Totally NDR - removing White Pine tree Sap from wooden decking

tod osier said:
I wasn't too worried about mineral spirits vs turpentine, they are not going to interact completely differently in the environment. I wouldn't use any non-polar solvent if it was actually going to fall in the water, if the deck is over water, I'd scratch all I said.
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Deck is not over and water.
 
Heat gun and scraper. Failing that you could flip the boards over like Dave recommended, paint the fresh surface with Wetlander and equip the whole family with Steve Sanford's boots to prevent slips and falls. RM
 
RM Anderson said:
Heat gun and scraper. Failing that you could flip the boards over like Dave recommended, paint the fresh surface with Wetlander and equip the whole family with Steve Sanford's boots to prevent slips and falls. RM
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I'll be back there in a week or so and will take some pictures. There are literally thousands of sap drippings on the deck. I've never measures the but would guess just the side facing the water is 12' X 40'. The n the deck taps around both sides. Doing a spot at a time would be painful.
 

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Removing sap sounds like a lot of effort and won't remedy the problem (dripping white pines). If it were enough of an issue, you may want to consider removing the culprit/s before you attempt to clean the deck.
 
This is an off-the-wall comment that occurred to me in the middle of the night (of course). For the past year I've had a glop of tree sap in the middle of my windshield that I always forgot to scrape off. Just yesterday I realized that it's gone - just vanished without a trace. The ONLY thing I've done different lately is to refill my empty windshield washer tank with Rain-X brand washer fluid.
 
I wonder how many windshield wipers it might take to cover the area in question? How large of a step down convertor would be needed? Should they all come on with a single switch or would zone coverage be more effective? Perhaps they could be programmed to automatically clean the deck, during off peak hours. Pete, you may be on to something intriguing.
 
Huntindave McCann said:
I wonder how many windshield wipers it might take to cover the area in question? How large of a step down convertor would be needed? Should they all come on with a single switch or would zone coverage be more effective? Perhaps they could be programmed to automatically clean the deck, during off peak hours. Pete, you may be on to something intriguing.
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EngineerinDave at work!
 
Pete McMiller said:
Maybe a full or partial roof or a custom Sail Shade.
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He'll be back next fall asking how to get pine sap out of fabric.
;)

In the long run, I think addressing the trees is your best bet--unless you like strong solvents applied with elbow grease. It sounded like the issue might be limbs hanging over the deck, rather than the entire tree. Maybe some selective trimming would help.
 
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