Beth n Rod

Last year some dingbat broadsided Rod while he was in our pickup. Well we made sure that the rental vehicle was a work truck. We had the skid put in the back, and off we went. Lost about 2 days of time. Beth

What are you applying it with? At this point we are using an airless. Beth

Contact me for details.... Beth

Doug, Last deck I personally wiped down with spirits, I had to rub pretty aggressively on the surface. If elbow grease doesn't do it, give the floor a wash with EFC-38 OR a percarb OR really weak HD-80 (have done all of these this spring) and then lightly re-coat either while WET (have done this - worked fine after sweeping off water) OR adding some Japan drier and have another go at the WTW on dry wood. (4 oz to the gallon) We have seen this on both new installations and maintenance decks. Have seen it on more than one kind of wood. Was not due to over application. Beth

Interested? Call for details. Beth

It is crazy. We get calls 3-5 days in advance of when the customer needs the work done by and then they get all pissey cause they cannot find someone to make their schedule because we are all booked out 6+ weeks. Rod!~

Contact us for details. Beth

We use a 5 gallon container but it is closed, not open. No spills, no worries. I'll try to post a pic. Beth

Jon, You have too dang much time on your hands to be spending it all coming up with these funny little tales. How ya been? Rod!~

Ok, did I mis-understand you in that you did not strip it but something else to install cwf in it's place? Rod!~

We have tried many things, this is what we are currently using. The product we mentioned expands the range of what you can remove from a surface quite nicely. Beth

Index of /ABRP/msds Here is the MSDS for it. Rod!~

These are the 5 most common reasons why we are in business: 1. The customer does not know how to do it. 2. The customer knows how but is unwilling to do it. 3. The customer knows how but is physically incapable of doing it. 4. The customer has the money and would rather pay someone to do it. 5. The customer does not have the time to do it themselves. For all the hype about diy'ers coming to this or any other internet source being bad for your business is insecurity. I understand that in some demographics there are those who have very little in terms of a customer base to draw on and that this would affect their livelihood but from what I read, that is a negligible problem. For those where the competition is thick, that is another problem all together. But there will always be diy'ers. This country was built by them and that go get em attitude is still alive and well. We have always said "Be careful of what you post. A customer can read these forums and what you say could be either beneficial or detrimental to your companies business." This thread is a prime example of it and innocently enough it could send the wrong message to one of your prospects. When it comes to anyone being able to read these forums and go do it themselves...well, how many of us have been called out to rectify a customers doings after they "read the label" and got the undesirable results. [hand in the air, looking for others to respond as well] Don't sweat the small stuff. Aim for those who are in the 5 reasons I posted and you will do fine. If your business is suffering, don't look for the reasons here. Examine your company, look at your processes, look at the service in quality, result, and value. If you find anything that is undesirable in any way, change it and advertise it. This shows attentiveness and puts you in a better light. If it helps any, the one thing I could come to off the top of my head about roof cleaning is the smell of bleach. Many are turned off, offended and purely frightened by chemicals, their smells and the uneducated thoughts they have or the unsubstantiated conclusions they could jump to can be a deterrent to hiring anyone who uses them in their neighborhood. Now, don't go on the defensive but consider what others impressions may be and how that can affect their decision. This is what you are really up against. The diy'ers are just doing what we are doing...networking. Rod!~

If you like this thread you may also enjoy... http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/marketing-advertising-sales/9567-its-copy.html Beth

Why did you have to strip it? Rod!~

Penofin, depending on the application method can be a bugger to strip. We started using HD-80 with 633-ADD (from ACR Products) to help expand the range. Rod!~

Don't forget to neutralize. Beth

Are you advertising? If so, how? How many places are you advertising? Is your pricing in line with or greater than your competition? What sets you apart from them? Are you easy to find when a potential client looks for a company to hire? How long have you been in business? Do you have an existing client base you can mail to, to suggest other services to have performed? Have you done that? Have you placed yourself in front of a large group of people to promote services? ( ie table with fliers and cards in a high traffic area, similar to a home show booth) Are you walking neighborhoods looking for folks in front of their homes to talk to them? Have you tried direct mail to a specific neighborhood? Have you spoken to the HOA for a neighborhood and gotten into neighborhood newsletters? You don't need to answer all these in a thread if you don't want to, but your answers should tell you something. Beth

Looks sharp Jeff! Beth

Are you advertising? Beth

Great job Jeff. Good to see you are a masking pro. Definitely a plus! Rod!~

With the new formulations many products have introduced in order to be compliant with the 2005 VOC restrictions in the mid-atlantic coast states, it has brought new concerns of quality, durability and maintainability into the picture as a responsible business owner who actively evaluates products we use. WTW has been a consistently reliable product despite a couple of hiccups and considering the responsiveness by the manufacturer in taking the feedback seriously and working diligently to improve the formulation has been encouraging. We're still using WT/WTW 5 years after it's initial debut and have built a solid customer base of happy and satisfied deck owners who call us back to keep their structures looking great. (btw, this is a record for us considering all the others we have tried, many of which did not past the test after a season or two.) Many other brands are having troubles too, but I have not seen them here on TGS or other BBS's making themselves available to answer questions and provide insight into troubleshooting and solutions to problems their consumers (contractors and homeowners alike) may be facing as a result of the changes in formulations like Extreme Solutions has. There is a learning curve in progress for all who are using any of the newer VOC compliant formulations and I am sure any help would be greatly appreciated. As an experienced wood restoration technician, we expect a quality product to require a higher skill level and techniques to achieve a professional result but in consideration of the uncertainty of formulations that have not been time tested face a possibility of premature failure and biological proliferation that cannot be easily anticipated or predicted. Diligence being key, we invite any support for any products in the product Q&A forums to assist users in this transitional period. Rod!~

There are entire forums out there where DIY'ers go to talk to one another and they don't all care for contractor input. Some accept it better than others do. Beth

I also add a foaming agent from ACR to help add dwell life and lengthen wet time. Rod!~

ABR's Strip-it-all has to be applied straight and allowed to dwell. The stuff is thick and gelatinous which helps it to stick to verticals better but it is not going to work on all coatings. Pain in the unowhat to apply but works great on what it will react with. Requires a significant amount of neutralization and a ton of rinsing in my experience with it. Rod!~