Wolman warning!

JR Wood

New Member
Anyone else frightened by the wolman mailer condemning anyone who might decide to buy chemicals in bulk and mix your own cleaner,instead of buying their overpriced, understrengthed
crap.
I wasn't.
 
G

Glenn

Guest
No, not me.
Mark, would fax you mine but threw it away. Basically It's a memo designed to deter people from making their own cleaners and brightners for various reasons, epa, safety, etc.
 

rvagnoni

New Member
Yeah JR! Not! You got that letter too. I guess since the all the problems with their "Etreme" paint. they have decided that they better start scaring contractors into not mixing there own cleaners so that they can continue to stay in business. I will admit some people who are novices should stay away from doing such but....Not me.
 

JR Wood

New Member
Sorry Mark I didn't see your request until now anyway my fax is in my computer and the scanner I have can't seem to pick up text that well,having reread the letter it is more ridiculous than I originally thought.Can you imaging a company thinking that there contractor network is full of idiots and imbeciles and would be much better off spending $15 to do 150 square feet worth of cleaning than finding a better alternative.Their credibility is close to zero with me.
Also I was in my neighborhood bar the other day when I saw the bartender making up a cleaning solution for his glasses.This stuff called bar foam.INGREDIENTS>>>Sodium percarbonate,sodium metasillate and surfactants...COST $12 for a fifteen pound jug.These are ingredients that probably will clean a deck.I am going to try it and maybe discover a new source.Oh yeah the lumber yard where I get a contractor discount wants $55 for a ten pound jug of wolmans.
 
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Dan Flynn

PWN Founder
I wonder if they are feeling it financially some how. Why would they write such a thing. To be honest I like Wolman's stain, but I have heard from several retailers they are hard to deal with.

Each year their stain is harder and harder to find. You would think it would be more available. From what I heard, they don't offer a very good price to the retailers. So it's not very attractive to them to sell. I don't use much stain since my move, but it was my choice last year.

I have noticed though that all stain has really gone up in price. I think stain is incredibly over priced. It last's a year if your lucky. Meaning, any stain declines in looks from day one and in my opinion just isn't worth the money.

Not many people stain around here and I am happy about it. I was tired of dealing with that part of the business.
 

Greg Rentschler

New Member
Mike,

You dont have to by any means but we still do. We always use oxalic at a 10% solution for additional brightening of the wood. Even when we used restore and wolmans we used to brighten the decks.... the brighter the deck the better finish seems to look.
 

JR Wood

New Member
Greg ,
You and your company are the main target of the letter they sent out.basically it was implied that just because you are a contractor you have no business in the chemistry part of it and you are endangering us fellow contractors with your wacky potions.Enough said now I will take the formula you gave out and make thou$ands!!
 

Greg Rentschler

New Member
JR,


Yes I read the letter...... If I was charging $15 for a 2.25 lb bottle of percarbonate I would send a letter too. The same quantity in our formula cost me about a $1 .....

The other issue here is this formula is not a trial and error batch..... it is the exact blend of a particular manufacturer. The chemist where we purchase our products had developed this formula for a well known company as well as a in house product that can be privately labeled. He simply shared the recipe.

Wolman and every other manufacturer can proclaim that these in house products do not work as well as their blends but it is a bunch of crap. We have our hydroxide based strippers formulated for us and the oxalic we buy in 55# bags. We used Deckstrip for years and it simply wasn't potent enough to remove finishes effeciently.

On the same note while the products are effective safety becomes the utmost concern. These are stronger blends and should be respected with the use of ALL of your gear. I hate to say it but there are alot of people out there who simply do not think before they act. Blindness, severe burns, damage to the nervous system, and even death can all become realty if respect is not given. This not only applies to the in house solutions but the commercially bought ones.

Have a good one!!!!!
 

Tom Mobley

New Member
wolman warning

Before I began contracting over 15 years ago I worked for two manufacturer paint companies. I think I can say I understand both sides of the story. As a contractor I use store purchased materials and my own recipes. I also know what its like to work out problems with contractors who used bad cleaning materials that messed up jobs. I could tell you alot of stories. Sometimes it is the finishing product but after the 10 years I worked as a rep, more times it was cleaning problems. Sure they want you to purchase their products but they are just sharing a point. I'm sure Flood, Olympic and Sickens would agree. Don't get mad, like I said I've worked in both worlds. I just know what they're thinking.
 

Greg Rentschler

New Member
Hi Tom,

I agree that majority of finish failures are due to poor and improper prep work. Then on the same token I have seen finishes fail using commercially purchased as well as in house recipes..... for instance Thompsons Deck cleaner. These companies have little credability when they market bleach in a bottle for $2.99. In regard to Wolman Deckstrip I am still trying to figure out how they "found a way to incorporate a neutralizing agent into the product itself". Once neutralized sodium hydroxide will not remove a finish.

Best Regards.
 

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