Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - can I pressure wash a gazebo prior to staining?

About 3 years ago I stained my hot tub gazebo using Cabot semi transparent. It looked great and lasted a good long while.

Due to the weather it's starting to wear, and I have some dirt buildup, as well as some greying, so I'd like to restain it.

Instead of using the conditioner, which is a pain, is it ok to pressure wash it? I have access to one for free, and I'm going to use it on my pavers, so I thought I'd ask here if it will do an adequate job on the gazebo, and for any pointers as well.

Thanks!

matt

Yes, a pressure washer will make quick work of cleaning up weathered wood but be prepared for a lot of sanding if you want a smooth surface.
The pressure rips of the top layer leaving a slightly fuzzy surface.
You would need to try it in an inconspicuous location to see if it is what you want.

I usually use a bleach/water solution. I wet the deck/siding, spray on the cleaner with a pump up garden sprayer, let set but not dry and then rinse with the PW.

If the PW chews up or fuzz's up the wood - you are using too much pressure or holding the tip too close to the wood! Too strong a bleach mixture [never, ever stronger than 50%] will also damage wood fibers.

thanks fellas. I'll make sure I use the proper setting. I figured it would make quick work of both the dirt and weathering. I'm not looking for a flat surface, but also don't want to make more work for myself.

Thanks again,
Matt

Mark,

I have tried commercial wood cleaners but found they did not brighten up weathered wood enough to take stain evenly.
If I clean the wood enough to somewhat renew it I had to skim off the top surface which distressed it.

I have a small pile of new but weathered spruce lumber that I will have to deal with if I want to make it close to looking new.
Think a bleach mixture will make it close to new looking?

I want to use a semi transparent stain on this lumber but maybe I will have to plane it to renew it.

Edit: Sorry for the hi-jack but hopefully my Q will help:o

I guess a follow up question would be this:

The wood is only distressed in a few spots. Do I need to beach the entire surface to get an even stain, or can I just bleach the distressed areas? I will PW the whole thing, since it's a little dirty.

The stain is semi transparent.

Thanks,
Matt

I usually spray the bleach on all of it just to make sure everythings clean. If the stain is worn off in some areas and not others, the stain may look a little different. Hard to say from here how noticable it would be although a semi-transparent stain is more forgiving that a translucent [toner] stain.


Greg, I almost always use bleach and seldom any of the commercially prepared cleaners - bleach is just cheaper:D
The cleaners aren't formulated to bring the wood color back, they make wood brightners for that. I seldom use them because the bleach usually lightens the wood up enough. Never mix the bleach stronger than 50% or let it dry on the wood because bleach can destroy wood fibers:eek: