Tips for Cleaning

A Suggestion For Applying Cleaners
Mix the materials thoroughly in a pail or sprayer. Wet down the logs with cleaner from the bottom working upward. This is done so that any material running down will be onto a wet surface so that streaking is prevented or minimized. Wet down only the area that you will work in the following hour. If heavily weathered areas exist, scrub in and then rinse. Residues could cause adhesion problems with some cleaners. Many prefer to use a pressure washer to rinse and scrub. If you choose to use one, a 500-1500 psi washer is sufficient in most cases.

Oxalic acids like New Log Prep leave more color in the wood while chlorine bleach can blond the wood. If this happens, you may need to apply a pigmented finish to re-color the wood.

Oxalic acid mixtures will also help remove iron stains. (See New Log Prep) This material leaves more of a golden color to the wood. Use an oxalic acid based cleaner if you will be finishing your logs with a solvent-based or water based finish, make sure the cleaner is thoroughly rinsed off.

Neutralize the bleach with clear water, or the salts in the bleach could remain to feed future fungi.

Use a more diluted mixture on softer, more porous woods like cedar. Example Use a mixture of 1 part bleach to 5 parts water. On heavily weathered wood, you may need to use a 1:3 mixture.

If you choose to use TSP as a cleaner and use it in heavy amounts, it can pull out the reddish undertones in Red Pine (Norway Pine). This red undertone can react with yellow finishes to give stains more of an orange appearance.