Steve.D

  • Posts: 32
Smears and dry blade lines
« on: August 18, 2005, 05:53:04 pm »
Cleaned a four bedroom detached today inside and out. When checking over, the odd window had a dried blade line or smears around the edges. Should i use bone dry scrim for detailing and polishing, the scrim I was using was slightly damp. It was a very sunny day, could this have anything to do with it. At the time they looked perfect and when I stood back the windows were gleaming. The shaded side of the house looked ok. I'm thinking that direct sunlight on a window tends to show up any defects more than if it were shaded. Any logical solutions for next time or am I being too fussy/paranoid ? Is there such thing as a perfectly cleaned window. By the way I am still a novice, but not doing to badly at the moment, first week this week.

Steve


Roy Harding

  • Posts: 1964
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2005, 06:07:43 pm »
Clean dry scrims will help, or wipe around the edges first then squeegee off and dont touch again.

On very hot days plenty of water and squeegee of fast as u can.

Roy :)

Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2005, 06:17:23 pm »
Yep, thats it Roy.
 Try Unger soft rubber in squeegee. 
These things are trial and error, trick is.. find out what works, don't give up.  At least we don't get too many boiling hot days, things get easier.
Pj

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2005, 07:11:12 pm »
i have noticed that on certain days the glass attracts the fibre out of the scrim like a magnet . and squeegie turns.
there are so many variables.
1 .temperature of glass/squeegie /water/scrim.
2. density of water /soap as water is most dense at 5 degrees
       above and below this temp =less dence .
3. amount of dirt on window and in applicater and water bucket.
4.type of glass and scrim and squeegie rubber
5.the weather .windspeed /direction /temperature/amount 
      sunshine /humidity   /air pressure   
6.age of squeegie rubber   .angle of sunlight
7.type of soap and hardness of water
8. i give up     

see when people say what you do you can say you are a scientist

dave

Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2005, 07:17:49 pm »
Artist, dear fellow! 8)

DASERVICES

Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #5 on: August 18, 2005, 08:26:19 pm »

  I've had this problem too, changed my rubber loads of times and then told
  my supplier that he had sent me duff rubbers. Then when you wipe the marks
  with the scrim it then leaves residue.

  Thought about using micro fibre to see if this helps, does anyone use then
  and do they cause the same probs on hot days.

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #6 on: August 18, 2005, 08:39:16 pm »
nope they can still be the same given the same circumstances
scrim is still the best,don,t believe all the hype

dave

dai

  • Posts: 3503
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2005, 08:44:49 pm »
In the old days before we had sqeegies we use chamoise mops and a clean ,damp scrim. A damp scrim, if it is perfectly clean is the best glass polisher there is. As soon as our scrim got dry it was washed in cold water and rung out.
Never use detergent with it though. when we are using a scrim for detailing we are bound to get detergent on it, once it gets damp it will leave dirty marks.
if the windows are not too dirty you can use damp scim on it's own, just try it on leads. Remember though it has to be a scrim washed in clean water with no detergent, Dai

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2005, 09:00:29 pm »
When i first started an old timer moxam`s from bolton who also had  a  w/c shop open on wed mornings told me it did not hurt if you just put a tiny squirt of soap in your bucket .the secret to scrim is to keep turning it.
you fold it  4 or 5 times until it is a hand size square then you have effectively got 16 squares on each side so as one section gets dirty you unfold and refold so the dirty section is on the opposite side ,but watch for the dirt bleeding through the cloth then when that it is dirty you refold at the adjacent section and keep doing this until the cloth is fully exhausted. then you rinse and crack it then you are ready to go again

hope i explained clearly
dave

Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2005, 08:55:18 am »
a w/c friend of mine has hands like shovels, he wrings out wet scrim till it's almost dry, swears by that as solution to smears. 

Moderator David@stives

  • Posts: 8829
Re: Smears and dry blade lines
« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2005, 08:58:50 am »
if youve got a week grip wrap it around a ladder rung and keep twisting