AAPaint

Thanks guys. Customer was quite happy. When we cleaned it, they said, "I'm impressed". Then when we finished they said, "you guys do really nice work".

GOOD idea...people should be educated in how wrong this guy really is.

Yeah. I couldn't touch his prices, but he couldn't touch my results either. How many times can he tear half the wood off and still have a fence left to maintain? Did that thought ever cross his mind?

Here's a wood project for you. Two sets of stairs that lead up to small decks and/or landings of a home 14' off the ground. Good thing it's up that high, because Black Creek it sits 25 yards away from is known for flooding. A recent tropical storm set a record for flood levels on the creek. Along with the stairs, we stained a small boat dock, and we're trying to get back to finish off about 100 ln. ft. of 8' fencing. The dock was submerged under about 10' of water. The stairs were about 4' submerged, and the fence was also. More pics of the fence staining when we get it done. Check out the 17,000 bazillion balusters on these stairs! Never seen anything like it. Couldn't even squeeze a hand in edge ways between them.

Yeah, it's been real bad for us, because it will dry out ONE day, then rain for three. We've been sitting a couple weeks waiting to finish this one project alone. At least we can wash stuff, but that's not where the fun is.

You can't stop the expansion and contraction of wood. It's going to happen whether you like it or not. Especially only being able to seal one side, as it is with a deck. Getting stain into the wood and getting it to last is hard enough as it is. Having something like silica in the way can't be good. I'd be very careful creating a warranty against those kinds of conditions for any reason. We only warranty our quality of workmanship, not the condition of a customer's wood, not the product we use, etc. The warranty for any product we apply is up to the manufacturer, not us.

You may not have had a strong enough mix or dwell time on your brightener to completely lighten the areas that were stripped. Sometimes you have to mix it a little stronger and/or let it dwell longer to brighten properly. Especially if your stripper was extra strong. If it's blotchy now, it will be blotchy after you stain using a semi-trans.

Thanks Steven. Just wish it would quit raining so I can finish the fence. I've got a good bit of wood to do, and the rain just won't quit right now. I think the fence pics will be the most dramatic because of the water damage from the flood. I'll post those when we finally get it done.

Could you imagine him doing your deck! DOH!

Took nearly over 20 gallons of stain just for the stairs alone!

Just an FYI.....galvanized steel does not need any special preparation for painting. The galvanizing causes a natural patina layer of zinc oxide to build up on the surface over time, which is actually a super good surface for painting with a product meant for metal. There is absolutely no need to clean or etch the surface of galvanized steel before painting. The layer of zinc oxide is better than any primer will ever be.

3000 psi will PUNCH HOLES IN CONCRETE for god's sake! What a yahoo! As a former painting contractor, I can tell you most painters barely know how to sling paint, and not much more. This is why we started a wood restoration company, to raise the bar for wood care in Jacksonville.

I just built a small hand cart for pumping caustic and acid with a 2 gpm delevan. When I ordered mine, I was sent the fatboy, and although it was a nice toy, I couldn't use it. I had to send it back to get the 2 gpm pump I ordered. It's the 7800 series, and works like a charm for this purpose.

Very good job. I like cleaning stone when the customer doesn't even think it's very dirty. I've had some very surprised customers because of the results.

Very cool video. Thanks for sharing.

Very nice. Did you do the dock in the background? I've got more dock work coming up, love to hear any tips you have for docks.

If you're using bleach to clean, you can DS it. If you're using percarb, then I would put it on with a pump. I bet you can get a little better than what you've got, but overall it's not bad. What ratio did you mix the brightener at?

Wow.....look at the splinters all over that sucker! I'm a former painting contractor, and I've NEVER done that to wood.....OMG.

Yeah, Russ is great. Highly recommend him any time.

Haven't tried the AC, but Ready Seal really soaks in deep on any wood that's been exposed for a while. Even a year or two old, the wood will really drink it up. There's no doubt RS penetrates, and it does give a good look. Longevity, it may lose out to AC.

That works great when you have the wand/gun in your hand. Same with the airless sprayer. Hit them with anything you're spraying and that helps, but if you're empty handed, you'll be very surprised to see how my method works. Or you can just try running and get stung!

I have a tip that's real useful with wasps, hornets, bees, etc. DO NOT RUN from them. Turn and face them DEAD ON and smack the tar out of them. If you over ride your natural instinct to run from them, face them in a determined fashion, and smack the crap out of them, they will buzz off. This is a tried and true method I use, and have taught to others who use it with great success. These little buggers don't want a fight, they want to sting you for invading their space and get away with it. If you come at them hard, they will back down every time. I promise you, no lie. I posted this on pressuretek forums recently too. While doing these same stairs, which are way out in the boonies, I was buzzed by at least a dozen of them, and fought them all off. I had one around the beginning of the month try to attack me as I went to collect a check from the customer. He was REAL persistent, took about a dozen swings at him before he backed off, but IT WORKS....and this I promise you. Naturally if it's a dozen of them, you need to bug out, but the last time I was stung was a LONG, LONG time ago, and it was because I turned and ran away. I have NEVER run since that day, and I never get stung. If you try this method, I swear you will be pleasantly surprised by the result, unless you are real slow and uncoordinated, lol, but you do NOT have to even hit them. Just face them dead on and take shots like Mike Tyson, and they will boogie.

Thanks for updating Lance. I have not had this issue, but I was eagerly watching this thread just in case I do. I'm glad to hear you got it resolved, because I know the feeling of getting to a job and having equipment make you look silly. I'm sure my ears and face turn bright red with anger and embarrassment! It happens though, so we just have to get through it all the best we can.

Hey Ron, just realized I hadn't been back over to that website since I joined it. I'm bookmarking your tips videos, thank you for sharing.

I'll tell you one that I've had. Windows not being closed properly, but enough that you can't tell it's open. When you see the curtain flap while you're rinsing, it's too late, lol. Never had any major issues, sometimes water intrusion around doors with bad seals, even with low pressure, but I've learned to set expectations properly over the years, warn customers thoroughly about making sure windows and doors are closed COMPLETELY, etc. As for snakes. I had this little corn snake come out from between the boards when I started spraying stain on these stairs (pics of those coming soon). He was a friendly little bloke, but he didn't like me shooting Ready Seal into his hiding place. We met 13' up in the air under the upper landing of the stairs I was working on. Naturally, I had to follow him and get another shot when he flopped on the ground. I've owned a number of snakes, so I'm not really bothered by them at all.