Do I need an X-Jet to remove these?

dieseldad97

dieseldad97

New member
I'm needing a better way to remove these stripes from this stucco. I tried a test spot a few months back downnstreaming but my house wash is too weak. I will buy whatever contraption needed to get the job done.
What i've read is the x-jet may be what I'm looking for. Can anyone give me some good solid advise with this? Should I buy a dedicated pump maybe? I'm confused with what I would need to buy. :scratchhead: Thanks alot.
 

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Hard to tell from the pictures but you may want to take a real close look at that wall and see if the paint is failing in those areas. If it is just dirt/mold you should be able to downstream and get it off. Check your mix strength, be sure you have the right orifice on the downstreamer and not over 150' of hose on it. You can put on a stronger mix with an x-jet but if that is latex paint too strong a mix can damage it and it already looks like it is in bad shape.
 
Thanks for the ideas fella's. Kevin, that stuff seems really expensive, I'll have to see about that.

Doug, The building has never been cleaned and it's 35 ish years old so you are right it may just be in to bad of shape. I do want to see if I can meet the challenge though. D/S did really nothing, so I hope to buy an xjet for my next attempt.

Rick, that's a great idea trying a pumpup but even if I don't get this job I have more jobs with this sort of staining that I can probably get. I really want to buy a good system that I can simply load the wall with a high % of mix when I need to. Would the xjet do what I'm looking for I wonder?
 
I just gave a bid on a similar building. After inspecting it the owner and I sat and discussed options. His best option ended up being a re-paint on the building. We may be the ones doing the paint prep. Haven't heard back yet. If we end up being the ones who Pressure Wash it for Paint prepping I will post pics.

Unfortunately there comes a point where no amount of Pressure washing will change whats left under the stains. We use Pressure Washing Wands, Not Magic wands.
 
Are you sure that is stucco? From the pictures its pretty rough. Is it painted?

That looks real porous which can make old stains like that tough to get out. Some of thse stain may only be able to be reduced. If its painted theres always the chance they painted over mildew in the past and you will never get all the stains out.

I would try a strong mix and let dwell and hit it a couple times with the strong mix of SG. I have had some luck with Xjetting and soft brushing Simple Green on tough stain and went strong with the Simple Green.

There are other products better than Simple Green that may work, but need to know if it is stucco and is it painted? Is it true stucco or is it synthetic type, like a dryvit/efis? Is it hollow sounding if you tap on it or real solid ?

Xjetting you can get a stronger mix on it

I agree with Larry too.
 
Great discussion guys. Thanks.

The test was done using 12.5% SH and SC mixed, but it was a cool day. I hit an area of the wall a few times D/S and when I rinsed, it all suds'ed up and looked a bit better but after it dried a few days later it looked like nothing really happened.

Larry, the discussion was also maybe doing a wash prep and painting the building so please let me know how yours turns out when you do it.

As for knowing if it is stucco, I thought it was Jeff...and was told it was...but have no idea if it was painted when applied years ago.

So J.C your happy with your M5? Maybe thats what I should order then.
 
You still need a test first. There's hasn't been real stucco used for many years where you have freezing. People refer to Stow, Drivit etc as stucco it's all EFIS not stucco. It can take mixes as strong as roof mix to clean 60/40 or 50/50 like Clear Shine said. If this is the case then even without ever owning a Xjet I know it will not mix at that strength or we'd all be using them for roof cleaning. We always test even different buildings on the same property. Some may be older than others. No surprises is what I shoot for.
 
Down here when the temps are below 50 degrees the SH does not work as good so up there where you are it might not be working that great either.

You need to do some test spots with a pump up or trigger sprayer to see what % will work if at all.

A lot of times with stucco or dryvit the stains can become permanent.

Before bidding and talking to them, do tests and see if any of it will come out, no sense in buying equipment or pumps if you don't know if the stain will even come out.

I have tried on some concrete, stucco and dryvit where the stain was permanent and would not come out, even with straight SH and soap.
 
Hey Gerald:)

Is this the building that you tested or demo'd last fall? I only ask as that would maybe indicate the weather a little.

If it is like many of the stucco buildings that we have come across in the city, you will find that it is a combination of erosion and dirt/mildew/pollutants causing the staining. We have had some success with these surfaces using our roof pump to apply the surfactants.
When I say that we have had some success, it is simply that we have had improvements but not complete removal of the streaks. We are very up front about this.

IMHO the thought process on why they should still go ahead if they are not interested in painting would be removing the dirt/mold/pollutants before they erode more of the finish from the stucco. A maintenance rather than a restoration.

Good luck!
 
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