Beth n Rod

Exactly Tony! And residue under the stain can lead to premature failure of that finish. Rinse...rinse....rinse....

We want to be real clear here, since we are talking about both x-jets and chem application and also something as strong and caustic as HD-80 in the same thread. HD-80 should NOT be applied with an X-jet or other downstream appication method, for the reasons Ron P outlined early on. 1. it will effect the ratio and throw off the results 2. and more importantly you have LESS control over a hazardous material. Please guys and gals, work safely. Use a pump up or electric airless sprayer with a shurflow pump. Control the application, and where the product is applied. Never cut corners on saftey. The same holds true for applying an acid. Don't use a downstream method or x-jet. Now you can use downstream or xjet with efc-38 if you are doing a house wash. No problem. For a deck, personally, we don't. We stick to the pump up or sprayer with shurflow pump. We love the xjet too, but not where deck stripping or cedar home stripping is concerned... Be safe... Beth & Rod p.s.. Paul let me know which items you think should be moved, and what type of poll you want to see. You can either start a new thread and poll, or let me know and I can add one. BB

I spoke to supposrt at Flood about this product about a month or so ago. It needs to be applied to wood that is not neutralized, so they urge you to use BLEACH to clean with. Bleach breaks down wood fibers. Now if they are trying to get to the alkaline end of the Ph scale (which is what the tech told me finally) then you can use a stripper or the percarb to get you there too. The think is, is that Spa N Deck is acrylic. The first coat will not be shiny, the second will. They need the chemical reaction between alkaline wood and the sealer to get it to bond well. Best advice I can give is get litmus paper and test, so you are not too neutral in pH when you go to apply it. Hope this helps. Beth p.s. this is NOT the case for most finishes.... see this article for info. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=50

Ron... THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! Beth p.s. how much is in a pinch or a smidgen or a dash? What about a dollop?

Jon, Brian is from here in Maryland. :) We'll have to help him be less shy... Beth

OK gang, This is your chance. First off, I want to thank all of you who voted for me. Your votes are going to keep me very busy this year, and for a few years to come. Those of you who know me, know I am all about education and excellence. You should also know I speak up about what I believe in, and I'll use this same voice to share the things that YOU want. I'll convey to the Board what you want, and I'll do it with your name or anonymously as you request. All you have to do is post in this thread, and I'll do my very best to help you all. I want to also share a little about the meetings I sat in while I was in Las Vegas. I can tell you that some very exciting, forward thinking things are going to happen, and I feel confident that Doc Reisman will pick up where Chris Detter left off. We did some exciting things in the meetings. We went through a process of analyzing the PWNA's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. From there we all chose areas that we thought were most important. After we all voted, we outlined goals based upon the results. These goals will help dramatically in improving the PWNA. I have seen this process in action in large corporations before, and was very pleased to see them in use in the meeting. I know you have probably all heard alot about environmental issues and how things are going in California and Texas. I know that many of you are wondering how it will effect you in your area. We discussed that too. Basically, our Federal Government's EPA has a mandate that certain things must happen and that power washers must be compliant. Mr. Robert Hinderliter of Delco saw the opportunity to provide input during the initial stages as those two states began to regulate based upon the EPA's mandate. This has helped us all. How? Well, had he not done this, we would be at the mercy of both State and Federal Government knowing enough about our industry to be able to write the laws that we have to comply with. However, since Mr. Hinderliter was so active in both California and Texas, his input was used and the adopted laws are written to ensure that we all will have jobs. Other states are under time constraints to comply with these EPA mandates. These other states will look to California and Texas. To learn more click here: http://www.dcs1.com/del/delpg5/index.html Again, thanks for your support, and let me know what's important to you. Beth :cool:

Ummm.... I thought Ready Seal and redwood didn't get along? Some sealers are not compatible with it and we came across that last year. (before we applied it) Also for redwood depending on what you apply you may need to apply acetone prior to sealing it. I agree with Tony where sealing is concerned. Spraying sealer isn't like using a pressure washer. Personally, I think you could use a pump up on the floor, and then backpad. I would suggest doing spindles and rails by hand. (you're shooting sideways otherwise) Masking up and prep are the key to a clean no mess job. Tarps go down all around the deck, over the plants, etc. Plastic has to be put up on the house to avoid drifting sealer. It's alot like what painters have to do. Oh yeah, wear clothes and shoes you care nothing about, and put nitrile gloves on or your hands will also be a beautiful color. Beth & Rod p.s. Rod was born out on Arizona, me, I've never been there....;)

Many areas of the country have faced or are currently facing drought conditions which have an impact on our industry. Attached is a link that monitors conditions for the United States. Hope it's helpful for you! http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html Beth

Our first year of business, there was a drought. At first, it was a good thing because we learned to schedule easily. As the summer progressed, so did the drought. Restrictions started. The phones stopped ringing fro mour ads. Well, a funny thing happened, we got tons of referral work. What we did was check what Maryland's restrictions were, and what the consumption reduction requirements were. Then Rod looked at it and did the math, realizing we surpassed what was required. That was the angle we used to sell and to advertise. The next year, we were hit with too much moisture. Haven't found a solution for that ... Rain is rain. This past summer was far worse than our first year, and as off as fall was for eveyone we have spoken to (and us) it was economically a good year overall. Beth

Looks an awful lot like a truck washing brush on an extension pole, but you use it on the floor not up in the air. Does that help? Could be a useful tool. Beth

We're really excited that yesterday on Seminar and Demo day the BBS hit 100 members! It's exciting to see the growth of the community. For those who are lurking and have not joined, just remember, you don't have to post after you join, you can still lurk, but you'll be getting members only saving offers once a month. Membership equals savings! Of course, no questions are stupid ones, and we encourage everyone to post and share information and ask questions. We will not tolerate bashing here, or putting the new guys down. So please let us all help you grow and become successful in your chosen area. Also don't forget to check the other BBS's out there. There are WONDEFUL BBS's with a wealth of knowledge on them. VISIT THEM ALL. Check out the Hot Links page on our home page www.thegrimescene.com to find them if you are new. The content on BBS's varies. The people who post to them varies. They are all worth bookmarking. Think of it as an online library that is growing...for you. Searching any BBS is easy for research. Basically, key word searching is taking a few important words that you would use to discuss the topic you're interested in, and usine them to search. An example might be ' house washing aluminum oxidation' in order to find relevant threads. You'll get a results list back that you can read through and then post to. The nice thing about it is the folks who posted often receive notification via email if a new post is added and will jump in and help. That's one quick way to get help. Another, is just post a new thread. If you are new to BBS's it never hurts to post a new thread, and the members will help and also refer you to sources of info you can use for your research. Thanks for joining, let us know if we can offer anyone any help or point you in a particular direction. We're here for you. Beth & Rod

Rod's favorite is a pump up believe it or not. I would never ever suggest running it through the pump, nor would I suggest using something like an x-jet for HD-80. (EFC-38 is another matter) Why? Well, there are a few reasons.... 1. Chems are not good for your pump. Good way to ruin the pump. 2. injected with an x-jet, HD-80 or ANY other sodium hydroxide based product can do serious damage. You need to control the application carefully. It's not water. 3. dilution ratios are an issue when applied with downstream in jection, regardless of the chemical. To maintain proper ratios you need to control the application. EFC-38 can be used on house washing and applied downstream, no problem. But it's not the same chemical as HD-80. The two have....different levels of user friendliness, plant friendliness, property friendliness. EFC is alot more friendly that HD. Hope this helps. Beth:) p.s. Electric sprayer with a shurflo pump works well too!

Ron, As a writer I encourage anyone who shares the love of language and the written word and who values content to write, write, write. The interesting thing to me, is that writing is an art. You can write about absolutely anything at all. You're painting with words, regardless of if it is fiction or non-fiction. Ron if I can ever be of any assistance to you, just let me know. You certainly have alot of knowledge to share, and it's obvious you have done your research! :) Good luck, and don't get frustrated if you get writers block. Just walk away and then come back later. Also write when the thought or urge hits you and keep a note pad to jot things down. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't. Go for it! Start writing! Beth:)

Earl... I always like directions in writing myself. I would find that to be a little unusual that they didn't provide directions. Beth

Paul, It's hard to say exactly what the correct ratio is without knowing exactly what the product is. Didn't it have directions? Is it a liquid or a powder? Let me know and I'll see what I can uncover. Share whatever is on the lable for us so we can advise you better. :) Beth

Hey Joel, Give me your new zip code. Also get the realtor to give you a few surrounding zips. I'll be more than happy to run the demographics for your area for you. :) Beth

Actually, yesterday we learned from Russell that HD-80 does effect the chemistry of the sealer, which it why the sealers will fail and melt when they come into contact with it. It effects the petroleum base in the sealer. Beth P.S. Yesterday everything went well, and the soap nozzle for rinsing was all that was used at first to blow off the pallet. The only thing that Rod needed to put a little pressure to was the Wolman Extreme, and it sliced right through it and flew off the board. That one won't just rinse, you have to help lift it after it separates is the best way I can describe what I saw. It's acrylic, but it was a little different in how you worked the product. For other acrylics, it may not be the solution, but I'll bet you dollars to donuts Extreme Solutions is working on something that will do it for you.

Thanks Tony! We discovered in Las Vegas that EFC-38 will also work on Men-wood if you work it enough, but HD-80 is faster. That was another thing we discovered. Gunn Man, Tony pretty much nailed it for you. His advice is excellent. Beth

Thanks Ron! :) Beth

Well yesterday we had continental breakfast for those in the seminars, with danish, muffins, and cinnamon rolls, then we had a full lunch and afternoon sugar snack with oversized cookies and soda. Had to keep the energy up! Folks loved the Extend-A-Wand that was demoed, we had a customer pick one up and everyone tried it.... Well, I think if we had had another 3 wands here, we might have sold them. I have a feeling folks will order them once they decide which one they want. Everyone tested the 18' footer on the house. The Wood Tux demo was great, and we began testing one other thing.... the formulation for it allows you to put it on wet although it had not been tested to be applied that way. We began yesterday in the demo with dry wood, then we went to the freshly stripped pallet and applied some to the wood there. It took it! It dove right in. We'll be watching it and Extreme Solutions plans to do more testing on it as well. We would love to be able to say you can apply it wet, but for now, we're going to say dry only even though the formula was designed to do both. It was a wonderful day. Russell Cissell answered alot of technical chemical questions for those who attended and everyone learned something. We will be doing this again in the future, date to be determined. And the hope is that Russell Cissell will again be present. Again we wish to extend our thanks and gratitude to Russell from Extreme Solutions for coming out and sharing his time with us for the benefit of those here. It things like this that truly help the contractors out in the field. Thank you Russell! Beth & Rod :) :)

We saw the brush demoed, but it was demoed with water not sealer. It had a fine mist that shot out from around it when you lift it from the surface. It could be a wonderful idea. I wish SunBrite had done a demo of it with sealer during product demo time. I would ask about overspray and see what response you get. It's a great idea, and the unit looks easy to work on and repair etc. Hope this helps. Beth:)

Ron, Send a couple pics and I'll be happy to chat with you too. Any help we can offer, we're happy to do it. Beth & Rod

Welcome David! We look forward to hearing more from you. :) Beth

It's meant to be! Hey, we closed on our house on the same day come to think of it...back in...1997. We love it here. I can't wait to see more pics of the place. Great find! Beth

Hi Howard, You're fine. :) See you tomorrow. Beth