reed

I guess if it works for you then do it. I haven't had any problems here in the midwest in doing what I have been doing. Customers are satisfied and I get excellent results. So what you say is a waste of your time just maybe, no argument from me, but it doesn't waste my time. Bottom line is i get the results I and the customer want. So I will keep doing what I have been doing and strive to do it better. Happy Holidays, Reed

Fry it, it is the best way if you like a moist turkey. Oil at 350 degrees and fry 3 minutes per pound. those who haven't tried a fried turkey, you will be amazed at how tender and moist it truely is. Reed I am not a stuffing fan, but do like all the othere fixin's

Rob, I bet it was the other "chems" you were using that you got from the neighbors METH lab, you guys in south county :D. Percarbs have a short shelf life, that is usually why they put a disclaimer on the labels of the percarbs to use withing 4 to 6 hours after mixing, plus some of the labes state do not store in a sealed container, cause when agitated just a little the chemical reaction takes place that causes it to give off gases and the result will be popping the lid at the least. Rob, stay out of the Meth Labs :) reed

In January the price is to increase to .375. You use one or the other is correct. Reed

Hey just had to pipe in on this. Had that happen to me about 2 years ago. Had someone email me the link to a site that had the infamous 2 tone on their site. Well, to make a long story short, it ended up in a word battle and finally the company removed the picture. I went as far as stating I didn't mind if the pic was used but the right thing was to be asked first. To me it was a matter of integrity and honest representation. Unfortunately the other guy didn't see it that way and it ended up quite unpleasant. I think the common courtesy of asking permission should take place if others pictures are to be used and a disclaimer on the picture should be stated. just my .02 worth. Reed

JustMe, I use the J-lite, and that is a good price that Beth has quoted you. Once you get one and use it, you take all the guess work out of wood moisture levels. there is a reference guide that comes with it that will give you proper levels for each species of wood. Get one. Reed

The deck builders and home builders in this area are still in old school thinking mode. They tell the homeowners to wait a full year before doing anything to their decks (which 99 percent are western red cedar). Some of them offer coming back in a year and seal it then, no prep, that's right no prep. When I get one of these, there are two things I can do and will do both sometimes. The citrallic that Russ offers here through Beth and Rod will remove UV stain by itself, just mix according to label. Some of the others require just a light cleaning and that is when I use a half strength EFC38. What a versatile product. Though having a deck sit a full year is, in my opinion, crazy. Especially in our environment here in the St Louis area. Granted new wood has plenty of natures oil in it and will not allow most oil based penetrating stains to sink in much, that is why I follow them up with a maintenance light wash on the one year anniversary with a light reseal, the second application will take more stain and look fantastic. On new wood, some protection is better than none. Wood Tux and ReadySeal have given me excellent results in this arena. But the key is doing a maintenance coating one year out then I switch them to a two year reminder for washing and possible reseal depending on elemental damage and foot/animal traffic. Got to go get the trophy buck, have a great weekend all. Reed

Paul, for white solid try the Cuprinol Pastel White. Holds very well and has mold and mildew inhibitors in it. Coverage is fantastic. They use the pastel white as the base for mixing their colors. Hope this is what you wanted. Reed

I do, but as you said I don't count :(

Must be bad weather everywhere:) Happy Veterans Days, and a heart felt thanks to those who serverd and are serving. Reed

I did the research for here in Missouri. There are NO reclaim laws for decks or fences. In fact, there are NO water reclaim laws period. That is exactly why QT's and Mobil stations here do it the way they do. Some of my competition are firefighters and do the "deck" thing for extra money. It would make your hair stand on end to see how they do it. Reed Personally, I feel if you are washing the gas stations and any runoff into storm drains should be reclaimed. But I can tell you here in Missouri "it just ain't so". There are no laws to enforce for reclaim on the gas stations. There may be city ordinances but no state. This is a subject that effects us all. Missourians are just a little slower, hence the nickname, Show Me State. The legislators will jut have to be shown by the EPA to get things done as they should be done.

Gosh, I have had several of those muscle days lately. Red

my washer, Landa, came with an injector to put in line after the pump. When the dual lance is dialed down to the soap side, siphoning will take place off the injector. Something like the "bernoulli" effect, pressure differences etc. I will be honest and say I have never used the injector. But won't go without the dual lance. I have the standard one that came with the Landa and had a short one made. The short one is great for leaning over rails and doing the tops of handrails with a lighter wand. Reed

ah man:D

Great thread. Lots of info with varying thoughts. One way I tell customers in that they could understand mill glaze, is imagine thousands of boards cut on one blade. Blade changes cost the mills $$$, so blades aren't changed that often, or often enough, so when a blade gets dull it glazes the wood, kind of like a small burn than closes the pours. Removng the mill glaze opens the pours back up. The customers understand this explanation, though we all know there is more to it. Great links. Reed

DON'T LET IT SIT. As stated above, letting wood age "is old school thinking". Decks should be protected as soon as the moisture content is correct for the sealer you choose to use, this applies especially to new Cedar. Protect the beauty of it. Pressure treated MAY need to sit in order for moisture content to subside, but it depends on how long the wood sat exposed to the elements at the lumber yard and how new the PT wood is as far as when it was treated. Go to the link Everette provided and read up. Multiple coats are recommended for certain sealers. Some not at all. Do your customer a great service and do it as soon as all the elements are correct, but don't let it "age". Reed

No one is ever forgotten, I certainly am one who will never forget. As I still have one son in harms way, We should all keep all those present and gone in our thoughts and prayers. Reed

Dale, I would also like a copy. I have one but am always trying to streamline during the winter shutdown. If you wouldn't mind sending me one reedster@charter.net thanks, Reed

Gav, I know your area is abundunt with the tree huggers as California is. I am really suprised all the car washes aren't recycling. You should do well in your area, esp if you get to the springs. I know Castle Rock has nothing but Very, Very high end homes there perched in some of the most god awful places. We look forward to seeing some pictures. So get the digital camera ready, I esp want pics of your first snow in your area. Folks, that is one pretty place. Reed

Gavin, How has you business been effected by the drought you had? My mom lives not far from you in Aurora, and they were on water restrictions for a long time. She also told me that businesses were effected especially the car washes. Did it hit you that much? Welcome to the board. Reed

Henry, There is someone in this area using nothing but hot water on decks. He has to sand everyone when he's done, can't imagin why;) can you?? Reed

Randy, Welcome to the board. As you have seen you will get a variety of responces and we all mean well in helping each other. Make sure you keep us posted as in what you did finally use. We all want to learn different things and I dare say, no one here will hesitate in helping you out. Again welcome to the Board, and keep us posted. Reed

thanks, guess I will stick with good ole penzoil, great rain today huh? But I hve no work anyway, all the homeowners here have quit for the year trying to get the decks done. One of the major builders is really pushing TWP, so I know what I have to do next year to dispel that myth. Reed

tony, the mobil 1 you use, that the synthetic or regular, what grade, and can synthetic be used in the pump? I know the new synthetics for bikes can be used in the engine, crankcase and primaries. its a 20w50 grade. Synthetics do last longer and I can vouch that they allow a motorcycle engine run cooler. Reed

This is from my son in Iraq. kind of raised the hair a little. "Now the fire fight. I was sitting on a Traffic Control Point when i got the call to chase a vehicle. I pulled out of my hide position and started chaseing the car. We fired 3 warning shots then all of a sudden we were getting rained on with bullets. Tracers were flying everywhere. I saw bullets riccocet off the pavement in front of my truck. I decided to pull off the road to get out of the field of fire. I pulled off the road and hit the low ground. We stoped takeing rounds for about 30 secs, when i turned arround and faced the way i just came, more bullets starting pouring in on us. So, i used my expert driveing skills and evaded the fire and sped us to safety. One of the guys in the back of the truck was hit in his arm twice. It blew out both arterys. he bled like that for about 3-5 minutes before we did anything to him first aid wise. Cause we were in a fire fight. We ended up getting back to our base and got a med evac for him. His pulse was 78 before he got on the bird. So, he was at good pulse for takeing two to the arm. I ended up getting credit for saveing the lives of three people not includeing my own. The next day we went out to the truck and examined it. It turns out that when i was turning the truck i was leaning forward and that saved my life. There was a bullet indentation in the front of the truck between the two windshields on the inside. We traced the impact angle and point and determined that the bullet came in 3-6 inches behind where my head was while i was leaning forward. if i were sitting in the normal spot my head would have been gone. We also descovered that the bullet was in fact a 7.62mm fired out of ,get this, OUR 240B. it turns out that there was another humm-v chaseing what he thought to be a car. It turned out to be me. And they lit me up after we shot warning shots. The higher chain of command knows about it....but it was initialy reported as an ambush...so that is how it went down in the log book. So the guy that was shot, was shot by friendly fire...but according to all the books, it was an ambush...so he is getting a purple heart. Well, this is a lengthy letter, so i am goin to take off now. I hope to hear from you soon. love always mike" reed