Cleaning

[church]

If you need to clean the white water marks off of window frames or skirting's after plastering use WD40 spray onto a sponge or rag and wipe ,works really well on stained wood work .

 

[richardbrown]

another good one ....... pull about 2metres of scrim off a roll, scrunch it rght up into a ball and use to clean windows etc. works a treat.

 

[beddy]

i discovered that a few weeks back church, do it all the time now. its especially good for the wood effect pvc frames as the muck gets in the grains.

 

[nelly]

I just tell the customer to clean them themselves the lazy bone idle bastages

 

[gilesy]

wd40 on lead flashing after rendering, cleans up a treat ;D

 

[gilesy]

buy some cheap masking tape 25mm wide, and apply to the face side of door frames(neatly) skim walls, pull of tape when set hard,simples ;D ;D

 

[church]

I found that the blue automotive masking tape works well, i think 3M is the brand name

 

[Gibbo]

brake cleaner is good for cleaning flashings

 

[Chris W]

wd40 on lead flashing after rendering, cleans up a treat ;D

brake cleaner is good for cleaning flashings

patination oil should be used on flashings...
both above methods work well as does white spirit, the difference being patination oil is a 'breathable' oil which stays on the leadwork (should be dabbed not scrubbed on) and allows the leadwork to 'patinate' i.e. corrode protectively - like aluminium....
thats how the best leadwork stays that nice dark grey colour for years and years and doesnt get the mortar / weathering stains

 

[Chris W]

p.s. mr sheen works pretty well on woodgrain too...
and polycarbonate roof sheets (hides all the little tiny scratches)....
i use fine steel wool on pvc windows....
polish em up with t-cut and then 'cif' cream if your on stimulants...
fine wet and dry will take cigarette burns out of pvc cills...
on no account take a polishing mop in a 4" angle grinder to a pvc cill - youll melt the f'cker.. ;D

 

[spredz]

Years ago i splattered a £90 solid oak internal door (black burn stains)

I sanded the entire side down with a power sander (cheap one) and a detail sander for a few spots, wiped the dust off with white spirit (which doesn't make the grain swell like a damp cloth would) and then rubbed fiddes wood wax into it. it looked the nuts when finished and the customer wanted me to do the rest, which i didn't coz i'm a plasterer not a sodding door stainer

i carry a chamois leather in the van for windows, I sponge them down frame as well and then dry them off with the chamois, fast effective and cheap for upvc.

Like the wd40 tip for the wood window frames though,

 

[beddy]

when carrying a full bucket of plaster up a ladder right next to face brickwork, and the bloke you work for says if u feel like your gonna fall, drop the bucket, never NEVER drop the bucket. as i did. i was a labourer then so its ok to be stupid.