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FLORIN

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Posts posted by FLORIN

  1. Posted · Report reply

    I'm getting a Graco brand professional airless paint sprayer from a painter. It has seen quite a bit of use and has quite a bit of overspray on it and buid up of paints on the pickup tube and sprayer gun. I would like to clean it up really good before using it for my deck staining.What chemicals and process should I use to clean it up. would like to get the outside looking perty but my main concern is the pickup tubes. tthe sprayer. and the inside of the lines and so to not contaminate the stain. What should I use and how not to damage machine.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    I have a fence clean/strip that I am doing that I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. My shipment of oxalic is late and will not reach me in time to neutralizze after stripping. Is there an issue with applying the oxalic the day after or it has to be just after the strip?

    Normally I apply right after, and of course its not cost affective to have to go back to job to neutralize but would not like to have to call the customer and reschedule and would not like to waste time that could have been used for stripping.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Bid it for $5200.00 plus being on contract for at least the first maintanance. Even though after all my educating on why he needs it restored and why paint is bad for his deck he said he needs to think about it. Most likely will end up going with a painter that will repaint it for 500.00. If maybe I was a better closer maybe i would have gotten it. Ahh, no lost sleep here. Im not writing him off though, ive had customers come to me when i thought there was no way i was going to get the job. Wont play the chasing a price game with them to get the job.

    Thanks for the info all

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Hello Thomas.Here is my pricing advice.... You have to figure it on your own.Sorry, don't mean to sound like a ***** but each company here is different. For starters demographics plays a lot into the bid. Even though we service the same state, region by region is different. Also every company is different on what they need to make on a job to survive. A company that has very little expenses or has the experience and machinery to do it a lot faster is able to price it lower and then if you base your price on their suggestion you will be in trouble.My suggestion is this... Figure out how much chems and gas you will need. Then figure out how much time realistically you think it will take you to do the job. Then price it to where it comes out profitable for YOUR business. I have gotten in trouble myself by going on another persons price range.Another piece of advice. I have found apartment complexes to be really cheap. I'm guessing the reason they wanted you to just spray it is because they don't want to pay. I have bid on quite a few apartment complexes and got very few that was willing to pay what I needed.Sorry I can't be much more help. Give me a buzz if you have any questions. GOOD LUCK.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    Keep in mind that it is not demographically specific. It is a range and depending upon your area your price may vary. Remember, Not all areas of the country are capable of paying top dollar.

    This pricing guide was very helpful to our company in the beginning.

    It gave us a reference and with a little research on our end, we found where others were pricing and did accordingly.

    Let's not make something out of nothing for the sake of balking. Take it for what it is, information.

    Rod!~

    DITTO. I used that guide a lot when first started out. Some pricing was in line on it and some were not. As the years went by I adjusted my pricing to where it fit my biz and my demographic. As for the 39.99 wash thing... hey I believe there is guys out there doing it for that price. Don't concern yourself so much with that guy. You are not in competition with him. ... I see so many threads about the "lowballers" and how it hurts the posters business and so on. I personally don't think it hurts mine. if anything the "lowballers" help my biz. I get countless jobs where someone hired one of these guys and after the job was done then realized the true worth and eventually call a company like mine either to fix the job or after a couple years they try to look them up and realize they are out of biz. And you know what? To some customers it is all that they want. Some guy to come out and squirt some water on the house and that's it. The don't care that its not really all that clean as it could be with another company.I love the Mercede and Hyundai analogy. If you are a Mercedes company you compete with BMW and Jaguar and not with Hyundai and Kia. Even though people out there find value in the lower end ... there is equal number of people that understand that quality, customer service on a higher level demands a higher price.Ok I'm done jabbering now.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    the customer is ok with a solid. When he called me he was exppecting me to just strip it and repaint it with the same stuff. The guy that did his deck 2 years ago sold him on that its better to apply an exterior paint rather than a wood stain. He can't get ahold of the "contractor" for some reason. Go figure.Ill give him the bid and explain the right way it should be done by using the correct line of strippers and stains. The sad part is though is he is probably gonna call a painter that will just tell him "sure we will repaint it for you" and then he is gonna be in the same predicament in two years. Gonna try. will see what happens.

  12. Posted · Report reply

    Went out to see this deck today. It is aprox 1500sf counting all the rails and posts and steps. It has badly peeling PAINT on it. Im thinking its a latex or acrylic or something. The chips are not briddle, its kinda rubbery.

    Can all of this junk come up with a strong strip or does it all need a hard sand to remove all so i could put a wood stain on it. He wanted me to just strip and repaint with same stuff but i got a feelin it will do the same thing in couple years. Or is there a paint that can be applied succesfully to a deck.

    Its a gorgeous home with a great view in a great neighborhood and am pretty sure customer wont be too cheap. But I am wondering if its just a lost cause and will be more headaches than its worth.

    How would you guys tackle tghis one?

  17. Posted · Report reply

    This is a deck ive been working on. It was in pretty bad shape. It had on it what im guessing is acrylic cause it came off in pieces like gooey skinny tape. i removed all surface sealant except for this spot i pic.

    my dilema is there is quite a bit of discoloration in the wood that to me still looks like stain but for the life of me will not come up. I've applied stripper on this deck three times and it wont budge a bit. Everytime i went hotter to the point i am getting really fuzzy.

    maybe you guys could shed light what im doing wrong. Im wanting to put on a transparent stain similar in color as wtw warm honey gold. maybe a little darker.

    First pics are the befores. second set are after strip and brighten

  19. Posted · Report reply

    what i use is an old lid off of a paint bucket. it has 3" screw cap towards one edge that i could screw back on when done and it still has chems in the bucket. when you take the cap off it has a thick rubber seal that was meant to be able to pull out and pour thru the 3" hole but i left it on and drilled a hole just smaller than the hose and i pushed it thru. it is really snug air tight. I had to cut some slits on the other end to release some air from the bucket so it dont squish the bucket. the hose actually stays in pretty good. ive even lowered the bucket off a roof by the hose with half a bucket full of chem and it held. Also if the bucket tips only a few drops ever spill.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Just be proactive. Dont just advertise in a few spots and sit home and wait for the phone to ring. Get out there and knock on doors if you have to. Offer a free house wash in a neighborhood that looks promising in terms of demographic criteria you are after. Have signs up while ur washing. Hang door hangers at all the neighbors when you are done. Offer a referral fee to any existing customers you do have to get you more biz.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    the ones that beat around the bush and be sneaky and i realize that they are just others trying to get in biz i usually throw them off. But had a couple that were honest right away and told me what they were doing and were trying to start a biz and need a general idea... those guys i helped. Told them average pricing that i do, tecvhniques and so on. Rather them be in the same price range as me and not screw up peoples homes... there is plenty of work out there.

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