[at-l] Handy(Wo)Man Question Redux

[Tom McGinnis]

--- On Mon, 3/16/09, grey.owl at comcast.net <grey.owl at comcast.net> wrote:
> Don't use a power washer on old wood.  You could end up with
> a lot of tooth picks.
### Grey Owl is absolutely right, except I recommended starting from a distance of 3'. (See original post.) Water will cut steel in the right circumstances.

> I suggest a gentle spraying (from a spray bottle) of dilute bleach.
### Won't get rid of the crap, which *will* come off and ball up when the polyurethane comes out -- result will look nasty.

> Tung oil is an anti-microbial especially effective against fungi.
### Tung oil will darken (lemon oil will not), but will last longer than lemon oil. It's also available in gallon cans, and will be cheaper than lemon oil -- both could be big pluses.

> Instead I suggest that you clean the gate periodically with
> 1 part water
> 1 part white vinegar
> 1 part turpentine
> 1 part linseed oil
> I use this mixture to clean all of my wooden
> furniture.  Once a year you need to treat
### We had a cat we needed to treat like this, and once a year, too. Name was change from "Frisky" to "Patches" to, eventually, "Bill".  Ack.