I have a 19 year old cedar topped dock and have tried cleaning it by scrubbing etc in the past. Last year I power washed it. What a dream. It took off mold, pine sap, everything and left it clean and ready to be restained. It came out far better than previous attempts. Was the wood raised a bit? Yes but not to the level of being a problem. I did not sand it. I used a solid color stain and did 2 coats. (The open wood is VERY thirsty) The staining process smoothed the wood down again. I was very happy with the results. Would I do this every couple years, probably not. But after many years of exposure it really brought it back to looking great.
Note: I did use the lower pressure nozzle. Duh. I have seen the high pressure nozzle etch concrete. Definitely NOT for wood.
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