Sanding Pressure Treated Wood Fence

[johnsonri]

Anyone have advice as to which Festool sandpaper to use to sand a pressure treated wood fence. I have a fence that needs to have a small amount of mildew and weathering removed.

My plan is to sand then seal. Suggestions would be most appreciated.

Thanks
Rey

 

[butzla]

Rey what kind of fence?  Split rail, stockade and how wide are the slats (if any)?  Also,  how long is the fence?  Sounds like it could be an awful lot of work.

 

[peter halle]

Rey,

Unless you are dead set on using a sander, or local conditions prevent it, I might suggest that you look at a deck cleaner / brightner from your local paint store / home center.  You can usually apply these either with a stiff brush or even a pump up garden sprayer.

If you dead set on sanding, if it were me I would start with an open coat abrasive not finer than 60 grit and be ready to go courser if necessary.  It is a fence after all not a piece of fine woodworking - although there are fine fences out there.

Peter

 

[bruegf]

Rey,

Deck cleaner and a pressure washer would be far quicker and easier. 

Fred

 

[PeterK]

Pressure treated wood dust can be quite hazardous. I pressure washed my fence with just water and it cleaned up real nice but did roughen it up somewhat. If your fence is any length at all, you will find it will take a tremendous amount of sealer to cover it.
Pete

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Rey,

I have a large deck made of pressure treated SYP.  It's on the north side of my house which sits on a heavily wooded lot, and thus the deck is prone to mildew growth.  To look its best, the stained deck needs to be touched up each year and fully restained every other year [despite using Behr water dispersed oil base stain which is advertised to have a longer life].  The best method I have found to clean it to remove the mildew/algae is a pressure washer with cleaner chemicals.    Also very effective is a product named Jomax [available at HD or Lowe's] which is mixed with household [chlorine] bleach and water prior to application with a garden sprayer, followed by a light scrubbing with a brush, then rinsing with water.  If done according to manufacturer instructions, the Jomax/bleach/water solution won't your grass or landscaping plants -- just wet them down before you start and rinse them again when you are done cleaning the wood.

Dave R.

 

[tbellemare]

Dave:

Do you know what the Jomax consists of?

I've never heard of or tried it but I have used the weak bleach prep and power washer technique several times on pretty tough stuff and it works pretty well for me. My house is surrounded by oaks of different kinds that shed leaves and flowers at different times. It can be a mess.

Tom

 

[Dave Ronyak]

No, I don't, Tom.  My guess is that it is a detergent or surfactant whose chemistry is designed to be compatible with chlorine bleach (e.g. Chlorox brand).  It doesn't foam up like soaps/detergents designed for automotive washing do.

I learned of it from reading forums and painters who specialize in refurbishing decks.

Another likely source of good cleaning chemicals are companies that specialize in products for log homes.

Dave R.

 

[johnsonri]

Now that it is getting warmer out, I am going to run a test with Cristal sandpaper.

I did use a power washer toward the end of last fall, but ran out of warm weather to start weather proofing. The power washer did an OK job, but raised the fibers, giving an appearance that I don't care for.

I am hoping that sanding with take care of those fibers, as well as clean things up for weather-proofing.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Rey, if yo are going to sand be sure to protect yourself from the mildew. Once it goes airborne from sanding you don't want to breath it. Forget a dust mask, a respirator would be a much better idea. A lower grit Cristal seems like a good place to start.

 

[johnsonri]

Thanks for the feedback.

Brice, you have just reminded me why I was putting this off in the first place....respirator.

I believe that I was considering a Triton respirator. I will definitely go for a respirator before starting this project.