Thanks @mikehallyall this clears it up for me
So for the new guys like me who have never worked with concrete, how do you avoid this? Obviously only wash it if itâs 2 years or older but as discussed earlier in this thread all concrete with this type of picture frame finish is susceptible to this happening. If you turn down all work with this type of finish Iâm sure your going to be leaving a lot of money on the table. So besides washing only 2 years and older concrete, making sure your pressure is around 2000 psi max what else can you do to prevent damages like this?
If I can scratch the surface of the broom finished concrete with my fingernail then I donât put my SC on it.
Do you do anything like use chemicals or do you just walk away
If there is any question about weather or not to do a job always error on walk away. My opinion only.
Agreed but how do you know? What can / should you look for? You go to a job they say the concrete is 5 years old everything looks ok and than damage happens because the cream layer was soft bc of the picture frame finish, or just poor quality or poor workmanship. What can you look for to protect your self ?
Learn to spot new concrete visually.
Ask the owner when it was poured. They might now know but might say âIâve lived here for x yearsâ.
Buy tips to lower your pressure if youâre super concerned.
Use a chemical wash only 3-4%.
You donât know. Time teaches you whatâs new and whatâs old and what cleaning method is used the more you do it. Some things you canât learn on a forum.
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Why wouldnât we have a waiver for this then? Iâve read elsewhere on here that sc removes some concrete everytime its done, so is that true? If so, it only makes sense to have a waiver as someone isnât going be happy when the aggregate inevitably shows.
Just like avoiding anything else: do a small area thatâs as far from traffic as possible and show it to the customer to get his or her assessment and or approval. ALSO, when a member of my crew recently marked up newish concrete with a Hammerhead, I explain to the customer that it will disappear within the next 6 months as the rain becomes the great equalizer. Next, I adjusted the tips on the SC and increased the second set of numbers by five (in this case from 25040 to 25045). Finally, I admonished that fine fellow for not keeping his focus on the concrete and his eye on the result. He should have noticed the effect before our customer did.
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You told a customer rain would even out etched concrete within 6 months?
Maybe not quite in 6 months, but it will. THAT, and the reemergence of the dirt and algae that evens out even the worst etching over time. An example: have you ever seen the concrete beneath the roofline where gutters are absent?
I guess it depends on how bad the etching is. I just canât imagine trying to explain rain will even etching out.
It was only noticeable on the sharp turns, and he would never had seen the etchings had that sharp turn occurred anywhere else besides where he parked.
How old was this concrete. You said newish.
Things that never change:
Government incompetency.
Old school Toyota reliability.
Bad advice on forums.
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@NateMiller_ga Have you been drinking? After reading all your posts still donât have a clue what youâre asking. Also, your pressure doesnât drop from 3000 to 1500 because youâre using a 2 nozzle surface cleaner.
@MuscleMyHustle - Amen
Well⌠mike had no problem âfiguringâ it out, and once I clear up one thing for Musclemyhustle he too understood so maybe the problem is you, racer. The tips set the pressure not the machine, if you split flow, you split your gpm
You said it, not me
I guess you can chalk that upto fake news, i red that on this forum and assumed it true.
