streaks on aluminum siding??

[edmontonWashe]

Hi,

I did an aluminum house yesterday, and I used a degreaser/detergent called Powersolve green. Now it seems that a lot of the siding is streaked, most likely from the chems....any advice on how to fix this?

I'm thinking of making a solution in a bucket and brushing the siding...i'm not sure of how else to get rid of them.

I don't seem to have this problem on vinyl, is there any way to prevent streaking on aluminum or vinul in the future?

(also, if anybody has any tips on how to prevent the seams of the vinyl from leaking dirty water after you've washed, let me know)

 

[edmontonWashe]

if anybody has ANY ideas please post them, the lady wants me to go back tomorrow and I don't have any ideas of how to fix it other than my previous one (brushing it with the same chemical and rinsing immediately)

or if you've experienced this before on other types of siding let me know as well.

 

[Larry L.]

Either your mix was to weak or to strong to clean aluminum sliding without streaking.The degreaser in your mix is what caused the streaks,you may want to reajust your mix when you try to brush it.Brushing may even cause more harm but you can try it or you could mix up a solution strong enough to spray it on and rinse it off.The streaks want look so bad tomorrow,get a good nights sleep and try both.

 

[Dan S]

Was it streaking from your chem or was it Oxidation ?

Aluminum is a toughy you got to take your time and Blend in the old Oxidation .......... Do you have a hot p/wer?

I have used heat before but be very careful you only need about 500psi to do this type of work . stand back and let that lil heat do your "blending". DONT GET TO CLOSE!

I have never used any degreaser on any home ......... You should use some type ofhouse washing soap or a very diluted trk. wash soap .........

 

[edmontonWashe]

i have a cold water unit, and i'm fairly certain the streaking is from the chem (although the siding was fairly chalky before)

i checked the MSDS sheet for my chem and it's not sodium hydroxide based or anything, but it does say "strong oxidizing agents".....so would that be bad for aluminum siding? and how would i fix this then?

thanks

 

[Gwas]

Acid !!!! Dam I love that stuff. That seems to be my answer to everything but it works !!!!! What color was the siding ??? If white then definetly acid !!!! If not still use acid.

 

[Mark]

Brent

Be careful if you opt to use an acid type cleaner!

There are plenty of alkaline based cleaners that will remove the oxidation also, and are a lot safer.

I have yet to find any product that cleans like hydroflouric acid / aluminum brightener (some other acid cleaners come close) but with the acids there are health risks, and dangers if used improperly. Study up on acid based cleaners before you try them.

 

[Gwas]

I agree with Mark. I have used hundreds of gallons of the stuff in my career. BE VERY CAREFUL THE STUFF IS EXTREMELY HARMFUL !!!!. The results however are close to unbelievable !!!!

 

[oneness]

Where might I look for HF acid locally? Is this something Home Depot might sell?

I need to clean my trailer, and it has streaks on it from the aluminum trim, which I need to remove prior to having it lettered. Would HF be suitable for this? Here's a pic...

 

[Mark]

Mike,

Check with your local pressure washer distributors, or check in your yellow pages for chemicals.

Possibly a local contract cleaner / truck wash would sell you a gallon. That should be all you would need.

Some mag wheel cleaners have HF in it also.

(P.S. I just e-mailed you the contact info on a local North Florida Distributor.. let me know if they were able to help you. )


Have A Safe & Happy 4th!

 

[Larry L.]

Mike,the HF will not remove those streaks,it will help but not remove them.They still will be a faint shadow of the streaks,your gutter cleaner should remove with a little brushing.

Check the Auto parts stores for the HF,several parts stores carry it for the truckers to clean their tanks and rims,even some truck stops have it.

It looks like you have a polished stainless steel plate in front of the trailer,the HF will do damage to it if not careful.IT will run down the diamond(s)and (streak) it,you can flash it as in on and off without damage.Never apply HF to polished Diamond plate and let it run(set) though the diamonds.

Same goes for the hinges on that type door,the HF will leave a black trail down the door frame where the hing bolt connects the door to the trailer,back door worse then side door,you can flash it.Care should be taken when useing HF on that type trailer,hinges and diamond plate can show damage.

 

[allbritepw]

Hi Mike
For the streaks on the trailer we use a citrus cleaner. It works great! For the house we use the same citrus cleaner / we brush when needed . Then we use oxalic acid ( deck brightner) to neutralize the citrus cleaner. It also does a good job to remove those brown dirt streaks from the weep holes in the siding.
Just remember to not let it dry on surface and Rinse well.
We do touch up of brown streaks with a brush on an extention
(straight oxalic )then just let dry . This works good for us up north.
Tim