Wood is a sensitive surface to clean. Especially when the wood is cedar. Cedar is much softer than pine and other popular hardwoods so it must be treated with care. Cedar siding and decks should never be cleaned using high water pressure from a pressure washer. The high pressure can damage the wood and cause irreparable damage.
To start a cedar siding restoration project, first we will visit the project in person to inspect the wood and see if there are any soft, deteriorated areas. If cedar is left untreated for too long it can become brittle and require replacement. Once we have determined the cedar siding is a good candidate for restoration we will get the project on our schedule.
To begin the cedar siding restoration we will first treat the wood with a cleaning solution to help breakdown the grime and algae so that it can be removed with low pressure. The solution we use will vary from job to job, but for this project we used a Sodium Percarbonate cleaner. After the solution was allowed to dwell for 15 minutes our crews were able to wash the siding using less than 1000 psi. After the surface was cleaned the final step was to apply Oxalic Acid to brighten and neutralize the wood. The results are outstanding! Now the cedar siding looks like new and it is ready to be stained or treated.
