The Paint Dealer Magazine: Vol. 12, No. 4 April, 2003

Cleaning The Deck
Akzo's Tim Stephens steps out in praise of chlorine bleach, although he realizes it's been much maligned by the creators of alternative prep products. Since Sikkens supplies no deck cleaners, they can recommend what they like without being beholden to anyone's marketing strategy. Tim suggests a good cleaning can be done without buying anything specially marketed for deck prep.

"We basically recommend that the customer mix up a solution of TSP and then we actually do recommend bleach and water," he says unabashedly. TSP helps break down and loosen up any dirt and debris and mill glaze on the surface; then the bleach steps in to kill the mold and mildew. "If you eliminate the bleach, you could have problems with mold, mildew, or fungus growing underneath your coatings," says Stephens.