Potential Problems
Santa Cruz, CA contractor Tom
Ralston used extreme measures last winter in New York
state when staining a 36,000 square feet of wall, 35
feet to 40 feet high, Workers rode lifts to power wash
the walls and applied stain with backpack power sprayers.
"We tackled this problem with unique weaponry," Ralston
says.
Staining vertically poses a unique set of problems.
On a vertical job, some of the slab is well out of reach,
which makes achieving consistency more difficult. Getting
workers and equipment to the top of the wall is not
easy, and gravity causes the stain to run and streak.
Finally, there's the acid mist. To avoid drips, the
stain must be applied as several coats of a light, fine
mist. At the top of a high wall, wind will catch the
hydrochloric acid log and distribute it onto everything
from windows and sidewalks to the skin of employees.
"You can actually develop esophageal problems,"
Ralston says. "It's 'water in the lungs.' It can
be a real problem."
Another issue on the New York
job was temperature, particularly as they were working
in November. "Acid stain doesn't seem to take as
well if the temperature gets down to freezing,"
Ralston says. "All bets are off,"
Schmid of Stone Touch says streaking is the single
biggest problem he faces on vertical surfaces, A rolling
bead of stain can do serious damage to a high-end finish.
'It's really difficult to keep it from running,"
he says.
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