# The Chemist is Curious... Again... Uhhh Ohhh...



## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

Hi Guys,

I'm kind of curious about something. My house has vinyl siding on it. It is in need of being pressure washed. There is alot of green chlorafil staining (I think) on the house. It got me thinking... Have any of you ever applied a clear to vinyl siding to 'freshen' it up? Does anyone you know of make anything to do this? I was just thinking if I made a clear, I could make the siding look new again as well as incorporate some additives to reflect more sunlight and keep the green off. Does anyone do anything like that?

Also, I'm curious how people price pressure washing vinyl siding. Is it a certain $/ft for 1 story vs. higher $/ft for second story? I'm just wondering what I should expect so I don't get sticker shocked!


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## Rich (Apr 26, 2007)

Wolvey

Only part I can comment on is the washing part, sorry....

I'm not a big formula guy, meaning I don't bid by SF. I do know guys who charge by the LF for washing. Between $1.00-$2.00 for the first floor and double for uppers. But I don't bid that way...that being said...

I would expect to pay between $300-$500. 

But why not DIY...you have all the help you need in here :thumbsup:


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

Wolverine said:


> My house has vinyl siding on it. ... There is alot of green chlorafil staining (I think) on the house.


It's not chlorafil
It is the pure evil leaking out of the vinyl siding
You obviously didn't read the fine print on your contract
Skip the pressure-washing, go right to exorsizing


Other than that, price could be 250-750 depending
Only "freshen-up" for siding I know of would be to ditch the evil plastic cladding and go with something not so evil that could be freshened up every few years...like something paintable...like wood siding


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## Bushdude (Apr 17, 2007)

Flood makes a product that they advertise to bring back vinyl shutters to there original color...


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

Bushdude said:


> Flood makes a product that they advertise to bring back vinyl shutters to there original color...


Hmmm...that's interesting


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## FHI Decks & Windows (Apr 18, 2007)

Another solution is some new vinyl siding. I actually have a color that matches that green stuff!
(this should go over really well on a painting forum)


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## phinishes (Apr 18, 2007)

That Flood product is called Restora, never used it, but have heard good things about it. In my area an average home (whatever that means :whistling2 goes for $200-$500 for pressure washing. If you're going to use the Flood Restora, it requires their own special cleaner to be applied before washing. I just heard that Flood is selling that product to another company, not sure about that, but something to look into.


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## paintin john (Apr 18, 2007)

I've recently used Flood Restora on 10 shutters for a customer who requested it. Pretty good results. It is a two step process, first the cleaner and then apply what I think is mostly a liquid wax to give it a renewed luster. The question is how long will it last...


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

> Flood makes a product that they advertise to bring back vinyl shutters to there original color...


CRAP! I thought I was having a bright idea... I believe that the Flood cleaner is probably a sodium metasilicate type. I'm not sure of the price, but... I'd put some bio killer in it too so it would kill anything trying to attach to the vinyl...

The 'revitalizer' has to be acrylic with some surface tension reducers and adhesion promoters... 

I think they have a good concept here. I think that we will see this type of product becoming more popular as vinyl siding ages. I would think this would be a good option for older vinyl formulations (before they started puting UV inhibitors in it). 

Anyway... this looks like a good niche to me. I would think an exterior painter would do well if they marketed this service kinda like flood does... don't mention paint ANYWHERE! You'd have to call yourselves 'revitalizers'.


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## slickshift (Apr 8, 2007)

paintin john said:


> I've recently used Flood Restora on 10 shutters for a customer who requested it. Pretty good results. It is a two step process, first the cleaner and then apply what I think is mostly a liquid wax to give it a renewed luster. The question is how long will it last...


Actually, my questions (in addition to how long does it last) were can it be done "on House" and how many man hours and what's the material cost per shutter?


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## DeanV (Apr 18, 2007)

I think Restora is some kind of thinned down acrylic clear also. I got a small sample at a paint show, never got around to using it and my paint store did not sell enough to keep it in stock.


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## Humble Abode (Apr 11, 2007)

I thought Restora was discontinued?


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