WHY POWERWASH/ PRESSURE WASH STEEL

Pressure washing the steel! Probably one of your first steps as you get into a new big job. As you know this step is very basic and even an apprentice or two could complete this task for your crew. But don’t let this basic, sometimes boring task send your job in the wrong direction. As a Foreman bridge painter/ Industrial painter this job is crucial it is done right the first time. For obvious reasons which we will get into it is needed for a clean contaminant free surface. More importantly i find it sets the tone for the job.

Prepare for your pressure wash. Have your foreman or lead guy have everything set up and TESTED before you have a crew of guys show up. hoses break, seals break, rental washers don’t always go as planned. If you are not prepared and messing up a simple pressure wash it will get the whole crew in a negative mood coming into a blast. I find too often lazy supervisors say ” They are Journeyman they should figure it out.” That mentality costs the company money and leads to negative reactions from the guys. Instead try leading by example. Have the equipment ready and working to start the job. Now you can sit back less stressed and watch. Instead of a chaotic job site you will sit back and see who is doing the work when everything is working correctly. Look for who is helping the most, team players and apprentices that are actually engaged.

I run a small crew for the pressure wash. Usually 1 apprentice watching the machine. and 2 guys on the guns. My apprentice refuels the machines and is the fire watch with fire extinguisher and whatever else is required on the job by GC. The apprentice usually checks the fuel and adds some every 45 min . He also learns what is going on and how to trouble shoot problems. he learns what are set up is and how many hoses to run for the guys. back up hoses and tips are with as well as adjustable wrenches.

I like to have my 2 best blasters pressure wash for multiple reasons. Many people do not as they see it is too easy or not something they like to do. I see it as rewarding my best workers and throw them on to wash on a day the rest of the crew is off to get some overtime. It rewards hard work and the apprentice hopefully learns that. Your best guys will finish quicker anyways so the little spent in OT is worth it. The rest of the blasters may not be thrilled but make sure to reward them for their blasting as well later.

Chemical of choice will usually just be some simple green . load some up in a pump sprayer, give the guys a push room and they can scrub a section and wash it as they go. Now this can be efficient in most cases but if you are on a production job have 2 more apprentices scrubbing ahead. We did this on a very long bridge and were able to get thru it in less than a week. Simple green is organic but more importantly it breaks down grease on steel. If not cleaned properly and can cause paint failure or chemical reactions. Most of the time you are in the clear but that one time you don’t wash properly it will cost you big time.

Worst example I have seen from a bad pressure wash job almost cost the company everything. The bridge was near the ocean and also the city stored salt and sand underneath. This supervisor was too worried about setting up for the blast, he left the power wash to the apprentices. A very costly mistake. he put them out there all day thinking he would save on labor with them . They would look busy, the inspector would see it getting washed, and the blast crew would set up their equipment. Well they blasted and failed inspection . Blasted and failed repeated over and over burning diesel and costing thousands per day. The reason for the failure was obviously salt levels in the steel. but it kept getting blasted into the steel. we use steel grit which gets recycled. now did the grit get contaminated? The job got shut down for a few days in a panic and there was a chemical that had to get approved to use on the steel. By miracle the grit was ok to use and they started to pass inspection. But how much money was lost due to trying to cheap out on a very simple pressure wash.

Also pressure washing Industrial buildings and bridges is so under rated today. The average job needs a blast repaint every 20 years at least. Imagine the money saved if someone would just pressure wash the dirt, bird feces. It can add 5 or in some cases more years to the life of your paint job. Bird feces eats away at paint. Add that in with sun damage its a no brainer. The problem is there isn’t much public education on Industrial education. Hopefully this new blog slowly changes that because the residential side is over saturated and the industrial side ( altho much harder) is lacking labor and education . With this new infrastructure bill there will be tremendous opportunity for skilled and knowledgable workers

It also makes you and your company look like experts. Yes the big government jobs require it and usually have inspector checking every move. But on smaller to medium size jobs it makes you look like an expert. They always remember to say ” I don’t remember the last company washing the whole structure Thank You” And on Industrial jobs companies notice the extra quality and a brief explanation just to keep them in the loop. This is how customers and new business are won. Referral business and a good name is key in the Industrial world. Theres not as many workers and companies in this space make sure you have a good name.

Moral of the story do the easy things with the same quality and pride as you do with the most difficult jobs. It’s the prep and work nobody sees that makes the end result possible.

Key Take aways

• Prepare and be organized it shows how the job will be run

• It removes grease and contaminants

• It can ruin a job if salts, contaminants are blasted into steel

• Saves huge money washing as maintenance

• Sets up rest of the prep for perfection