Hello to all.

Just have a few questions as follows and wondering if I could get some advice on my cleaning techniques.

I just purchased a 20' BE surface cleaner on wheels two days ago. I played with it on my garage floor then went over and did my neighbors driveway.

Wow!! it was worth the money spent on the cleaner, compared to the two hours spent doing it this spring with a wand. I then did the sidewalk in front of both of our homes. I waited for the garage to dry and the following is this.

My garage floor had these light patterns in it. Kinda in pattern the arms spin in. It did not seem as uniformed as some of the pictures that are posted here on the BB. I think I left it spinning while I was attempting to move the hose out of the way, and moving items out of the way. Should I have rinsed with the wand after using the surface cleaner?

At my neighbors home I started by wetting the surface first, then sprayed the driveway with r202, let dwell for few minutes, then I ran the surface cleaner.

I did the entire driveway in 20 minutes (15x60)

His driveway was on a slope angle leading down to his home. I made on pass the entire lenght first. Then came back up to the top of the driveway and decided to go side to side. To make a long story short. I could not tell any difference in the two techniques. What I did notice was when I started at the top of the drive and cleaned side to side the discharge water was going downhill and it made it harder to determine what was clean and what needed to be cleaned.

My question is this.

" If I start doing flatwork on a slope surface (like many driveway here in Ga), should I start at the bottom and work my way back up the driveway by cleaning in a side to side pattern?

It seems logical because the discharge water will be going downhill and as I move up the driveway in a side to side pattern it is dry going up. " I know this seem petty but I have a job this weekend and want to appear as knowledgeable as possible.

What would any of you suggest to do in my first cleaning of this flatwork from the beginning steps to the end and have a great professional result. I have a few more days to experiment before " LIGHTS, CAMERA,ACTION",.

Any Ideas or suggestion welcomed . Time is of the essence.

Degraffreed
JayCam Pressure Wash

You will find a technique that works for you, but I would recommend that you follow the "grain" of the concrete. By doing this, any lap marks will blend-in better.

Jon,

What do you mean "follow the grain"? My thinking is this, concrete is smoothed with a floater in a few different ways. How do you pick which grain to follow. I have seen concrete workers using a gasoline powered smoother that has 6 fan blades on it. Sorry if the question sounds stupid..


DeGraffreed

I agree with John....you will find a method that works for you in due time.
I personally like a driveway with a grade to it...It is easier/faster to rinse.
Also, I prefer to start cleaning at the "top" and work down...I feel I am, with each pass, moving the dirt/water down hill as that is where it wants to go anyway.
Lastly, the white swrils you see could be two things..."Zebra stripes" due to moving to fast/wrong size nozzles etc. Or "etching" caused by walking away form the machine and leaving it running/spinning in one place...You may want to consider not doing that...
Hope this helps.....good luck

Bob, thanks for the response.

When you say " Walking fast " may have contributed to the " Zebra marks".

I believed that I was walking Normally. Maybe once I find my "Zone", this will clear up. Huh?

I guess walking much slower is the key.

Degraffreed
JayCam Pressure Wash

I also work from the top of a grade down to the bottom. Than go back and rinse with a wand. If you move the surface cleaner to fast it will leave swirl marks, just slow down and reclean where it left swirl marks. Do not leave the surface cleaner running in one spot or you will damage the concrete! Hope this helps Mike B

In my area, anything with a slope is rare! As far as the "grain", 99% of every drive I do has been brushed, after being poured, to give it a texture. It usually runs side-to-side.

Walking "normally" at the mall and walking "normally" behind a surface cleaner is two different things....Normal behind a suface cleaner will depend on YOUR equipment (PSI/GPM/Size of surface cleaner) as well as type of surface, whats on it, and how severe it is...As already stated experience will answer all of your questions...

Most of the driveways here aren't brushed...sometimes I run into sidewalks that have been broom-textured, but very rarely a driveway.

Like everyone else has said, you'll find the right technique...Just be willing to try it different ways until you find what works best for you and your machine.

Just don't leave the machine running while it is not moving. If your surfacer doesn't have a trigger gun on it, get a ball valve (rated for the right psi) to put between the surfacer and the hose so you can shut off the water if you have to stop for any reason. Even leaving it running in one spot for a couple seconds can etch the concrete in some cases, depending on how hard the concrete is.

Mike Williamson
North Florida Pressure Washing
352-213-7765
mike@northfloridapressurewashing.com
www.gainesvillepressurewash.com

I would also look at installing a swivel, so the you limit your twisting in the hose. I use the same one as I use between the hose and my gun- lifes a lot less frustrating this way!