Most of the time the customer doesn't really care what hard water deposits really are! They only care what the cost will be to remove them. They might also ask if the stains will come back and how soon. Not being able to give them a definitive answer to these questions will likely keep you from getting the job. After all, who really wants to spend ten or twenty thousand bux to clear their windows, only to have the stains come right back only one year later?
It is never a bad idea to come in like a consultant. First show them that you can remove the spots. Then give them a one page summary of their problem. People always car more about what you know when they know how much you care. Explain in the report the system you would use to remove the spots. Explain that your system involves the use of safe polishing compounds and not deadly destructive acids. Then explain that you will be using a hydrophobic sealant because you will not be removing the source of these spots (something you can't do). So in time they will form again, on top of the sealant. Explain that it is because of this that you must do some preliminary testing that might take up to a year. This testing will help you to locate the correct hydrophobe for their building. It will also help you to fine tune the exact restoration maintenance system for their building. Which will also give you the knowledge to give them the best quote. Essentially you are telling them that you want to remove the stains as safely as possible, for as little as possible, and keep them off for as little as possible. If you don't charge for this service, you could set up experiments all over town. Which could pay off in a very large way later. How do we set up a test?
We do this by first locating at least three of the most intensely stained plates. You could choose three plates from different parts of the building. Totally clear every square inch of all three windows. Next section off about six square sections per plate using some wide duct tape. Now apply about six different hydrophobic sealants to each plate. Make note on paper which sealants were used, and where they were applied to the windows. Now remove the duct tape and clean the windows. If you did this correctly pure water will bead up on each of the six different sections. However it will sheet over not beading at all where the duct tape was. Your first observation will be the size of the pure water beads or drops. The drops that have the greatest contact angle (these will be the most round) will be sitting on the most hydrophobic sealant. BUT. Possibly not the most long lasting! Only time will tell that. Next give all three windows at least three months. Then look for newly formed spots. Clean the windows. Look for any spots remaining. Take some four 0000 steel wool dry on just one dry window and see which sealant releases the new spots the easiest. You might now give the other two test plates another three months. Do the same thing on one of these windows. Lastly wait another three months and do the same on the last window. If you had set up four windows at the beginning you would have another window to wait three more months on, giving you a complete year of testing. This test is just a suggestion and an example. You might have a better idea. The bottom line however is to allow for the time necessary to determine exactly what kind of procedure you will need, to first remove the spots in as little time as possible. Also to learn exactly what system you will need to use to remove any newly formed hard water spots. What sealants will be the most effective at resisting the high pH of the hard water drops and the Suns ultraviolet rays. Also what sealant will most easily release any newly formed spots.
For more information on products and systems just send me an email. Then we can work together.
Written by Henry Grover Jr.
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