I have been asked by a local painter to do a paint prep for a commercial building. He saw me washing his neighbor’s house and evidently liked what he saw. The hard part is the company he is doing the painting for won’t allow chems. So, he just wants me to rinse it down real good (and hit a couple areas with a little bit of peeling paint) as he is confident in the bonding primer he uses…even on oxidation. Anyone else ever go "old school and get up on a lift and throw some pressure for a paint prep? If so, how did it go? He is supplying a lift (and licensed operator) so I will just have 3 days of hard work.
It’s always risky to let others define “the how” of your job. I have done paint prep before without chems - it’s all about setting expectations. The trouble with flaking paint is a quarter-sized bubble can peel for 50 square feet - it becomes super time-consuming. Are you expected to remove all that? I don’t mind blasting off some paint, but I’m not systematically removing paint from a building… not my thing. Nothing wrong if you do it - just make sure you get paid for it. 
I would make sure you set expectations in writing and have the verbiage in your contract that limits your liability. You don’t want him coming after you if his paint starts peeling.
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Walk away
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Make sure he doesn’t think your gonna pick up all the paint chips.
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I get it. We talked about that. There is very little peeling paint and I’m not overly concerned there. No, I am not expected to remove a bunch of peeling paint. He said he would sand any areas that might need it. He is an independent contractor who has been working for this same large company for over 25 years. They apparently have enough work to keep him busy. He has painted other buildings at the same sight and did the same process as far as just giving them a good rinse. The building actually needs new siding but they want a band aid fix for now as it was going to be over $500K to do that. I was very leery at first. I am looking at this as a learning curve that I will get paid for. I’d have to wash 16-20 houses to make the same amount. My biggest concern is my body holding up.
Agreed. There really shouldn’t be many. We only saw a few spots with very small flakes.
I thought about it but unfortunately I’m not exactly that busy and want to figure out if this type of prep is worth my time in the future. No disrespect of your experience. I appreciate your response.
Oh man - this is such a good point. I did a prep a few weeks ago for a flipper I’ve worked with in the past. He called me a week later to complain about the paint the landscaper charged him for cleaning up the paint. Thankfully we’ve got a good relationship so I could tell him to pound sand… but it could have been a pain in the $99 guy.
It’s hard to estimate time frame on paint prep washing when there is peeling paint involved,
An option is to price only to rinse the surfaces and leave all peeling paint removal to the painters using their tools.
Lots of peeling paint gets messy- really messy.
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I’ve done a few paint prep washes, some for customers diy’ing a paint job, and others directly for the painting company. I’ve also spoken with a couple different painters to get their advice.
Everyone I’ve spoken with has pretty much advised the same thing: my basic house wash is adequate. Whoever is painting should be sanding or scraping the siding after the wash, and using a good quality primer to avoid any issues with oxidation. The wash should be seen as a way to remove loose dirt, cobwebs, etc, as well as any organic contaminants. Not as a method of loose paint removal.
If you want to go above the call of duty, you can add some simple green or a similar degreasing agent to your mix to help cut through more of the grime. But many of them will kill your bleach fairly quickly.
I’ve also been told that high pressure washing is rough on the wood, and is not the right way to prep for paint.
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I was told I can’t use any chems at all. I would much rather do a standard wash and rinse for prep than have to get up close and throw some pressure on it. I can already feel my back aching just thinking about the long days. LOL. Back in the fall I was talking with another painter that does his own power washing and he does a basic house wash but puts some pressure on the building as well. I’m pretty comfortable that the painter knows his job and will be able to prep a specific area better than what water can do. i.e. paint flakes. The building is old and they don’t want to spend the money to re-side it. It has metal and fiberglass panels and isn’t exactly a great looking building. The company just had extra funds and decided put this in the budget. If it gets approved and I get the job, I’ll do a follow up.
Why no chems?
I believe they had issues with the EPA years ago which created a certain pucker factor when it comes to any chemicals.
I would take the gig, especially if you don’t have to clean up the paint chips. That would involve a ton of tarps, disposal (hopefully not an old lead painted building), brooms, backpack blowers, etc. from what you posted he is going to take care of the painters part, he just wants the big stuff knocked down so he has less tedious work to do. If you have never been on a ladder scrapping/sanding paint it sucks, especially if you have to move the ladder a lot, or move the ladders and platforms/pics around. 20+ years ago, when I hit buildings with power washers, we didn’t have lifts to use, so we used scaffolding to reach high points. That gets problematic when the scaffolding gets wet and has flaking paint all over it. This was mostly prepping brick buildings that had been previously painted for a fresh coat. Sometimes a blistered or peeling area would be hit and a little patch about a foot was there, in other places it ran like 5-10 feet wide.
There was a post on here about a year and a half ago where someone was washing up a multistory building and he described his process pretty thoroughly. I would reference that as he had some good points, in addition @marinegrunt did a tower last year and he posted some information that you may want to read. Just don’t carry that hose weight, you will be worn out in no time. Get it tied off and have a pad for your hose so it doesn’t rub through or get caught on hard points/sharp points.
My .02, don’t get a bucket truck, make sure it is a lift with a platform. A bucket truck sucks and you will feel cooped up and worn out before you should. Other than hanging stuff off the bucket, you have nowhere to put anything, but at your feet. Or, you are going to be spending a lot of time going up and down. I prepped an industrial propane tank last year in a bucket, never again. Sure a bucket truck beat a ladder/platform, but it sucked compared to a drivable lift. Hit area, come down, move truck, go back up, hit area, come back down, move truck etc.
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I started as a washer for a very busy small painting company here in Florida.
I am still doing 2 3 houses a week just for this company. I use chlorine at around 5% and long extensions for my gun. Some peeling occurs sometimes, almost all the houses have oxidation and the paint is chooky. Sometimes the down or popcorn on the ceilings in the lanai or above the front entry comes down. On all the houses they use a stuck or concrete sealer , before the paint, that take care of all the issues with the old paint. To peel all the paint from the houses I will ruin the stucco and create more work for the painter.
Hope that helps with you decision.
