Job advice wanted

Got two jobs to do, neither are my perferred area (decks) but I got bills to pay.

First job wants diesel storage tank sprayed so they can repaint he said knock the flaking paint off and get rid of the black crud… Seems straight forward, pressure, and maybe som SH. I can walk on top of the tank.
Pic -

Second job, wants house washed, screens are shot on windows, vinyl oxidizing, wand marks all over deck, and light bulbs on rails. I told them that those little lightbulbs will likely have to come off (I can’t see them not breaking or getting ruined) and I will try and walk the composite deck to lessen some of the wand marks but the grease stains will only be lightened, and i can’t really fix oxidation. They want the mold off house and dirt off deck, husband pressure washed the deck before. Front door is of course stained wood so gotta tape it off. Pic of lights on handrail

Heading down the right path? I know both of these individuals quite well. The one is for his business the other is their home. They asked me. I really wasn’t trying to PW houses, but decks aren’t happening for me right now and concrete is out of the question for now.

Just let them know the wand marks will still be there afterwards but you’ll be able to clean up the dirt and algae. As far as the composite you want to soft wash it and the pvc railing. A little pressure won’t hurt the railing but it’s quicker hitting it with 2-3% sh and rinsing. You shouldn’t use pressure on the composite deck boards. If he made a bunch of wand marks I’d look into flipping the boards over if possible and cleaning that side. It might not be possible if any cut marks don’t line up.

That diesel tank should be pretty easy. If the black is mildew use sh. If it’s grease or something from the diesel you might need a degreaser but your hot water machine should clean it right off.

You really ought to go ahead and try and land some house washes. It’s a lot easier money than deck prep and staining. If anything it kind of helps break the work up a bit.

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Thanks for the advice.

I didn’t get pics of the decking boards before the sun went down. If you saw them you would instantly know he used a harry the homeowner little washer with a wand close to the boards. it is oddly built with the garage roof attached to house making it pretty far to spray the peak from the ground or deck. House is on a hillside.

The tank I think will be easy peasy, but that always gets me in trouble.

The tank was a little tougher than I thought. Here are some pics. THe epoxy that was flaking was tough and thick, was at about 3200-3600 psi feathering it out. THis is a large home heating oil tank (thousands of gallons) used for home heating oil delivery. It has a metal shell around it. I feathered it out as best I could. He said he was happy at the end. I could have used some chems to remove the rust but he didn’t want me to, they will mechanically finish the rest and paint themselves. The amount of crap that came off that thing was amazing. The big squares/rectangles are where his guys were sticking magnetic business signs. I showed him and told him they shouldn’t do it again, caused the paint to flake off.

Lessons I learned, a 4’ lance on a 12’ ladder can make for some interesting times. I couldn’t walk the tank like he thought I could. I need to calculate for cleanup, the amount of time spraying all the crap away from the tank and the surrounding concrete was time consuming. I’m not a PW pro, so still getting the hang of it. He had a Landa inside their building that they used for cleaning their delivery trucks…

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Just an FYI for anyone who likes to know things like me, It took me about 4 hours. That includes unloading reloading, meeting with owner, taping and untaping, and final cleanup. If I were a wizard at this I’m sure it could be done in 2-2.5 and eating a sammich while waiting for soap to work.

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79" bent lance with a turbo nozzle and some HF for the surface rust followed by hcs 400 for the crud on those diesel tanks, Paint ready. SH works to but sometimes leaves the chaulk and doesn’t remove rust and slower imo.
Look nice though, Client was happy, You got foldin money in your pocket, Thats all that matters at the end of the day.
HF and hcs 400 with turbo nozzle would of definitely save you some time.

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Don’t forget to mention the HF can and does kill people :brain:

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Yes Lab grade/strength does without question, but at the dilution rate we use, nope.
200-1

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So hydroflouric acid followed by HCS 400, I don’t know what that is but I will be looking it up. I appreciate the feedback. We talked and he is getting in a used propane tank, 9’ high and about 30’ long. I already told him I could use a turbo on it, but I will have to buy a 79" lance and the other chems. THought I was done spending money, well mostly done. I guess I gotta use a pump up with HF and this HCS400? I know you guys upstream, but I didn’t read up on that.

Thanks again.

Edit is this HCS hydroxide?

HCS 400 is a degreaser from Hydro Chem.

I read the data sheet and it says:
HCS-400 is a high alkaline cleaner designed to remove grease, oil, carbon stain and burned on grease and oils. HCS-400 is an excellent cleaner for smoke houses and rendering plants. HCS-400 removes diesel soot and cleans aluminum nrails on semi-trailers. HCS-400 is also an excellent
cleaner for heavy equipment.

I don’t doubt for a second if hotshot and dperez are recommending it that it will work, I just don’t know what it is.

Trying to find a 79" bent lance, I just wonder how hard that thing will be to control on a ladder. That 4’was trying to kick my asterisk when I had to one hand it (holding on not to fall with the other). ANy recommendations on a manufacturer? I don’t want to spend a fortune, i rather buy backups of other stuff.

I guarantee the HSC 400 will work if they’re using it. It probably won’t be worth buying any for just that one job. I think shipping is $150 no matter how much you order. The more you can fit on a pallet the better because of shipping. You can’t just buy a gallon jug or anything. They might have some 5 gallon sample bucket. I remember @Hotshot mentioning that once. If the customers are happy with the work I’d just leave it alone. Either that or just get some purple cleaner, beef it up with some sodium hydroxide, and spray it on. It might not hurt to brush it some. Follow that up with some oxalic or muriatic acid for the rust. It might not be as good as Hydro Chem but you can get all of it locally.

Pressure Tek has a 79" lance. They’re pretty cheap. Maybe $40 or so? Any pressure washing supplier should have them.

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You’ll never be done spending money in this racket bubby, HCS 400 is a heavy caustic degreaser, HF is Hydrofluoric acid. We DS or 2 step gun all of the above, Cant Upstream it , Tears up pumps to fast. You can pump spray it as well.
To keep you from hunting to hard , HCS 400 is sold by Hydrochem systems in Michigan, I use alot of their chems.

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Ah, how the truth hurts.

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I haven’t seen any insulated 79" Lance’s on there lately, 46" is the longest they go now. That stinks. Unless I’m not seeing it. :man_shrugging:

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I got mine last year so maybe they don’t offer them anymore. Unless I maybe got it from Pressure Washer Products.

You gotta be right because I bought 3 or 4 last year and I solely us pressuretek. lol, Guess I’m not now. Do you like pressure washing products Gunney ?
60" is long as they go on envirospec. Just looked, Good luck with Russ Johnson at south side , I’ve heard there 2,3 weeks out for any delivery.

$33 Insulated 79" Bent Lance from PWP @Dirtyboy

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I like PWP. If you ever have a pump issue you can’t figure out Rex knows his stuff. He knows pumps like a hot rod collector knows makes and models of hot rods. They have a larger selection of stuff and prices are about the same. Decent shipping speed too.

https://shop.pressurewasherproducts.com/79-ROUND-MOLDED-GRIP-STAINLESS-STEEL-WAND-66-INSULATED-LANCE-6085.htm

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Thank y’all. @marinegrunt & @TexasPressureWashing