Tough Second Job

tcolborg

tcolborg

New member
Well we are a few days into to our second job, an acrylic stain deck strip and it is killing me. This stuff is a nightmare to get off! I got about 85% of it off, but now we are going to sand the rest. Is this type of job one of the hardest a pressure washer will do? I now know why so many people on here avoid them, and I will from now on to.

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tcolborg said:
Well we are a few days into to our second job, an acrylic stain deck strip and it is killing me. This stuff is a nightmare to get off! I got about 85% of it off, but now we are going to sand the rest. Is this type of job one of the hardest a pressure washer will do? I now know why so many people on here avoid them, and I will from now on to.

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Sounds tough. Lesson learned. Where'd you get the vanity number? Nice!
 
Well if you ever run into Sikkins better do a test area it's also a very tough stain to remove.
 
Tristan, you will only run into more and more of these as the industry continues to evolve using these type of coatings. The focus has been on durability and not removal and maintenance. They may not be easy but if you charge accordingly you at least get paid for your work. The trick is in identifying these coatings when doing your estimate. I always ask if they have the old can, most do, or if they know what was used. Also, it is important to word your proposal correctly. I use terminology like, "not responsible for work previously performed." Then there are lines that get checked and a price added to original price like "This job may need a second stripping for an additional $____" and "This job may need sanding for an additional $____." This way you can cover all bases. You can either include these prices in your proposal if you know they need to be done or put in a separate amount to cover your butt. I have never had an issue doing this.
 
Everett Abrams said:
Tristan, you will only run into more and more of these as the industry continues to evolve using these type of coatings. The focus has been on durability and not removal and maintenance. They may not be easy but if you charge accordingly you at least get paid for your work. The trick is in identifying these coatings when doing your estimate. I always ask if they have the old can, most do, or if they know what was used. Also, it is important to word your proposal correctly. I use terminology like, "not responsible for work previously performed." Then there are lines that get checked and a price added to original price like "This job may need a second stripping for an additional $____" and "This job may need sanding for an additional $____." This way you can cover all bases. You can either include these prices in your proposal if you know they need to be done or put in a separate amount to cover your butt. I have never had an issue doing this.
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Exactly my approach except we just factor it into the quote and if it ends up flowing smoother than expected the profit margin is better. We strip a LOT of solids! Usually converting them over to a two tone scheme. I have 2 getting stripped today alone.
 
Greg, we do a lot of two tones as well. We are finishing one today, usually they involve more time than people think so pricing these out is the trick. Greg, when you do a two tone or use a solid do you do a first coat of primer? If you do have you noticed how thick the primers seem to be getting?
 
I use the primers on verticals if it has multiple coats that we can't get off easily or there are issues. We also use it when dollars are a factor for a customer that does not want to pay to strip it off of verticasl and just want s a light strip and we two coat the verticals in these cases using a tinted primer as a first coat and then the solid stain as the second coat. I try to not use a primer when I can just don't do it all the time. I have been using Cabot or Benjamin Moore. A SW store just opened up near me and I have used Deckscapes on two decks this year to see how it holds up. It seems to be more durable than the BM that I have tested in my shop prior to this year. I guess your happy with the Deckscapes?
 
For the solids yes. Most solids hold up pretty well on verticals anyway so we're usually just doing a recoat or change of color over them. We always strip down the rail caps and other flats to put into an oil finish whenever possible. On decks with light color solids (white.. ugh) I'll go into Cabot semi trans for the extra pigment is needed. We use a lot of SW Woodscapes as well on cedar home exteriors. That's been a great product to work with as well.
 
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