So we did this housewash a few weeks ago, and apparently the Gutter Butter dripped on the new Trex decking. The problem seems to be that the drippings carried some oxidized paint off the gutters with them onto the decking. We tried retreating them with our normal Gutter Butter solution (10:1), but we’re going to try to rescrub the spots with a stronger Gutter Butter mix (5:1) to reactivate and rinse (as suggested by the manufacturer), plan B is some acetone with a brush. We’ve tested the Trex boards to make sure that won’t discolor them.
I’m thinking we can’t be the first to have this happen. Anyone have any other insight/ideas?
I take it they didn’t pre-wet or rinse right away. Curious how you solve this one. Sure something will take it off. Keep us posted. Good luck with it.
Meanwhile kick someone’s tale. Brand new deck and no precautions.
Looks like a couple of those boards might be upside down at a glance. I don’t know enough about Trex to know if they have ‘crowns’ or not but maybe a screw gun might be all you need.
Yep, but I don’t know if that’s relevant to this situation, brick and Trex are very different animals. I could maybe run a test of some BARC on a scrap piece. The tough part is you can’t test it on the actual stain because there’s no way to replicate the stain.
We already spoke to the manufacturer, but they are neevr too much on commenting on specific surfaces, just their chems. That’s where we got the initial plan from, but my team didn’t pickup the part about the dilution ratio they recommended (which is about 2x the strength we typically use on gutters).
Has anyone used oxalic or BARC on the gen 2 Trex? I think the real problem is the oxidized paint in the mix that dripped, moreso than the Gutter Butter itself. There’s a spot on a stair tread that we may try everything under the sun on if the stronger Gutter Butter and a better rinse don’t work.
Tested acetone, no negative impacts on the boards, but I don’t have one with the stains to test on. The homeowner said they gave acetone a try on one stain over the weekend and it didn’t do anything, so no sense chasing that rabbit down the hole.
chances are the paint made it’s way into the pores of the surface, so agitation is going to be needed.
Just spitballing here - maybe try TSP and soap, pretty thick like a gel (poulticing it I think it the correct term) work it into the spot then rinse. Trying to get the paint to let loose and float it out with a rinse of hot/warm water. Works on brick well enough, but not sure about trex.
More aggressive means would be things like xylene, hydroxides, and of course stronger acids. If I was doing it I would go with a diluted mix then if it didn’t work I would go less diluted. Maybe frog tape out the area so if some discoloration occurs it is only in the affected area.
I have never tried to remove paint from trex, so I don’t have a definitive answer. I would definetly use hot water over cold water, because hot tends to make things lift that cold won’t budge.
Wish you luck. Oh, if you are trying to replicate the stain on some scrap, you can spray some white enamel spray paint on something, then quickly run some thinner/xylene over it, and then drip it on your scrap piece. Should get adiluted white spot.
I don’t know enough about Trex to know if they have ‘crowns’ or not but maybe a screw gun might be all you need.
