Aplus

Very nice indeed! Those upper levels always add a degree of complications.

One disadvantage to a van is fumes/odors can seep into passenger area, and another is that they can be noisy, and you hear things moving around and getting annoying. A buddy of mine is a plumber, and after he switched to a van, he hated it, because after he built shelves and all, the loose pipes, fittings, nipples, etc, rattled around and drove him crazy. Needless to say, he went back to a pickup with a cap.

The one on the left is a genuine xjet. The one on the right is an imitator.

Robert, In typical situations, HD-80 works about 90% of the time mixed at 4oz/gal. To get the same results using F-18, I had to mix upwards of 8oz/gal. That makes F-18 more expensive to use than HD-80 for typical jobs. F-18 would shine in cases that required a really hot mix. I'm not going to debate the use of the Boost product. Russ can elaborate himself if he chooses.

I do alot of two tone decks. There are no hard and fast rules, it is whatever you and/or your customer decide upon. Generally I do the entire railing assembly solid, and the floor semi. I find it best to do the solid staining first, because you need to be able to get around on the deck while working on the railings, and if you stain the floor first, then how are you going to do that, unless you come back the next day? Everybody has there own preferences, so think about all your options, and reasons for doing it a certain way, and proceed. The more you do, the easier they get. Here is a picture of the railing as I described.

Doing rough math, I find the approximate raw cost of HD-80 to be about .31/oz. Given that HD-80 will remove 90% of the stains I encounter mixed at half strength, or 4oz per gallon of water, you're looking at 1.24 per gallon of mix. That is a fair price to me, when all I have to do is place a phone call, get my products in about 4 days, and grab a pail, ready to use. TimberStrip Pro is slightly less expensive per oz, and F-18 is significantly more expensive per oz as compared to HD-80. As Rod stated, I'm a wood restoration guy, and my time is best spent doing what I do best, which is not mixing chemicals in my garage. It's really no different than hiring an accountant to handle your taxes. Sure you could save a few hundred bucks doing them yourself, but then again, why not leave it to the experts and concentrate on what we do best? That's just my .02

I've been getting certain chems from the chemistry store for years. In fact, last year I visited them in south Florida. Yes, the citric acid in 50# bags works every bit as good as the premixed stuff sold for three times the price. I go the dollar store, buy generic ziploc bags, and measure into 2# pouches that are ready to mix. As far as mixing caustics goes, the most important thing, as Beth stated, is to know what you're doing and not jump into something uneducated. That stuff is very powerful and has the potential to cause great bodily harm.

That pool cover probably would not stop the liquid runoff from getting into the pool. I would create a berm to direct the runoff away from the pool. When I feel runoff is going to get into a pool, I advise the homeowner to keep the filter running, keep an eye on ph levels and adjust accordingly, and if needed add a floccing (sp?) agent which bonds to the debris, sinks to the bottom of the pool, and can be vaccuumed up. These methods have always worked fine for me. Regarding your first use of HD-80, this is probably not the best project to learn about a new product for you. But, if you're going to do it, start out with the HD-80 at half strength or less, and see if that works for you. Don't forget the neutralizing step afterwards.

Well I think I may have said this before, but based on observations made on this bbs, it still appears that geographic locations play a large factor in product results. Prior to any involvement with these type of bbs, (actually there were none) I would have never considered that different results could be obtained in different locations. Being in the Detroit area, I have been blessed with an outstanding municipal water system, consistantly rated very high compared to others in the nation. In comparison, water in some southern states I've been in is so crappy, that when showering, it feels like I can't get completely rinsed off. There has to be a link to water conditions relating to chemical performance. So from here on out, when I speak of experiences and results I have had, it relates to what I experience in Detroit, and not necessasarily what others may experience.

No water is safe....except maybe your bathtub. <jaws sound effects playing in background>

Alan, You should give Mark a call, I'll bet he can help you.

If it does all come off, why would you want to apply a solid color, even if it is oil? Did you mean semi-trans oil based? Latex can be applied over oil stains, but oil stains cannot be applied over latex...OK?

Looks great! But I know those are a pain in the.....you know where! How did you apply the finish?

At 30oz per gallon, that's a cost of nearly $10/gallon, or $50 per five gallon pail. That's a lot of dough. Have you used HD-80 with or without Boost? I have, many, many pails of HD-80, and 5 gallons of Boost, in fact. So far I have only used F-18 on five decks, but initial findings have shown that mixed at the same ratio as HD-80, required dwell time is nearly double. For typical day to day usage, why would I want to double my dwell time, and pay people to stand around? If I were to double the strength of the F-18, then I would be paying twice as much for products, and why would I want to do that. On delicate jobs or exotic woods, F-18 may be a great choice because it is milder than HD-80, and perhaps could cause less furring of the wood. I am prepared to back up everything I report with personally gathered facts, plenty of pictures, and even receipts showing exactly how much product I purchase, which is a lot. Performance of many products can be affected by differing water conditions, air temperatures, wood species, and other factors. What works in one region of the country may not work the same someplace else. Given these facts, it is a bold statement to say a person has a 90% better chance using one product over another.

The best way to remove the ivy from the brick is to first chop off the vines at the ground, and see what you can pull off the brick, which won't be much. Let the vines dry on the brick for a few weeks, until they are brittle. Then hit em' with about 1000psi, if that won't do it, no sense in cranking up the pressure and risk damaging the mortar. Try prespraying with your housewash mix to soften up the dried vines a bit, and try washing again. Some I've had success removing, and others, not. I think it depends on the type of brick and how long the vines were growing. Here's a pic of one that removed sucessfully.

Ken, I have used both HD-80 and F18, and can tell you for a fact, that both have very similar strip characteristics. The F-18 seems to be a little easier on people, it doesn't seem to burn the skin as much, which can be a plus. I get very tired of hearing to use F-18 and be done with it. Both are excellent products, but are not perfect for all situations. If the Cabots you spoke of is the opaque variety, it will take a little more work to effectively remove it. If you got 98% off, that's not too bad. One thing I like about the Boost is that dwell times can be reduced, and you don't have to stand around as long applying more chems to keep the wood wet. However, Boost added to HD-80 will still cause fuzzing and likely require sanding for a perfect finish. There are a lot of fine products available, and it certainly does not hurt to have multiple products on hand for varying circumstances as they arise. That's what being a professional is about. Good Luck with the sanding, and post pix for us all to see.

I use portables on all residential work. Just works better for me. FWIW..... I always keep extra equipment as spares, the resale of used equipment is often so poor it's not worth selling.

Only one of my machines has the device and it seems to work as advertised.

The lesson to be learned and taken here is that a professional should never use a customers property to learn how to use an unfamiliar product. Hopefully all will work out with the suggestions you receive. Good luck and let us know how it turned out.

Like I said before, install an easy start valve. My pressure washer supply catalog describes it's ability to eliminate back pressure when pulling a manual start gas engine. But what do I know, I'm only a power washer......:)

How goes it on the east side?

2-3 hours may have been long enough provided the rain wasn't too hard. It's easy to tell if there was a problem because you'll see "water spots" on the horizontal surfaces. If there are such spots, and they are not real bad, it may be possible to blend them in by wiping the deck with mineral spirits, or performing a very light sanding, then applying a light coat on top. It would be maybe 50-50 that will work, but it's worth a try, since stripping new stain can sometimes be difficult. Weather can and will get most of us sooner or later, it's just part of doing business. Ready Seal stain supposed can be rained on 30 minutes after application with no ill effects, but I wouldn't want to bet the farm that everything will be allright. Good Luck.

The bad thing about Ready Seal is you'll likely need two coats, especially since that siding is probably as dry as a popcorn fart. I can't tell what type of business it is, but for a good period of time, you'll probably have to cover up the entrances with plastic long enough to apply two coats of stain. Plus don't forget that during the stripping process, you will want to keep the parking area clear, and be responsible for where the runoff goes. You wouldn't want sodium hydroxide laced runoff puddling around where customers could step in it, or have the runoff go to the storm drains.

Just pull the trigger once to let the pressure out of the line before pull starting. There is also an easy-start valve that can be bought and installed on the unloader to release the pressure to make starting easier.

Great Job!