Just did two regular resi driveways, the concrete is 20 years old. I was using my surface cleaner 25025 tips with my 4 gpm 4000 psi cold water pressure pro machine. I DS my HW mix which was 1 gallon of 10% SH with 2 gallons of water and a scoop of simple cherry. Then used my whisper wash classic surface cleaner then re applied my HW mix to let dry.
Overall I think the driveways came out good but I am seeing faint striping on the edges of the surface cleaner, I am using little to no overlap when using the surface cleaner. I think its cleaning a little too aggressive and taking the top coat of the concrete off and that’s why I see the striping.
In this first pic you can see the stripes running up and down the driveway. A little faint but noticeable to me.
Also there are these very dark black lines around the cracks of the concrete that wouldn’t come off what should I do to remove these?
Should I change the tips in my surface cleaner to 2503’s or should I order some 40 degree tips with different orifice sizes.
And I am guessing that maybe my HW mix was not strong enough to get those darker sections from the cracks and also to clean the sprinkler run off in this pic on the far edge of the driveway.
Let me know what you guys think I really appreciate you guys taking a look
It looks good to me. The darker areas near the expansion joints could be old sealer or concrete that was trowelled more than the main area. No worries.
The job looks more than adequate to me. And I am guessing that most clients would say the same.
What you described, sounds like you are doing everything right. When in first started doing driveways, I got striping and was dumbfounded. You just got to get a few more under your belt. Maybe you’re not letting the solution dwell long enough. I overlap my classic about three inches.
Also if you were stripping the creme off the driveway you would see exposed aggregate and a whitish hazy water coming out the side of your SC. Then you would have a lot of sand build up while you are rinsing. And Tim is right on about the black stuff around the joints and cracks. That doesn’t come off.
It’s good that you are concerned about every little detail, but I learned that the problems you see, most of the time, it’s just you who see it! The customer is usually thrilled and won’t even know what you are talking about.
Usually you can erase those phantom stripes by doing just what you said you did, apply a mix after you are done and let it sit. There is a weird phenomenon that happens sometimes. Black stripes will appear on the driveway after it dries. Usually it is at the very end of the driveway. I have no idea what does it but it looks like the black stripes are further down in the surface and there is no way to fix it. This happened to me 4 or 5 times and usually it is on a very hot sunny day where the solution dries very fast.
I used the same size tips on my 4 gpm machine most of the time with no problem.
I absolutely know what you’re talking about. When I do certain driveways, I get the same. I have committed to the process of wet, apply chem (HW mix), run my cleaner, apply a second chem (a roof mix if needed) and then rinse rinse rinse!!! I have also run my cleaner a second time over those that needed it in the opposite direction, anything to get it clean and stripe free. I have learned from my travels that the faint stripes you see when you leave become more prominent in a short time and I personally don’t want to be embarrassed with seeing I left stripes. It’s a pet peave of mine.
I would only use a soft wash and roof mix on that driveway. By the time the sealer gets any age to it, it is very susceptible to damage. Put any acid, degreaser or strong chem on it and you may be stripping and re-sealing on your dime. No good.
We use 8 or 10 gpm to flat surface clean but we are usually under 600 psi.
I would not go near that stamped driveway with concrete cleaning pressures.
Can I DS straight 10% SH on it with a little squirt of dawn? I also have a 2545 nozzles for my SC that should get me down to 800 or is that too much you think?
Here’s a pic of the graphics. I think they turned out great simple and eye catching.
