. . . and why I did not go anywhere.
Four years ago I used Olympic deck cleaner on my front porch before painting and it annihilated the wood. It may have been applied on too hot a day, but whatever the reason, it's been going downhill ever since. Cracks, splinters and serious fissures abound.
So I rented a drum sander, hired a sanding guy for 4 hours, and then spent 3-1/2 days using a palm sander, a 3" belt sander, and hand sanding everything else. A long and tedious process to be sure.
Many of the spokes were loose with rusted out nails at the bottom and required Gorilla glue.
Serious fissures.
Painting with Rustoleum 2x on the rails and spokes was a smart choice. It filled in a lot of problem areas. More serious problem areas received Bondo, an autobody filling compound prior to painting.
Three base areas on the french doors were also rotted out and required layering treatment with autobody compound.
Serious layering, eventually sanded down. This took 4 hours. After each layer, everything was left to dry for 15 minutes.
The covered porch ceiling required extensive long-handled brush scrubbing using various chemicals not certified by the EPA. My cervical vertebrae C6-7 will never be the same.
Side bar: Always wear a hat when scrubbing mold reduction chemicals on a ceiling and try not to look up while anything is dripping. Oh, and before starting such activity, make an appointment with your chiropractor.
On Monday, Memorial Day, I got the first coat of Rustoleum 10X on the porch deck, taking great lengths to fill in the multiple fissures. Five hours and 6 gallons of paint later, the first coat was done. I returned to the store for 6 more gallons. Now that it's raining, I'll wait until everything dries well before putting on the final coat.
Meanwhile, I've had time to read the reviews on Rustoleum 10X and discovered some very unhappy people not to mention a class action lawsuit.
Will the paint live up to it's hype not to mention a 120-pound pup? Only time will tell. I'll take plenty of photos and keep my receipts just to be sure.
Let me know if you've had good or bad luck with this product won't you. Perhaps on my next vacation we can house swap, but only if you live in Maui and have a really good chiropractor.
Until then, keep stitchin' . . .
