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MMI Enterprises

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Posts posted by MMI Enterprises

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Have eaten alot of brown sugar and so yes it don't look like brown sugar. But surely it must be Brown Sugar as the manu sees or wants Brown Sugar to be.... Take 3 types of wood and prepare them a few different ways in sanding or treating them chemically and you'll have numerous dfferent looks or shades with any stain so.....

    Most brown sugar like colors from manufactures are just called something else wouldn't ya say?

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Unskilled labor are the guys you have on your trucks.

    We darn well betta have least one skilled person on the truck if the machine, mixing buckets, or customers surfaces are to get touched...lol :)

    I view unskilled labor as those that need to be told or reminded what to do and they get to do all the hard grunt work...

    Hello, my name is Kevin and I got no skilzzz.

    thnapolean.gif

  3. Posted · Report reply

    Ron, yea I believe no need to question ones own integrity regularly but maybe just a refresher course now and then..lol

    In your case I would just say that everyone including thieves or scoundral deserve cleanliness..haha.. don't take that wrong now anyone. Am not calling Ron such but perhaps some his clents are.. :)

    I live by the following simple statement and don't bother to jump through too many hoops of self absorbing narcism:

    Integrity and character are measured when no one is watching.

    I also try not to be judgemental and give that 'no one' what is already his..

    I mean I am discrete and can make judgement calls as it might relate back to or on me or my business but I'll leave others sins or wrong doings beteen them and their maker...Hey look at it this way, If God wants cleanliness then I am gonna be the first one to help him out..Just don't rub shoulders as things rub off.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Jarrod,

    Perhaps you really meant to relay feeling that tweaking is not for pencil pushing desk people that rarely are charged with doing flexable business duties deemed by them or their supperiors as being outside their job description. I don't know what to say really to your use of the word 'hobbyist'. I can tell you this that here in Cali the act of staining is considered same as painting trade and the state contractors licensing board exams will require lots of tweaking knowledge. They'll beg to differ with you..The tweak himself is never a hobbyist if he is in business but his people under him might be..

    I speak to this only cause I used the 'tweak' word prior and felt like your perhaps speaking more so to me then others. It may seem like I am double talking sometimes here by saying this stain should be good to go out the can but realize I am not speaking to hobbyists or HO's here and I mean to compare the product issues with other commercial products being used.

    If your only interested in out the can commercial production then that is fine as it fits into a perfect world goal of all coatings being fool proofe but many of us are quite capable of tweaking things as needed or required.

    Not meaning to sound offensive but I am 180 degree from you on your point. Tweaking is for business/skilled people, and lack of ability to tweak people that must use out the can is perhaps a hobbyists/laymen/or newbie in his field. I like and work with both types.. :)

  5. Posted · Report reply

    Michael,

    The hydroxide and too high pressure is not going to do you any favors on them higher areas especially.. If this was a deck job I believe plenty would not have problem with removing the furing as it is readily accesable. If you can at all get by with lesser strength to remove the old stain then that would be a good thing. The last few pics show up to me as a possable job for a sodium percarbonate mix as it don't look like it's much of a solid. It'll do less damage if you can get by with it...first pic looks a bit more solid type stain at a distance but so...... I would test out the percarb (wood bleach). There is a mix recipe I have up in the 'apple sauce' thread where I substituted percarb for bleach. It really sticks and foams well on wood. I mean trst it out if you like in a small quantity first to see it it'll work. That amount of defuring on verticle walls looks like a PITA. If I had to defure that much verticle I would hook like a 10-13" 3m HiPro scrub pad meant for floor care onto a hand polisher of whatever type I could to get mechanics working for me. A green or brown pad will work too. Ozborn a bit small.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Your using retail cleaners available at box stores with oxalic in them aren't you??

    Normal industrially avaliable oxalic mix ratio for neutralizing is about 6 oz. to the gal. if I not mistaken. In your case if you want them nail bleeds gone I would say make it double that and test an area or keep strengthening it all the way up until the water will hold no more. Do it in a spray bottle first to figure the ratio you need then translate it to your pump sprayer or whatever your using to apply. Do these things with utmost safety and wear protection..Oxalic is not a consumer product and can hurt you or others around you!

    When the areas with darker stuff bleeding out is dry do a splash test to see if it absorbs like the other areas. Could be left over who knows what or could be tannins. This wood is old 'heartwood' and so should have plenty of resins left in it that the stripper you used is attacking and leaching out. When you neutralized the alkaline of the stripper you ended that deal so as long as the color evens after a good dry out I would say leave it alone. You might need to use a redwood only type stain if you wish the wood to not darken on you.

    Maybe some seasoned pro will jump in here and advise on how you might procede....

    "I've been looking at Cabot and Flood for products on the recommendation of a neighbour who's a pro' in the business. "

    What this guy say?

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Ken,

    "every formula needs to be precise. Thats the only way a business can grow with unskilled labor at the helm."

    Surely many folks in here understand this point and instinctively or knowingly practice being precise. Personally my memory is shot so I could be viewed as unskilled labor in a way. My solution is to absorb all the important little tips and formulas and compose them into organized drafts that almost anyone including myself can make sense of a year down the road. As example I have a draft of recipes I can refer to at moments notice that people have shared.

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Procoder is about $600 I thinks. Haven't checked if the version I have includes mobile formats of the mpeg4 level as it is fairly new format. Apple has a mobile mpeg4 format. Can't recall off top of head right now what they are called.. sorry. Could be same as the mpeg4 mobile format in my phone which is a.3gp

    AVI is a microsoft wrapper.. is codec instructions..The transcoding softwares will read whatever it encapsulates and then produce a new type of wrapper containing the raw data. This is where quality can be lost. You want to go straight from your raw data to the mobile formats with best software ya can afford... If the raw is small enough you can shoot it my way and I'll balance the video quality to the audio with consideration to whatever filesize you want to end up with.

    wmv or 3gp

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Ron....unlike some other things, the audio thing is something I can perhaps help you with. I have a few video/audio compression software that can transcode anyway you like. I have Procoder which is generally accepted as the best professional/semi professional product a novice can get their grubby hands on.

    Mpeg4 is what you want to end up with for video. It can be wrapped in a number of formats such as divx,xvid,dvr-ms,etc....

    Video and audio compression formats and qualities are dependant on codecs that decode on a users computer....blablabla..

    If you want something tweaked from master quality down to smaller web based formats just email me. :)

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Rick,

    "Look, ESI produced a batch of stain without the normal quality of probably cobalt drier"

    ...did I miss a post or something? Perhaps I failed to see where it's been disclosed that a lack of enough and/or quality (?) of Japan Drier was the cause. I only interprited it that it was a possable cure for an issue.. Well point me to where it is said what the cause was....It would be the dumbest darn thing I heard all year to hear they forgot to add part of the recipe.. I would much rather hear they changed a ratio or brand of oil and it's drying needs went unaccounted for..

    Ken,

    Surely it has been fixed and I even have enough trust to buy it and use it.

    Am not a chemist and have nothing of knowledge the manufacture doesn't already have...

    Rod,

    "Quite simply, we are following the mfr's recommendations. I asked about putting Zylol which contains Xylene but the problem is that it and the ingredients you listed below this response raise the VOC content above the allowable limit for those of us in the Atlantic states under the higher VOC restrictions."

    In a perfect world that is what you should do.. ask or rely on them to solve issue.. But we all know full well that it is a generic recommend by almost all manufacture to not approve a contractor tweaking things in such fasion. Least in this field anyways.... You get more into the painting contractor or auto painter field and you quikly see recommendations of different solvents/reducers or retarders,etc. that can be mixed on spot depending on environmental condition. ...btw, Xylene not fast enough.

    p.s.- Russell does say "You can certainly thin for lighter color if your local VOC regulations permit it. " so realize it isn't witchcraft or anything new for me to have brung up the ability to get a head start via solvent flashing. The stuff isn't all that thick on top to begin with so I doubt 'skinning' would be much of a con..rather it be a pro for it to allow traffic sooner. Skinning is when the outer surface gets enough oxygen to where the polymerization happens and but the inside still needs to cure..As example some artist paintings take years..even centuries to dry.. :)

    p.p.s.--- The two following posts speaking to Japan Drier is moot point when considering Japan Drier is a 'surface drier'...SURELY WTW DEPENDS ON MORE TO CURE THEN JUSTA SURFACE DRIER.. :) :)

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Rod I would not expect anyone to have to fix the product..just offering some the specifics as to what could be at cause...It is obvious that the voc/flamability/ and compatability is key here. But really now..smething needs to be stressed.... We got people here with things not drying and all we get is Japan Drier as advice? I fully explained above that it is geared for surface drying. James made good point on wondering where his 2 grand is...is my feeling..I been through this sorta thing over the years on interior products and know some the ins and outs is all of how manufactures go about saving money or adjusting things due to seasons.

    ...."From what I understand from other ESI contractors, even with the drier additive, the stain is still taking much longer to cure. ".....

    What does this tell some you folks when I tell you that the process of making a boiled oil includes the process of including the drier?.. It tells me perhaps somebody is trying to save money and changed something to meet budget...sorry. I call it as I see it..It also tells me a deadhose is gettingbeat in trying to cure something faster that doesn't want to be cured :)

  15. Posted · Report reply

    I'm beginning to think the nail stains are there for good and I'm going to have to live with them. Using a darker semi might reduce the visual impact or using a solid to cover them completely. A very sad thing to do to redwood. Also I think because of the choice of nail the builders used the staining will just keep coming back. Short of pulling all the nail out and starting again I think my options are becoming limited. Hmm.

    ~m

    Is that to say you tried the oxalic and it did not work?

  16. Posted · Report reply

    The problem with adding spirits in any appreciable quantity is that it will also water down the pigmentation. Last year's "formula" featured too much pigmentation at the surface (for my taste) and thinning was feasible. This year I notice pigmentation is diving deeper and resulting in a faded look. The cure for other stains/sealers like RS and Baker's is to apply a second coat. Since it has been said again and again that over application is a problem this won't work for WT. Not only that, A second coat for something that costs half the price of WT is understandable. I expect a premium priced product to give premium results.. out of the can.

    In retrospect, the other formula was preferable. At least I knew how to solve its inherent issues.

    I agree with your "Out of the can" statement Ken and don't think anyone but the chemists should have to mess with it.

    However I think the topic deserves some clarification of my previous post.....

    Metal cobalt drier (Japan Drier) is used to speed up the initial polimerization (oxygen uptake) mainly at the surface of whatever long oil a product consists of. It's a 'surface drier' . It is akin to solvent flashing should be my point so that the surface can be used quiker. This process is called 'induction'. There is sound reason of course why they use a metal drier instead of higher voc/ flamable methods. The amounts spoken here to add are higher then I have heard of useing by two fold....Whatever the case, the deeper layers of oil itself still need to go through it's chemical cure and historically driers to speed that up have been lead and zirconium. They are 'through driers'. All these driers can be made to work more efficiently by addition of calcium salts. By using properly prepared/boiled/blown oils to begin with a cure can be had that much quiker... sort of a jump start if you will. In our case with stains the formulators have to play a balance game between what oils, driers, and solvents to use to get things kicking over quiker. By kicking over I don't mean evaporative drying persay but rather the oxygenating of the oil which makes the chemical reactive based cure procede onward.

    Tung is faster and more chemically reactive than linseed and is why some brands contain it. The point made above by Ken about WTW diving deeper this time around points to an oil that has not been blown sufficiently as blown tung gets thicker. Raw linseed takes weeks to cure where as boiled takes up to only a couple days butnote that boiled doesn't have to be blown and doesn't have to therefore be thicker....This leedsto further consideration that if said boiled oil doesn't cure quiker then it likely that too much Stand oil is also in the formula. Being stand oil is thick and this years problem formula is thinner I would think such addition is not the case?

    This is all hypothetical now at this point being I know not what is in the WTW. Without knowing or being involved none of us but the manufacture could say for sure what the product could need or use to fix the drying issue.

    ..But if the case be they not using quality boiled oil and yet they still trying to dry the whole mass with japan drier then I call FOWL BALL... :)

  17. Posted · Report reply

    How come I don't hear any suggestions other then Japan Drier?

    Trot on down to SW to get some faster reducer into the product to flash the oil better. Needs more heat and more oxygen forced into the oil. Maybe some naptha, toluene, or odorless turpentine....personally I like laquuer thinner :).. The solvent in WTW is likely already a slow spirit and I see recommendation of using more of such on top as just a spreading around and wait game of the apparent slow drying oil. Product simply needs a faster oil and a faster solvent to begin with..... sorry if it offends but my feeling is somebody really screwed up.

    Here is a handy reference on solvent/dryer speeds :

    ICS on Thinner

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Have delved pretty deep into the prospect of offering fence care and the balance between being able to make money at it while still satisfying the customers needs of ending up with a decent looking fence that is actually protected..

    It is gonna be a tough sell is my feeling so far cause they want long term protection. If customers have a new fence and they are of the mind that it needs protection then the builder likely offers a seriously cheap rate to apply a clear water protection for pennies. If they are of the mind that they messed up last time in not protecting their old fence then they may be swayed towards a solid paint. That kinda puts us out don't it....

    The cost of new fence install runs about $20 ln.ft. avg. out here which makes the fence something you would think customers would like to protect as an investment. Don't see a whole lot of it getting done though by 3rd party contractors.

    A neighbor down the street put in about 150' of tounge and groove redwood that surely ran them $28 ln. ft. and have not heard back about doing anything with it even though I priced them rediculously low at like $.20..

    When I asked the fence install guys about it they said "It's redwood" as if it don't need protection so I know what info the HO is basing their decisions on. In a year or two it will look like the rest in the neighborhood well on its way to a delapidated grey fencedom.

    Omax 5yr waterbase looks decent but I didn't like working with water.... Penofin stinks and will only last a year or two in sun but it looks good in cedar color on redwood....WTW honey looks really good on my redwood test boards but have no idea how long it will last. It surely seems a logical choice on a fence restore. (splash and dash!)... RS blackened even though I am out west where it wasn't supposed to...haven't tried TWP or Bakers yet..

    Here is what I have worked out for full on fence restore:

    1 gal.= 33' of 6' fence= 198 sq. ft.

    33' restore & stain= 1 hour

    33'x$20 build=$660/5 (20% of replacement cost)= $132- 1gal.,etc. materials= somewheres around $90 an hr. with wtw and you get to do fence in one day..

    $132/198sq.ft.= $.066 per. sq. ft. or $4 per ln.ft.

    When I tested the figures out on relatives and neighbors with replacement costs in mind it seems to work out. But as you can see it applies to full on restore with grey removal. Maybe I can get more..time will tell.

    On just waterproofing new fencing I think I can do $.335 with $27 product.

    That works out to $.20 labor for simply pumping it on with hand sprayer or sureflow. Will have to be a certain minimum though what with cleanup time involved.

    ..well that's what I got for today :)

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Think Bix Bix Products Page might be the maker of Jasco paint removers.. JASCO® Paint Removers & Strippers but maybe not.(edit: apparently Homax is parent company of both).. The epoxy version is their strongest (methylene chloride) but is fairly expensive. Is not as expensive though as another similar product called Aircraft stripper...perhaps cheaper to sand whatever is on there.

    Pictures can be resized in most any image viewing program like Paint or MS Digital Imaging. Some times 800x600 will end up creating a small enough file size when saving..some times not..depends on camera formats or resize prog. I use MSDI, or Kodak Easy Share..

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Reason I mention it perhaps being a poly as opposed to heavy coating of acrylic like mentioned in some other threads is cause I feel it much more likely that HO will grab the cheapest most readily available thing they see at the big box to acheive their wants in a beautiful permanent glossy coating. They know it is sure fire one coat and cheap.They know not what they do to themselves by going such route...

    Sounds like you'll be going the Bix Jasco method of removal. Please let us know how it works out..

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