Curb Appeal

I think you'll like it. BUT, if you have lots of layers like I did, you may want to try Prosoco's Peel Away. It goes on like a paste and you cover it with a sheet of their special paper that comes with it. Let it sit overnight and peel the paper off. The paint comes away with it. The only downside is that it is about twice as expensive (about $250/5'er) and the coverage is much, much less (20sq.ft. per gal +-). But it works better when you have lots of layers... Sherwin Williams also sells a product that works the same way called Peel-Away. I haven't used it so I can't comment on it. Stripper Cream is good for up to about 3 or 4 layers even though their website says "multiple layers". I spent over 3 months scraping this house. The Stripper Cream made it a LOT easier but not as easy as the website or their customer service made it out to be. They told me that I should be able to scrape it off with just a plastic putty knife. Yea, right. I used a tungsten carbide scraper and went through about $200 worth of blades. Another plus for Stripper Cream: it can be used as a grafitti remover when diluted with water and it's cheaper than Taginator. Have fun...

I had no trouble at all using the Stripper Cream with Latex. The house I did was over 100 years old and had about 7-10 layers of paint on it of all types. Oil, latex and even some lead based paint. Sometimes I had to apply the stripper a couple of times to eat through all of the paint but it all came off. The foundation only had 1 coat of latex and 1 coat of primer. It came off no problem, with pressure... Daniel, The stripper cream cost $112 per 5 gallon bucket. You're coverage will vary but you should get 100 sq. ft. per gallon out of it. One tip, don't skimp and put it on too thin. Put it on there as heavy as you can and let it sit for as long as you can. It won't dry out. The NMD-80 ran $50 or so per 5'er. It goes a long way though. I neutralized the whole house (2500 actual sq. ft.) with about 3 gal of concetrate...

I just got finished stripping the paint off of an entire house, wood siding. I used Stripper Cream from EacoChem. It's a mix of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide. Assuming it's only one layer of latex paint, just roll the stripper cream on, let it sit a day or two, and pressure wash it off. No scraping involved at all and it will remove ALL of the paint, not just the loose stuff. Then neutralize with NMD-80, also from EacoChem. NMD-80 is hydrochloric acid. I diluted mine 4:1 water to acid, but that was on wood. You may have to dilute more when putting it on cinder block to keep it from eating through the masonry. I suppose any acid will work to neutralize. Watch out for that stripper though, it's very hard on the skin. I have a couple of new battle scars now...:)

I've only used an X-jet M5 til now. Filling and lugging 5gal totes is getting old. I'd like to try downstreaming and I bought one a few months ago. 20% adjustable The problem is, I bought it before I upgraded my 4gpm pump to my new 5.6gpm pump. So the one I have is the 2.1mm 3-5gpm model. What effect will the small orifice size have on my higher flow pump? Can I use it and compensate with stronger/weaker chems or do I need to just get the bigger one? Thanks all...

I just went through the process of plumbing a new tank. I have a gear drive TS2021 pump... Here it goes from the tank: 2" outlet from tank reduced to 1/2" fpt (I got mine from a local PVC pipe sullpy house. I used a couple of different pieces) 1/2" mpt x 3/4" hose barb 15' of 3/4" ID polybraid hose to pump another 1/2" mpt x 3/4" hose barb into a clear bowl inlet filter into a 1/2" hex nipple into a 1/2" 90 deg street elbow into a 1/2" female x GHT male coupler into the pump. Does that make sense? My tank is in the bed of my truck 'cause there's no room on my tiny trailer. Here's some pics that may help... Sorry didn't see the double post. My pics are in the first one here http://forums.thegrimescene.com/showthread.php?t=8720

I just went through the process of plumbing a new tank. Here it goes from the tank: 2" outlet from tank reduced to 1/2" fpt (I got mine from a local PVC pipe sullpy house. I used a couple of different pieces) 1/2" mpt x 3/4" hose barb 15' of 3/4" ID polybraid hose to pump another 1/2" mpt x 3/4" hose barb into a clear bowl inlet filter into a 1/2" hex nipple into a 1/2" 90 deg street elbow into a 1/2" female x GHT male coupler into the pump. Does that make sense? One thing to make sure of though is if your pump is direct drive, the water tank outlet has to be higher than the pump inlet so that gravity and the pressure of the water will help force-feed water to the pump. If it's belt or gear driven (like mine), it will suck water from the tank on it's own. My tank is in the bed of my truck 'cause there's no room on my tiny trailer. Here's some pics that may help...

Not to be nit-picky but Bob's site recommends 2 8oz scoops per 5gal for downstreaming. Didn't want to confuse anybody. Do use 1 scoop or was it a typo? I mixed my first batch of Simple Cherry too strong. For using an X-jet, I mixed 2.5gal water - 2.5gal 12.5% - 10oz (by weight) SC. It left a noticeable film on all of the windows. I had to re-rinse all of them. I was supposed to mix 10oz by volume, not weight. Live & learn...

Yeah, I'll test it in the real world instead of trying to work it out on paper. Then I'll know for sure. I'm using Bob's Simple Cherry. Thanks...

OK searched again and happened upon this thread http://forums.thegrimescene.com/showthread.php?t=6618&highlight=downstreaming+math So that answers my ? about the smaller orifice size. I'd like to know the math a bit better though. Mine is a 20% injector. That's 4:1 right? So my 50/50 mix of 12.5% and water (6% chlorine solution) at 4:1 makes it 1.2% chlorine TTW? Do I have that right? What part of the math would the smaller orifice have an effect on? The 20% draw rate?

Wayne, I'm in Murfreesboro, TN. I get my chems including TSP and 12.5% from Univar. I pay $1.30 for chlorine in a 53gal drum ($40 refundable deposit). I pick it up here in Murfreesboro. I believe they have a place in Nashville but I'm not sure if it's warehouses or offices. I think they also deliver. Their number is 1-800-233-0633. Also, Harcros Chemicals (615-256-8636) in Nashville carries 12.5%. The last time I checked it was $99 for a 55gal drum. Not sure about deposit or if they deliver. I like Univar. Dean in Murfreesboro is very nice and I got a great deal on a couple of 300gal totes from one of their emplyees. Plus any chemical I've ever asked about, they could get and get cheaper than anyone else. TSP and Oxalic acid are both $30 per 50lb bag through them. Feel free to call me anytime... Hope that helps...

I've recently been using Prosoco's Oils & Grease Stain Remover. Poduct Detail I first tried it out on my parent's garage floor. smooth concrete with 8 year-old motor oil stains. This stuff pulled out about 95% of the oil out on the first application and 99% out on the second. Great stuff. The only drawback is that you have to let it dry overnight. So far, my customers have been very excited. I'm sold...

Thanks for the tip! I'm assuming that I should have the correct size nozzle in the gun. In my case, a #7.

Hey all, My General EZ4040 has water leaking into the crankcase and needs to be rebuilt. Yesterday, I had a very small job and went to start her up and the fitting on the outlet side of the unloader cracked. It's a specialized fitting and has to come from General. So, I've decided to get a new pump and unloader and fix these old ones at my leisure to have as backups. I narrowed the field to 2 choices. Both are package deals that are plumbed with unloaders and are ready to bolt on and go: http://www.higherpowersupplies.com/page/HPS/PROD/PW-WA-PM-HP-PMR/PP-6710 and http://www.pwmall.com/detail.aspx?ID=3130 The one from pwmall is the same unloader that I have now and both have the EZ4040 pump (4gpm/4000psi). Pwmall also carries the EZ3045 pump (4.6gpm/3000psi) - http://www.pwmall.com/detail.aspx?ID=1141 I called and they said that they can swap the EZ4040 in the package deal with the EZ3045 if I want. My question is this: Would the extra .6gpm be worth giving up the 1000psi? The prices are about the same, but the unloaders are different and the one from higherpower also comes with an easy start valve and a pressure relief valve. Any comments on which one to choose? Thanks all for the wealth of info here at The Grime Scene. I've spent almost all weekend reading posts on unloaders and rebuilding pumps. My eyes are tired...

Oh and something else: I noticed today that my unloader stopped going into bypass a few times. I'd let go of the trigger and the engine load did not let up. I've read that the unloader needs to be adjusted to compensate for the reduced HP but I'm not entirely sure as to what exactly needs to be done. When I got everything hooked up, I put the pressure guage on it and dialed the unloader out until the guage read about 2400psi with the gun trigger off. Is this correct? Is there something that I'm not doing? Or did I possibly get a bad unloader? It's kinda scary when you let go of the trigger and the engine doesn't ease up. I kept waiting for a fitting to blow...

I was thinking my next engine would be a 20hp. 15hp would get me 2900psi. 18hp would get me 3500psi. Hmmmmmmmm... I'll have to think about that one. That is a very good price.

how indeed... Now I want to try out 8gpm... :lgbounces

Hello all, I got my TS2021 and gearbox on Fri. I put everything together and plumbed my tank Fri. night and went to wash a 3 building condo complex Sat. 600 lineal ft, 2-story, with gutters - 7 hrs $2000 Paid for my upgrades... Oh, and Gutter Grenade ROCKS! - Thanks Bob.

Thanks Ken. I was thinking about it earlier, this was my first housewash. I've done flatwork, roofs, brick restoration, paint stripping and graffiti removal but no vinyl houses. I think they turned out pretty well and I could not have done it without all of the help I've received from this forum. My thanks to all of those who have answered my questions, both the ones that I have posted and the ones that I didn't have to post because I found it buried in this treasure trove of knowledge called The GrimeScene... Cheers

First, as Bob suggested, I put 8oz in with my housewash (2.5G love, 2.5G H2O, 10oz Simple Cherry) and x-jetted everything. The streaks didn't come off so I brushed it on, wait 20 sec. and rinsed them. Melted right off. Mix was 20:1. I used about 1 gal of my mix for all of the gutters.

PSI - I keep the unloader dialed at around 2500. GPM - Nothing exact. The hose bibs on the condos couldn't keep up though... I put 75-90W Mobil1 synthetic gear oil in it. Is that correct? Thanks,

And here's my lovely helper...

Couple more pics...

Got the pump and gearbox, slapped it on my 13 horse and it works like a charm. Cleaned 3 condo buildings this weekend. 600 lineal feet, 2-story with gutters. 7 hrs with a helper. I'm sold...

All I can say is WOW! I put everything together and had it up and running in no time. The difference is amazing. I cleaned 3 condo buildings in 8 hours this weekend and I flew through them. The gearbox runs smooth as silk. I put 75-90w mobil 1 synthetic gear oil in it. Is that correct?

I have a gearbox and TS2021 to mate to my 13hp honda on the way now. Should be here Fri. We'll see. I'm extremely excited about going from 3.8gpm to 5.6gpm.