it; it fluffs the sand so it flows easier.
I really don't like to use a pressure wash on wood either, but it is quick. If you keep the wood wet for an hour or so before applying the pressure washer, the dirt comes off with minimum damage to the soft grain.
Tom
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neb
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 19:37
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Thanks for the info on the pressure washer method. The sand is as dry as dry can be. You can throw it up in the air and it is gone with the wind. The sand is very nice stuff and is uniform in size and texture. I would of thoght blasting it would clean and almost polish it up. I want to get the color back out of the wood. Western cedar cleaned up is very nice. Thanks
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Martian
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 19:48
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I would try an inconspicuous place first just to see how far you have to go to get the color you want.
When I did my project, the goal was to remove the soft fibers to make the wood look old and weathered. The blasting did a good job of that.
Tom
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 19:57 - Edited by: neb
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Martian
This is twisted western cedar and do you think pressure washing would do the job to get the 100 year old weather off the surface of the wood???
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 21:25
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I agree with Martian...a pressure washer will do a real nice job cleaning it but you will have to be careful not to damage the fibers of the wood-----make sure to keep the wand moving!
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Martian
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 21:41
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Neb, if you soak it, or get to it after a couple of rainy days before it dries, the presssure washer will remove dirt and grim pretty well.
As old as this wood is, I'd be really, really carefull and work my way in slowly. Once the wood is gone, its gone for good. As TB said, don't stop moving! Use overlapping strokes to keep the tone even.
Tom
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neb
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 21:55
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Well I have it a try and seemed to work pretty well. I will see how it looks when it dries. It looks good wet I can tell you that. I will see tomorrow how it looks I may have to do it again. Thanks I never thought of pressure washer.
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Just
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 22:03
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try spraying it with some strait 5% bleech before it drys that should help alot .it will kill the mold in the wood that makes it look black .
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Martian
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 22:12
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Just is right. A little bleach will brighten it. That's the next level of cleaning. I'd suggest diluting it, though.
Tom
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 22:48
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Another thought to keep in mind......and maybe Martian or Just have the solution, but when we pressure washed our boards they really wanted to warp as they were laying out in the sun to dry. I think it would have helped us to flip them frequently. They looked like a disaster-all twisted and curled and I was sickened by the thought that maybe we had ruined them but after they thoroughly dried and we re-stacked them they flattened back out. Would there have been a way to prevent that?
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neb
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 23:08 - Edited by: neb
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Just / Martian
Will do and I will let you know how it turns out using blech. I have a lot of twisted cedar on the ranch and want to do something with a few pieces. This dead timber is old but is sound and no decay. Thanks for all your help.
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Just
Member
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 23:22
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Our home of the last 35 years is all western red ,,as you can see from the pic i should not be giving advice . we try and redo the place every 6 or 7 years as you can see it's time to get to work.. i think this summer i will hire someone younger to do the ladder thing .the only way to keep them strait is to keep stuff out of the sun or have it nailed down .on the whole house i have one board that has a bit of a twist, wastern red is good stuff .
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Martian
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# Posted: 25 Mar 2012 23:41
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So these are just lumber.....not nailed to anything? Then, after you wash them, I'd dry them inside or in the shade. If you have something you can clamp them to with spacers between for air circulation, all the better. If its a large enough stack, you could rack them out with spacers and put some weight on top.
Tom
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TomChum
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 01:01 - Edited by: TomChum
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I hired a sandblaster to clean some old wood. It was old-growth Doug Fir from 1931, pretty hard stuff. The wood was very rough after sandblasting, kinda 'shredded'. And doug fir is a lot harder wood than cedar. My thought is that cedar is way too soft to sandblast. A hard plank might survive, but the next board over it might blast right thru the board. Cedar can have a lot of variation in hardness.
Cedar responds pretty well to bleach, and it's easy, almost like magic.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 09:54
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Martian- they were the old barn boards that we had salvaged so they were individual boards. The day we brought them home it was rainy and they were very slimy from being stacked by the barn at the farm in the rain for a couple weeks too.We laid them out on sloped ground and took a scrub brush and diluted bleach to them and the pressure washer. Sounds like the mistake we made was laying them in the sun on a warm day to dry. They became very cupped and curved in a very short period of time. But like I said when we re-stacked them we used spacers for airspace and I suppose just the weight of them straightened them back out. The better boards and the real wide boards we stacked inside the shed to keep them better protected but the others were outdoors with tin roofing covering them so the air could still flow through.
Just- beautiful home you have there!
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neb
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 21:39
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Well just wanted to let you know that the twisted cedar cleaned really nice using pressure washer. I see what you mean by stripping the wood if held in one place to long. The question I have now is what would you do to finish it? I was thinking of linseed oil what do you think? I have really nothing planned for this piece of twisted cedar but to see how it looks when done.
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Just
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 22:34
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no , not linseed it is a organic compound and will just turn to black mold , try CWF or something like it, there are lots of them ,even Thompsons water seal is better than linseed ...
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 22:43
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Just
So Thompsons water seal will give it life back and it's color? Is this an oil base product and will it dry or will it be oily?
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Just
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 22:51
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thompsons is a wax it will dry over night it comes in clear or with a little colour the coloured stuff cost a bit more.looks a bit better,,it takes about 25 galon to do my house
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 23:08
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Just
That is what I will do get some water seal. I would like to thank you for all your help. Thanks my friend.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 26 Mar 2012 23:45 - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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Neb--take some pic's would like to see the twisted cedar!!!!!
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 20:01
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I got it sealed but it is almost black in color now. I will wait and see what it looks like when it dries. I will take some pictures of the wood when it is dry. Before I sealed it it had the reds,browns and earth tones to it very nice color.
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Martian
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 20:05 - Edited by: Martian
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I'd say the wood wasn't good and dry. Usually, I'll wait a couple of days before sealing a pressure washed surface. And that in the sun. I have seen wet spots go dark when the sealer hit them.
Tom
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neb
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 20:32
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Martian
Well you sure could be right. It has been out in the sun for two days with the wind blowing like crazy. It sure did look dry but you may be right. I will let things dry and see what it looks like later. I did get the clear stuff.
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Just
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 21:16
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neb did you put the bleach on, if not the mold will regrow .
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 21:39 - Edited by: neb
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Just
Yep I did. Not sure if it was the right way to do it but I spray bottled it on. I just looked and it is getting better. You have to remember this wood has been lsaying for many many years and is very dry and old. Some of this wood may have seen the way the indians lived 100 plus years ago.
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Just
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# Posted: 27 Mar 2012 22:40
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thats what i do, use a weed sprayer well i gess you get what you get.
wood is somthing, never saw a bit i diden't like.
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 17:52
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Here are a few pictures of the twisted cedar I have been working on. It really does look better in real life but this wood sure does have character.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 18:08
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Wow...that really is beautiful wood isn't it?!!!
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