Ready Seal - the good old days

[RPetry 564]

We have been using Ready Seal stains for ~ 95% of our jobs after the first year in business. And that was 12 years ago. It has been a terrific stain for both my business and customers. The stain is still close to a perfect product.

It has taken that long, but I do have a bone to pick. Forever, Ready Seal shipped in light but sturdy plastic 5 gal. buckets. These were perfect for contractors that use Decker or Deckster type HLVP sprayers. Cut a "cross" through the top with an exacto razor knife, stick in the two hoses, and pump away. Fast, no overspill, easy.

This year, Ready Seal changed over to that standard, metal, friggin' spend 5 minutes prying the tabbed top off buckets. You can't get your hoses into the spout, it is too small in diameter. And I'm not cutting metal on the job site, clogging my filters or pump with shavings, and risking hand cuts bending the "cross" back to get your hoses in! And if you are going to use these metal monstrosities on your spray rig, you can't move them until a few gallons of stain have been used.

Sure there is a simple solution. Keep a few of the old plastic buckets, pour the crappy metal bucket, but still terrific stain into them, and spray away. But that's time, labor cost, and carrying extra usable buckets on the truck.

I kind of understand why they changed to metal. Yeah, some, maybe 10 - 15% of the plastic buckets "sucked in" or partially collapsed over time. But the stain itself was always just fine and I never had a split or leaking bucket in all those years. And we usually have 40 or 50 gallons in stock over the winter season. And these days, maybe metal buckets are less costly than plastic.

Last year, Ready Seal changed all the names of their colors. OK, maybe "Light Oak" is more marketable than "Light Brown". Natural Cedar stayed the same and they couldn't come up with anything more sexy than "Clear" for no pigment. I'll live with it although I still get confused. But then again, I'm getting a bit long of tooth.

So, rest in peace you wonderful plastic buckets. You'll be sorely missed by contractors.

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[RPetry 564]

An additional note to Peirce if he's peeking here on TGS. Odd how writing a diatribe clears the mind.

Instead of "Clear", how about "Champagne". Has a bit of cache to it and the stain in the bucket kind of looks like drinkable bubbly. And Natural Cedar could actually be changed to "Real Cedar". Kind of goes along with TV reality show mentality. Retail customers might actually believe that their neglected P/T wood could actually look like WRC and believe it when done. Creative marketing obscures truth.

Pass it on to the new blood at corporate.

[seymore 90]

I can get you all the stain you need in plastic buckets all day long Rick! :o)

I bet those metal buckets weigh more for shipping?

BTW the reason buckets are sucking in now cause they have to be more bio degradable and it's the mineral spirits evaporating through the plastic from what I've heard.

P.S can't they give you a metal can with a spout to pour that's AC has for their metal cans..

Edited April 25, 2013 by seymore

[RPetry 564]

Shane,

A/C and now R/S appear to be the same design metal buckets. We can pour from the new R/S metal buckets fine. At least with R/S, you do not have to stir, just turn 'em over in the truck in the AM and a quick shake an' bake and spray or pour for detail work.

We can't get the HVLP Deckster 2 hoses/filter through either metal spout. Point is, we now have to transfer R/S from the crappy "new" metal buckets into a usable plastic bucket to use on productive HVLP sprayers.

Great point on the new "bio degradable" regulations for plastic. Another reason why R/S may have made the change.

Regardless, it just makes operations a bit more time consuming and harder. I'm moving down to Texas and buying a firearm. The last refuge in America before the Federal nanny state regulates us into wimpering drones.

[bigchaz 157]

I will say a benefit to the metal ones is you can reuse the lids, with the plastic buckets it seems like the bucket warps and the lid never snaps on tight enough. Can turn a previously opened metal bucket upside down or drop it off the truck (has happened) and stain doesn't leak.

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[RPetry 564]

I will say a benefit to the metal ones is you can reuse the lids, with the plastic buckets it seems like the bucket warps and the lid never snaps on tight enough. Can turn a previously opened metal bucket upside down or drop it off the truck (has happened) and stain doesn't leak.

Charlie,

You miss the point. Straight paraffin oil stains, such as R/S, maybe BGA and some flavors of TWP do not need the top of the 5 gal. buckets removed. That is because the stain does not have to be stirred to get heavier (I would assume) linseed oil and possible pigment/resin mixed back into the stain. Turn the 5'ers over in the morning, a quick shake at the job site, and you are good to go. Its a quality of R/S stain, no "paint like" stirring is needed.

The old, terrific plastic R/S buckets had sealed tops, had to saw 5 or 6 cuts through the plastic to get them off. But you don't have to get them off. Plastic or crappy metal buckets, doesn't matter. Same stain, same process, turn 'em over for a bit, shake three times, and go.

A lot of us use specialized stain HLVP sprayers. The "spout" entry in the old plastic R/S buckets or the "new" metal R/S buckets are the same small diameter, identical to A/C 5'ers. They are not big enough to get the "feed" hose with filter and "return" hose into the container.

Back in the good old days, like the last 12 years, we were able to make a quick exacto knife cross cut through the plastic top, get both HLVP hoses into the bucket, and spray away. We can't do that now with metal tops.

So much for progress.

[seymore 90]

If I have a color sitting for a while i'll have to shake/stir it. I just went through 140 gals in a few days on a fence and didn't have to stir much it was pretty freshly mixed.

You can't rig up another pick up tube on your deckster to fit in the spout on the metal cans?

[RPetry 564]

... You can't rig up another pick up tube on your deckster to fit in the spout on the metal cans?

Shane,

I wish! The inflow and return pump hoses are of small diameter and both could just fit through the bucket spouts. But the primary filter is installed on the end of the inflow hose and the filter diameter itself is larger than the spout.

[Greg R 82]

BGA has to be mixed. Always tons of pigment in the bottom that stays there unless you mix it. We started using paddle bits even to make sure its suspended well to insure good color retention over the 2 years.

Metal cans suck. That is what thing I do not care for with regard to AC. Totally understand the purpose but I'm a big fan of the plastic buckets too. BGA lids always snap back on tight and don't give us much of a problem at all. I only have issues with the buckets sucking in on opened containers with the BGA. RS had more of an issue with that for some reason.