Do you all remember our deck fiasco last year? We replaced the wood on our 15 year old deck with new cedar and had it stained and sealed with the newest, greatest sealer. Unfortunately the new Sikkens sealer just didn't work. It didn't soak into the wood at all. The sealer just sat there. Gunkifying.
Our contractor sent a crew to strip the gummy sealer from our deck. It would not come off. (The sealer would not soak in and the sealer would not come off with chemicals nor pressure washing.) The Sikkens rep came out to our house to inspect the disaster. In the end, our brand-new expensive Port Orford cedar had to be sanded to remove the crap stuff. I was very sad. Then, the product was re-applied - very lightly, under supervision of the product rep. All is well.
Sort of. Truth is, this Sikkens sealer was just junk. It did not protect our wood at all. After a rainy Oregon winter, it looked like drek. Our contractor was contacted. He observed. We do not need to mention here our contractor has not used this product since.
To make a long story short (ha), this week our deck was stripped again.





Rat farts.
There was nothing left for me to do except have a mani-pedi and cook Pad Thai for dinner. My recipe is vegetarian - made with tofu - though you could easily substitute chicken or shrimp. I will post this recipe straight away. Anyone interested?

Until my next update, I remain, your spicy correspondent.