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MMI Enterprises

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Posts posted by MMI Enterprises

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I don't know that comparing your increase in prices to that of the oil companies' increase in gas prices is a wise thing to do these days! Many feel the oil companies ARE gouging us with $3.00+ gas prices

    Hear ya there Mike... been instinctively not falling into traps of justifying prices to customers in general. At some point the two wrongs don't make a right premise of not passing increases on to customer is going to be out the window though. Every year for at least the last few years we have been getting more and more institutionalized to the higher prices to the point of most folk not even batting an eye at the $3+ prices. Likely fair to say the increased amounts are pretty much here to stay don't ya think? The increased portion of the price per gal. surley is a legit expense that my out turned pockets can attest to and should be figured in to what we charge. I can't much call the increases a fad that disappears the same as it always used to due to less traveling, or off season, etc. . It used to be the prices went up between memorial day and labor day then tapered off. It's all screwy now though in that it stays higher longer and goes up earlier. Hardly can't call the majority of the time the prices as being lower outside the summer months.. Is all part of being institutionalized by the Man.. :)

  2. Posted · Report reply

    Fast Times at Ridgemont High

    OMG!..So check it out. Was considering shirt colors to do company logos on today and I says to ma lady I'll look more attractive and clean like a pool boy if I go with the bright baby blue...must be some long lost repressed fantasy I got based around the pool scene in that movie.. Now I wonder if blue will go with the brunettes red bikini.. :)

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Too high price for the process talked about. If it were acid staining and then acrylic top coated and then the sq. footage was small enough size to be able to command premium dollar then perhaps $1.50-$2.00.

    Acid staining with epoxy top coat or solid epoxy coatings then yes you can get them higher dollars (and some) no matter the size. Then you have your concrete grinding and polishing with diamond edged machinery that can demand $4-$15 per sq. ft. depending on many factors like whether it large commercial or small residential, or only partially smoothed and then stained and top coated, etc, etc....refer to my current avitar for example of what would be a $3+ type job on interior space..

    Although I'de think you might get by with 10 fivers or less with the Sherwin stuff you might want to plan a few more.

    Since it is just a waterbase stain and seal all in one you could make good bank even at $.30 plus cleaning.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Then there is the kinds with the little pink circles on the ends. Seems like that would probably get wet when pressure washing so not sure if thats good. Dont want a full face one either. Also seen the kinds that have cylinders sticking out 5 inches from each end of your mouth

    No they don't get wet.. you don't spray your face do ya?..haha

    Think most just wear when applying caustic chems or stains and not while rinsing..

    If you buy a good one with filters on each side of face they'll include paperwork that'll tell you which filters for which kind of vapors. I suspect it could be bad to just wear anything when working around certain things cause for all you know the harmful stuff still gets through. For paints and stains Harbor Freight has a cheap but decent double filter for $21. The face material is a bit more plastic feeling then some better ones you'll find at around the $40 level elsewhere. (may bug you when you swet compared to the softer rubber ones).. They don't all use industry standard filters neither.

    Am sure a place like Sherwin could set you up proper.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    I bet that deck above would satisfy many folks expectations on fade. I really don't expect to see anything better after 2 years. Maybe my monitor is no good or I got sandman still in my eyes...almost looks like a first coat of a two coat type product? Ok that is exagerating...lol

    Behr's brochure planely shows on each page (with a little logo) how long each product can "last up to". It gives both an amount for verticles and then the horizontals. I think the verbage used is not an actual warranty persay.

    The 10 yr. is for the solid House and Fence Stain (orange label).

    The Deck Plus (semi) shown above is 3 yr. decks/ 5 yr. fence and siding and even their own picture is extremely blotchy looking for a professional sales photo.

    I would like to know if any of their products are removal friendly, lasts as marketed without early fading, and mainly which are user friendly to apply without lap marks.. Hence which might be similar to other brands feeder type parafinnic oils if any. The Premium Clear Weatherproofing wood sealer & finish says silicone enhanced and so that wouldn't fit the bill. (got to underline to tel the difference between them..geez!)

    Anybody have experience with these:

    Clear Waterproofing Wood finish- 2 yr./4 yr.(water cleanup so must be a modified alkyd), Liquid Rawhide (semi solid) -4 yr./7 yr., or the Water Proofing wood protector- (1yr/2yr)

    If these don't lap mark and but come off easily they may fit somebodies idea of a maintenance program..just a thought..2 of them are applicable in damp conditions. The Rawhide actually sounds good to me..

    p.s... although I like their huge color chart as a reference, I doubt anyone actually ever ends up with what they expected unless a pro does some fancy testing and mixing. They should go ahead and disclaim exactly that in a much larger type than the disclaimer they currently got down bottom of the chart.

    It is really bothersome to me that the big box stores push the idea that it is so easy like "Here this is the color you won't, have fun" !!

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Coulda cleaned part of it instead of gabbin here at TGS.....HAHA.J/K

    Never turn down good paying work..Sounds like you need more middle men management to worry about these headaches. That way when they screw up you can yell at them for loosing the important clients instead of yerself.. :)

  13. Posted · Report reply

    Well I got the Behr at Home Depot. Some of the paint stores around carry Flood, not sure if there any good. Any idea if Home Depot caries any good products??

    Well I been wondering if the Preservawood is any good.. seems to be a parafinnic feeding type oil. If you have Ace hardware up there you might want to try the red label Penofin in cedar or redwood..

    You have to decide if you want to feed the wood with something you can easily maintain and refeed or clog it up with stuff that will be harder to strip and maintain.

    No Flood or Behr for me thanx!

    p.s.- speaking of Lowes.. they got Olympic Max which some like but it isa clogger type far as I can tell.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    Spray penetrating oil in where the key is let it soak over night...that'll go a long way towards breaking it free. Could also take a propane torch to it to heat it up. In some cases of breaking things free you can suspend a pulley (or pump) between to rods with weight of motor hanging below and then hit shaft with hammer if you have a nut or bushing around tip to where you can not mushroom the shaft. In your case it sounds like you may be able to do this if motor is not mounted to anything. The weight of the motor will go a long way towards breaking it free. With this method you must take great pains in protecting shaft and engine when it falls to the ground. Doesn't sound like you need the motor though so..

    Another way of breaking things free is to use the power of the starter motor. You secure the pulley, nut, pump, what have you with vice grips, pipe wrench, etc. and you bump the starter key. Hopefully then the shaft key is soft enough and it breaks so the bushing or flange turns on shaft. From there they usually go ahead and come off..

  15. Posted · Report reply

    Well yea if there is holes in some part or flange that is strong enough you can do such with long bolts and nuts with proper configuring. There has never been anything I haven't been able to get apart mechanically. Sometimes things break though. If you can't take it to a shop then maybe you can take a few pics at different angles and we can try to come up with a plan. I don't know specifics of how them direct drive are hooked in but imagine that there might be more then just the outter bolts involved? Does the keyed shaft just stick through the seals and bearings and your able to view the shaft turning or what?

  21. Posted · Report reply

    We get alot of solids around here unfortunatetly and at one time I didn't even want to mess with them. Now we turn them all into two tones.

    We strip everything we can from the floor during the cleaning process - then come back when we seal and use Makita 9227C's with 8" disc sanding paper to sand out the rest. It usually goes pretty quick. We also sand out the top railcap if the deck has one and do that in a semi trans. With these jobs however you'll usually have to use something with more pigment in it such as Cabot Decking Stains or TimberStain UV semi-trans (our choice typically). Then a solid acrylic on the rails. I would spray out the underside in a color to match the rails.

    Pricing is crucial on these though - We charge around $4.75 per sq ft on the floor and $8 per linear foot on the rails plus product costs. IT's the only way you'll make enough money to justify it. The benefit though is you'll have a customer for life. We discount the future maintenance to something more reasonable since we're just recoating then.

    Here's a pic of one we just completed that had a peeling solid all over it. Picture is from a camera phone and not the best but you get the idea.

    Greg,

    That was solid stain you removed and not paint correct?

    Just boosted S/H or you use some packaged specialty product?

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Charlie,

    Percarb weekens in something like a half day to day.. Not sure on other stuff which would be considered strippers...

    Greg,

    Concerning the oven cleaner for testing between oils and acrylics...Most existing acrylic finishes that would have been used on exterior wood by a professional or even happy home owner would have been higher solid content formulas with strong durability qualities compared to interior products whether they were oil or waterbase. I agree to some point that the oven cleaner (hydroxide)won't generally attack the finish hard enough to leave any confusion about whether it was oil or acrylic but do you ever run across situations where the oven cleaner did eat the acrylic with longer dwell of over a few minutes? I use the oven cleaner for testing interior waterbased acrylics all the time and use the results to decide my stripper strengths or even sometimes to remove edge buildup on floors. There is surely a measurable difference between the interior and exterior acrylics cause of the solids and oil based solvent aspect. ....wondering anyone ever runs across the middle of the road interior acrylics used on decking.

    I think this topic begs the question what Greg or Chris actually use to strip the acrylics with.. .boosted hydroxide perhaps??

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Hey - no hijacking this thread! This is a very informative thread that doesn't need any extraneous thoughts or comments. Let's keep it for Rick and his updates on the longevity of ReadySeal stain on Ipe, ok?

    Daniel,

    How about keeping friendly and realizing people gab..post #105 as example :)

    I somewhat agree with sticking to topic but if your refering to the parafinnic discussion..Rick brung it up and keeps gabbing too. Personally I believe post #96 is enough basis for continued discussion on what is being used in this extremeley important test. I also think that the test results is applicable to other woods as well.

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