Looking for suggestions on cleaning this white stained brick as well as rust stains on these granite(?) steps. I’ve included photos of each surface. I have SH, Cleansol BC, and Gutter Guard. It would definitely be worth it for me to buy some other chems for this job, just looking to hear about some personal experiences. So far my jobs have just required SH.
There’s a lot going on there. White is efflorescence, then you have the rust from the railings.
Check out the Facebook F9 page, they have four products that cover most non-organic surface stains.
You’re gonna have to be super careful around those stained glass windows and various types of limestone. Personally unless I had years of experience with stain removal I’d pass on this one.
I appreciate the response. What’s your opinion on using a turbo nozzle on the side of the building? (Not the brick). And as for the rust stains my research shows that F9 BARC will work. I am heading there tomorrow to meet the grounds supervisor for an estimate and walk through.
Test spot, test spot, test spot and test spot. You should 100% tape off those windows so include that in your estimate. Stained glass windows are expensive and these are probably even more so given their age. The risk you take on to complete a job is a cost as well.
Just make sure you do test spots of different dilutions with different dwell times and wait until they dry to assess. Good luck and I hope you charge them enough!
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This… Also, be careful about that wood door and ornamental stuff. That stone with the date and general look of the street has me also questioning if this might be considered part of a historical area too. I would definitely be looking into that because it could make the job much more complicated and require special licenses or considerations.
Oh man, don’t do it.
There are some really tough stains and potentially sensitive materials on a very large, public, maybe 100+ year old community landmark. It’s a high risk situation that I wouldn’t take on unless I was very confident and experienced in my processes and chemicals. It’s not the kind of job I would want to use as my first attempt at experimenting with things.
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If this is your first time using any sort of rust stain remover you need to walk away though. More opportunities will come at a better time when you’re ready.
To be fair that seems to be a response people give about every type of job someone on here asks about. I do a ton of research on every job and see what dozens of people use or say. But I like to reach out here because I know there are plenty of experienced guys. I purchased F9 BARC and I’ll be doing a test spot at my place where there is a nasty rust stain. I don’t think walking away from everything I’m slightly uncomfortable with is a great game plan though.
I hear where you’re coming from. If you get the job, please do let us know how it turns out and share some after pictures so we can learn from it.
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It’s not a great game plan, it’s an outstanding game plan. On the side note, you’re probably not insured to touch that building anyway. If you lucked out & worked up a miracle, those rusty rails are still going to be there & it’s going to look like crap again in a couple weeks anyway. Put on your running shoes & go find something easy. Great news: 90% of this stuff is easy.
Thank you complete stranger but yes, I am totally insured.
I know a lot of this community has some great and helpful guys but MAN, a lot of the people here are just unhelpful and rude under the guise of giving tough love.
Well, you get what you pay for 
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Totally insured probably means 3 stories or less. Ask your agent to be sure but go find some easy work & dodge that mess altogether in the meantime. This industry will be tougher on you than any stranger on this forum, I promise. Nobody is stopping you from opening your own nail salon.
Best of luck to you
I make money on every job I walk away from.
This job is kind of a nightmare for someone who doesn’t have experience on this substrate with BARC or any other rust remover.
Limestone is tough with efllo. Limestone is calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and f9 effo removes calcium deposits. Limestone is porous and permeable which makes it tricky for harsh chems. Everything down to the temperature and humidity can affect how the acids clean on certain substrates. If you really want to say you’ve done your research you need to look into the chemistry and understand how acids react with iron oxide to remove the stain. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want but if you’re going to take on a large risk understand that lack of knowledge doesn’t correlate to lack of responsibility.
If you’re comfortable with it make sure you’re not going to get fined by some government donkey in a vest and make sure your insurance covers it. Take your time and don’t make any whoopsies. Depending on the size of said whoopsie it could cost a fortune and you will have to move to venezuela if you want liability insurance again
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I appreciate the insight man I will take what you’re saying into consideration. I hadn’t thought about some of the things you mentioned. Thanks for the helpful response 
Back to bed grandpa
It will take a little while but you’ll see these guys are helping you much more than me and they are right about 95% of the time. But I figure you either you do the job well or you don’t and learn the hard way just how right they are!
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I can’t give you much advice about the stains you are seeking to remove. And I’m not here to tell you that you can’t do something that you want to do. However, in the past month you’ve asked some pretty basic questions to include the likes of where to buy bulk SH, how to put together a downstream injector for a brand new looking machine, and then how to select the right nozzle for an x jet. Once again, I’m not telling you that you can’t do this property properly, but if I were in your shoes I think I would have a healthy fear of not being the right guy for this one. Perhaps that’s what make you and I different, and that’s ok. No shame in walking away, and plenty of credit if you can do the job correctly. Best of luck either way to you!
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Good tactic here. Burning bridges with people that help me has always been one of my favorite strategies.
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