Just cleaned this black canvass awning and after it dried looks like tiger stripe marks. Hit it with 2-3% solution and agitated. Is it just uv damage from dirt being in lines from rain? Is it fixable? If so what chem to use? Thanks in advance.
When you zoom in on the pictures it looks like you still have quite a bit of grime on there. Let it dry completely and then have a look but I’m getting you need a hotter mix and more thorough rinsing.
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Watch @squidskc awning cleaning video. You need a hotter mix and medium pressure rinse using even strokes, like washing wood. If not it’ll leave marks
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The damage might be done. That awning needs more scrubbing to blend that back very likely and @anon37135677 nailed it. Hot mix, medium pressure, even passes.
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How hot are you having to go up there in KC? I sometimes have to go as high as 50/50 to get the really tough spots.
50/50 is what I always use.
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I didn’t look before but I see now
@Seandz what was your process exactly? How did you apply, what did you use to apply, how did you agitate, and what psi did you rinse at/how?
That’s pretty much what I start out with. I have had to go a bit higher for some really bad ones but that’s about it.
Thanks everyone. I presoaked with water then hit it with my pump force fed ds injector. To be honest I need to make time to do the test and see how much percent is coming out. I know I am close to a 1 to 10 ratio without the pump and the pump makes the sh flow 2-3 times faster. I have done a green awning worse than this in the past and it came out great using the same method. Only difference is I did not scrub much here only the real bad spots. I have an abrasive mit that works well but this one was so big i could not get to a lot of it even off the ladder. I plan on going back with my bucket truck to get up close and personal. I guess I need to do the test to see how high of a percentage I can get with the pump on and then maybe look into a dedicated 12v pump if its not enough. My 12.5 bleach is 60 days old and so now probably only 9.24%.
So from the pictures, (which it was half wet and half dry) those stripes should go away with a hotter mix and scrubbing it sounds like?
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what do you mean the damage might be done? Did I mess it up somehow?
Nailed it! Lol thanks for that. I would use a pump up for something this small. Precise ratios, less waste, easier to control application.
I did just get a new my4sons battery backpack sprayer. It’s pretty awesome came with 15’ of hose and a 10’ telescoping extension wand! I was going to use it on the real bad spots today at 50/50 but the o rings weren’t in correctly and or the fittings weren’t tight and I sprayed myself in the eye with sh. Sucked. Haven’t even really used it yet and need to get it setup properly. It shoots 10’ so can get up to 20’-28’ with my arm all the way out.
@Seandz Some guys on here have had some bad experiences with backpack sprayers leaking bleach down their backside. Very, very painful especially if it’s a hot mix.
It’s only a matter of time before those seals give out and you’re up on a roof with a strong SH mix running on you.
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Yes this one may be the same. I have mixed feelings about it because on one side it seems great because the hose is so long it can sit on the ground away from me but on the other that same hose sprayed me in the face yesterday. I am going to work on it today and see about maybe upgrading the connections to something expensive and reliable. The hose itself is a great poly braid and this company (who I found out about last week) is actually local to my town, about 8 minutes away from me. They have done a lot of R&D to make this sprayer superior to most on the market (at least the sub $500 range, I only paid $158 after tax). It seems like a great tool I’ll update what I find out about it. One other item them they offer is a cart to put it on with more storage for additional hose, wands, etc.
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I’d honestly ditch the whole forced DS injector method you have going on. I have a good feeling it’s not making the difference you think it may be. When you wash this and any awning, you have to soap scrub and rinse the entire thing the same. Bring an extension ladder and a stiffer brush. You can use a brush on a pole if you need to.
Get a pump up sprayer(not a backpack one) and use a good 5-6% mix with a small amount of elemonator or whatever surfactant you use.
-Apply and scrub in 6-10ft sections
-Apply again and dwell for 5-10 minutes (you can start the same process on the next 6-10ft section while you let the soap dwell on the first section).
-Medium pressure rinse using no more than 1500psi using even strokes (in this case you’ll have to rinse up and down to avoid making stop marks on the awning).
Make sure you do the entire process the same way on every inch of the awning.
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Thank you for that. Question about how to use no more than 1500 psi. I have a pressure gauge and it shows 2800 coming out of the gun (with regular tips). This may sound silly but how do you know your not going over 1500, or better yet how do you measure what your applying? Is there some kind of adjustable pressure nozzle or gun or do you just know how hard it’s hitting by how far away the surface is from the tip of the wand?
You use a nozzle with a wider orifice to give you less pressure. Use the nozzle chart calculator to find out which orfice gives you the psi you want/need.
https://www.amazingmachinery.com/nozzle-calc.html
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Here’s one that I did that was terrible. I applied a about 4% mix with a 12 volt pump and rinsed with low pressure using a ball valve. No scrubbing.
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Got mine from them but i use it with oxalic
On a cart not on my back
