test kits

[Custom cleaning service 14]

How many use a test kit with stripper and brightner when doing estimates? Do you find them to be a good selling tool,and what do u carry in them?May be a silly question but thought I'd ask.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Try to have various things available....Can be a mistake pulling it out on every job though. Only pull it out when it looks real hairy of a situation or it is obvious that customer doubts the result you speak of otherwise a few things can happen.

1. It may not work due to mix ratios or dwell time or improper selection.

2. It could look too easy to customer and theycould start to wonder why they got you there in first place.

3. And it can make you look like you've never handled such conditions on a surface before hence they will loose trust in your abilities.

[PressurePros 248]

I think a new guy should test EVERY deck. I still test about 30% of them. Wana lose your shirt on a job, bid removing a semi-trans oil to find out is Behr with silicone. Now THAT makes you look incompetant.

I carry a couple of spray bottle with varying strength strippers. I don't want to get a call, "Ken, man we can't get this stain off this deck, we're not gonna be able to get to these other jobs today". I'd rather spend the extra five minutes on the estimate. After awhile you start recognizing products by the color of the pigmentation and you don't have to test as often. Ask any woodie if they have ever ben burnt not doing a test.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yea woodies get stuck with all the problem situations created by well intentioned DIY home owners.... better do as Ken says and do the testing Bill. Write your tele number with the stripper and they are sure to take your bid..haha j/k :)

Think I'll plan on a wood specific test kit consisting of ingredients to make percarb modified 'apple sauce' on the spot, oven cleaner, boosted hydroxide, jasco in a small metal can, lacquer thinner, oxalic acid, paint brush, 3m scrub pad, scraper, rags, gloves!, maybe some plastic sheet to cover dwell.

A wipe with the 3m be about equal to mid pressure rinse with pressure washer?

I'm all ears for what others carry also...

[Greg R 82]

Chris and I both just carry a can of Easy Off oven cleaner in our trucks when we go to do bids. If there's any doubt as to whether its oil or acrylic the easy off will tell you. It's all you need really. If it's a strip job it's bid as a strip job regardless of difficulty. We have a price for an oil based strip and another for the two tone strip.

With the easy off just spray it on a small area and within minutes you'll be able to wipe away the stain if it's an oil.

Greg

[bigchaz 157]

For those of you with spray bottle, how long would stripper last in there? Figure if i mix a super strong mix, medium, and just a light cleaner in some quart spray bottles it should last a month or so. Will the product still work after being mixed that long?

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Charlie,

Percarb weekens in something like a half day to day.. Not sure on other stuff which would be considered strippers...

Greg,

Concerning the oven cleaner for testing between oils and acrylics...Most existing acrylic finishes that would have been used on exterior wood by a professional or even happy home owner would have been higher solid content formulas with strong durability qualities compared to interior products whether they were oil or waterbase. I agree to some point that the oven cleaner (hydroxide)won't generally attack the finish hard enough to leave any confusion about whether it was oil or acrylic but do you ever run across situations where the oven cleaner did eat the acrylic with longer dwell of over a few minutes? I use the oven cleaner for testing interior waterbased acrylics all the time and use the results to decide my stripper strengths or even sometimes to remove edge buildup on floors. There is surely a measurable difference between the interior and exterior acrylics cause of the solids and oil based solvent aspect. ....wondering anyone ever runs across the middle of the road interior acrylics used on decking.

I think this topic begs the question what Greg or Chris actually use to strip the acrylics with.. .boosted hydroxide perhaps??

[Deck Guy 14]

For those of you with spray bottle, how long would stripper last in there? Figure if i mix a super strong mix, medium, and just a light cleaner in some quart spray bottles it should last a month or so. Will the product still work after being mixed that long?

My problem is that the pump/trigger get eaten up by the stripper. I bought a "chemical resistant" spray bottle last year, and the second time I tried to use it, it leaked a nice SH mix all over my hands. On the other hand (or on this one), I can testify that SH stripper will retain it's strength for quite some time!

Go the easy-off route.