30 year old aluminum siding

MARK W.

MARK W.

Member
I have a customer that wants her house washed. I told her that I'm not sure how the siding will come up being that old.It's light green, (I think with all the oxidation on it) I told her it might be better to leave it like it is. That cleaning it might make it look worse. What do you think? (It's never been cleaned)
 
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I think I would do a test in an inconspicuous area, and see how it turns out. Old aluminun siding that is chalking bad often does not take to washing. By that I mean that it is possible that all the color will wash off leaving it looking like raw aluminum.

Be carefull.
 
ron p

dont walk away, RUN RUN RUN
nothing good will come out of this job
only way i would do this job would be for paint prep or use alum. brightner and she would have a nice gun metal gray house when i was done. lol
 
That house would look worse if you washed it.

Don't do the job unless she has a painter lined up to paint it when you're done.
 
ron p

if you really want this job call 1-800-364-4876
and ask about SIL-O-WET or PLEX-MASTER
I never run from a job. if you run you wont learn.
taking the hard jobs makes you better.
 
This sounds like the house I just put a bid on to Buy.
The siding is very old and the white paint is off in many places it's
bare aluminun.

Use care, just rubbing with water (hehehe) and a finger, the paint came right off with ease.

Good Luck.
========================
Side note, Sould I endup owing this house and business bldg,
I'm going to have fun balsting the paint off.

I will have the shinyest house on the block for awhile. Yes I will be painting it too.

I'll post photo when the time comes, it will be a hoot.
 
Re: ron p

I never run from a job. if you run you wont learn.
taking the hard jobs makes you better. [/B]
Click to expand...


It does make good business sense to run from certain jobs..........sometimes the liability risk is just not worth it. Suppose you wash it, and it looks all streaky.........then they complain and whatever..............unless you have some sort an understanding in writing, you could get in trouble.

In my case, I just turn down jobs like that and focus on easier, more profitable jobs because there is plenty of work out there that is not problematic. I leave stuff like that for my competition to struggle with.
 
ron p

hey mike your right
if you were a fleetwasher you would be happy washing white box trucks everyday and make a living. Thats good. Same dirt,same wash job,over and over and you would be a good truck washer.
White box tuck washer that is.
Now the yard next to you has over the road tractor trailers and pays tripple but wants someone that can do the job right away, and do a good job.
polished chrome,polished aluminum,black paint,ect... Now your stuck with not knowing how to do a good job because you never tried.
Im not saying to look for hard work, and i would show the customer a test spot and get everything in writing. I would take a bunch of before and after pics and use this house to show off, but thats me.
I dont give away everything ive learned but when i see a challange I look for ways to become better and not run. I gave the easy way out by suggesting something that would work for MARK.
I get people, every once in a while i get a e-mail telling me I actuelly help them. When i see they are trying and not just looking for the fast easy way out, I offer more help,if i can. Mark and Shaeffer you want to get the job and make it look good without running?
I would say e mail me but this BBS is one that i like the most so here www.everbrite.net
I hope my compition wont see this.
Dont take jobs like this everyday but learn something new everyday.
Knowalge of why chems do what they do is more important then knowing just what chem to buy.
Why do you think most people that sell chems are/used to be wash guys themselves?
 
Hey Ron P. I didn't tell him to run from the job. I said to use care.

Me, I've never run from a job yet.

I had to strip a deck which was painted, I told the client I'll do my best, but it may not all come off. That was ok with him. I learned alot while doing it. BUt, the best part was it came out looking great.
 
I would do a very small area as a test spot to show the outcome to the customer. 30 yr. old aluminum siding that has never been cleaned will be terribly oxidized and most of the finish will wash away. Make sure it's in writing that the siding will probably need to be repainted at owner's exspense. Talk it over with the owner and explain that the siding is in need of cleaning and repainting and a couple years after it is painted it will need to be routinely cleaned to keep it looking new and remove the oxidized finish. I wash aluminum alot. 50/50 its for repainting the others are just maintenance. Don't run but look for opportunity. All jobs have a potential upside even the ones you think to be non-profitable. Handle your business wisely and learn from every job you do. Aluminum to me is very profitable just as are decks and vinyl siding, brick cleaning and natural stone. Alot of it is customer relation talk to them and explain what needs to be done and explain every angle. If they don't clean it it will only get worse, if they do it may need repainting but will last longer and look beter for many years to come. Good luck

Mike
 
Ron,

I agree with what you're saying. Just as long as the people realize that it might need to be painted. You should both be on the same page, in writing, before the work begins.



Mark W,

Its been a few days now.......what have you done with this bid/job??
 
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