PressurePros

I can get almost 50 feet with a 0030. I switch to an 0020 to rinse down to top of the first floor (to the tops of the first floor window) then switch to a 6515 for the remainder of the house and rewetting the plants.

I would recommend you look into Baker's Gray Away. Shane B (Screen name Seymore) uses it with excellent results. I like it better than the 200 series TWP and they are very similar in makeup.

a little butyl in the mix helps too

Plan B is to use very expensive ($40 per gallon) strippers that take a very long time to apply and are messy. On the plus side they are not caustic and will not eat your flesh. Do you know how to boost the strength of the HD-80? Call Russell Cissell at ESI and ask him what you can add to make the product more potent. You may also try searching for a post with "HD-80" and "glycol" as your keywords. Final note: Patrick, you really should get in the habit of doing test spots so you know how to charge accordingly. If you charged for HD-80 and some extra dwell time and have to end up spending another $300 in chemicals and another 8 hours applying, removing and sanding.. I'm guessing your profit will be out the window.

I really like it. Simple design well executed. My suggestion is to keep with your theme of all in one frame/no scrolling pages. If you are going to list links for " our services" make them each a little page instead of all pointing to the same landing and having that page look out place because you have to scroll down to read it all. Did I explain that right?

Balazs, in your years of being in business how many times has this exact scenario happened to you? Question #2: In three months are you still going to be as upset about this as you are now? Is it going to be negatively effecting your business operations at that time. I am assuming this is a job of larger than average proportion (taking a week or more?) because I cannot see how anything negative could occur from switching a one day job from one day to another other than it would be bothersome.

Since there was no intentional malice on the part of the customer I would not feel slighted. I'm sure you are still profitable performing the job at a discount (because I know you know how to run a business). Just pick up from where you left off and recapture your money over the long haul. You're willingness to work with the customer will not be forgotten and I'm sure you will get them to resign.

What's not to love? Great job Neil. Too bad about having to apply that "film former" though ;-)

U2 was a whole expeience in itself. I remember the crowd singing Sunday Bloody Sunday for like ten minutes after the last encore.. the lights were on and the band was probably halfway to their hotel and they had to come back for one last tune. I know I can't have a complete day until I have my dose of The Pogues and S.C.O.T.S. (or getting liquored up and lacquered down)

One sidenote, Ron. Its wishful thinking at this point to think anyone will sign a contract with you for more than one cleaning let alone for five years. the turnover rates are too high in this business. Thats not to say you cannot retain customers if you do a good job but it took me a couple of years in business before a customer would even sign us for a year. Having no price increases may seem like a great motivator but the restaurant owner knows the idea of him hiring someone else is also a great motivator against price increases.

Ipe would be hands down the best choice for wooden decks, furniture and fences if only it wasn't such a PITA to keep sealed. Even with perfect prep, a pentrating sealer has 6 months before it kisses an ipe floor buh bye forever. Most times it looks really nice for maybe three months then begins its rapid decline. I am working on becoming a hardwood guru by absorbing as much knowlege as is possible. I would like to keep the option of this niche market open as a hardwood specialist. I am in discussion with a few chemists and am performing sealer longevity tests, ad nauseum. My current interest is in the area of using acetone for ipe prep. i am very interesting in hearing your thoughts and/or experience with this solvent or any techniques and products with which you have had success. Here is an excerpt from a discussion with a chemist to get things started... "being a chemist and having 4+ years of pulp and paper science under my belt just wanted to clarify the acetone will indeed dissolve not emulsify the natural wood resins which are lipophilic (fat loving) extractives composed mainly of fatty acids, resin acids, sterols, steryl esters and triglycerides. So most of the surface resins will be completely removed with your rag,towel, or mop and what remains on the surface (acetone and residual resin) will have the acetone evaporate well before you get back to that area to coat with TWP or the like....thus the resins will return to their initial solid or semi-solid state....I think I know what you were trying to say but a little off in the actual chemistry...The other thing that will happen is that if a copious amount of acetone is used the resins will be solublized and penetrate further into the wood....effectively allowing more exposed "raw" wood for the coating to bind to. Acetone WILL dry out the wood as it is miscible(mixes) with water and will allow water to evaporate (azeotrope) at a lower temperature...it is often used in wood preservation where the wood is soaked 3+ times in acetone to remove ALL water and then dipped in a acetone/rosin mix.....then the acetone evaporates and leaves a rosin caoting protecting the wood.... Acetone is also frequently used in the pulp and paper mills to extract these types of wood resins to improve the strength of the paper products we use... so I don't think it matters about sealing immediately after acetone wash....but it may help to do the acetone rinse last to help with the drying process you require after the RAD treatment (1-2 day of warm/hot weather to get back to 12%?? moisture)...the acetones removal of water will be immediate and may speed the drying process as well as removing any residual oxalic acid"

Caveat Emptor

Thanks Thad, but I can't take credit for the design. It came from my certification course (Ackland)

Is this a subjective feeling or did you actually put a pressure guage in-line with the right nozzle and test it? It could also be something as simple as worn nozzles. Get a new nozle on there that will give you your rated psi, plumb in your pressure guage and se if you get what you are supposed to be getting. If not, you may need to rebuild your pump.

Here is a picture of the proposal form/contract we used to use. I have a snapshot of the follow-up report we woulkd give the customer as well I just can't find it. Later on I will dig it out for you. If I can locate the forms in .pdf files I will email them to you.

No sweat Jon Fife. Its a trivial post anyway.

I don't like appplying WTW to saturated wood. Thats just me. I prefer to schedule to strip two decks one day and then go back and seal them the next day. This is just my opinion but it is too hard to predict how the wood will look when its overly wet. The product dives in much deeper than it normally does. You can get 12 boards out from the house and see the first three start to fade and then you have to start going backwards and walking over what you just completed. Perfect for me has ben moisture content between 15-25%

This is more for the guys with multiple crews that have cold winters. I know I can keep two guys busy all winter with alternate work. I don't really want to grow a huge interior painting business though so eventually I am going to have to lay guys off over the winter. My question is this.. what will happen to my rates if I let guys go over the winter and they collect UEC?

We may as well take this thread off post. Best concerts you've ever been to? Mine are: 1976: I was eight and my uncle took me to see Kiss (I remember the drumset was a big cannon) 1976: Deep Purple: Seeing Ritchie Blackmore was akin to seeing God 1982: Metallica/ Wasp/ Armored Saint (Venue was small and I don't remember if Metallica even headlined or not) 1985: Twisted Sister/ DIO: There is a video of this and you can see me with long hair and holding a huge banner..also during "The Last In Line" where Ronnie sings.. we are cominnnnnngg... hoooome There is a knucklehead that whistles incredibly long and loud. That was me. 1986: Motley Crue: Tommy had the rotating drum cage.. incredible There are tons more I have seen everyone from Yes to Jethro Tull to the Who to Megadeath. I love music. I haven't been to a concert in years. I can't believe how much tickets are. I remember getting third row U2 tickets for $20.

That would be great, John. Nothing better than real world results. One more control factor you didn't mention. Are you cleaning the wood with EFC-38 or HD-80 and are you pH balancing afterwards?

My testosterone just went up fifty points just looking at those rigs. damn.

If its painted you may want to oil prime then topcoat with latex solid. There are products that will remove the paint but it is laborious and the strippers are expensive ($40 gallon to cover 85 s/f). If you have an industrial stength airless (to apply stripper) and a few days and don't mind doing a bunch of sanding it can be brought back to life and treated with a semi trans sealer.

I never knew this but was informed recently that each color of Dawn has different levels of cleaning and possible toxicity. Is this true? It seems far fetched as I would think P&G (or whomever makes Dawn) would want uniformity for quality control.

Unfortunately, Mike is probably right. I don't know what youre rig is or what you are offering but the market on used equipment is driven on price.

John, I am curious as to whole long you let the WT cure before you were able to scrape it off.