[Moderator David@stives]

scrim is more enviromently friendly , as it biodegrades as you work
then when all the holes join up it makes a useful bit of rope,

[Moderator David@stives]

hey mike have you ever seen best white scrim

[brett walker]

one damp microfibre and one dry microfibre..rub damp on...dry off with dry cloth...absolutely great.

   

   i would have to agree with this one, it does the job perfect.

                                 Brett

[windows_chepstow]

the art of scrimming is beginning to die as not many people know how to use them properly.

I know I don't ue my scrim(s) properly.  On a hot day I'll only use two or three, but on a damp day, I'll use loads.

I don't like wet scrim though, it dries my hands and I suffer from exzema (the big softie I am).

So what's the proper way to use scrim?

[Moderator David@stives]

Two well rung out scrim still slightly damp .
first one slightly damper than the other.
dampest one first clean until you can see most of the dirt come off
then polish up with the second one remembering the first scrim is doing most of the work.

easy when you know how .i got told this off an old timer when i first started,you could also substitute the first scrim with a leather mop. dry scrim can leave hairs. i have tried other methods but you cant beat the old ways.

dave

seek and yee shall find .
keep wringing that second skin until you think the skin is going to come off your hands. if you are a wimp wra it around your ladder and twist until you cant twist no more

[windows_chepstow]

Two well rung out scrim still slightly damp .
first one slightly damper than the other.
dampest one first clean until you can see most of the dirt come off
then polish up with the second one remembering the first scrim is doing most of the work.

easy when you know how .i got told this off an old timer when i first started,you could also substitute the first scrim with a leather mop. dry scrim can leave hairs. i have tried other methods but you cant beat the old ways.

seek and yee shall find

dave

Sorry, Dave, I thought there was more to the 'art' than what you'd already posted.

Silly me.

[Moderator David@stives]

seek and yee shall find .
keep wringing that second scrim until you think the skin is going to come off your hands. if you are a wimp wra it around your ladder and twist until you cant twist no more

keep rubbing with that first cloth until the pain is 90%clean
before you use that second cloth making sure you keep turning that cloth as i explained in a previous  post

[Moderator David@stives]

When i first started an old timer moxam`s from bolton who also had  a  w/c shop open on wed mornings told me it did not hurt if you just put a tiny squirt of soap in your bucket .the secret to scrim is to keep turning it.
you fold it  4 or 5 times until it is a hand size square then you have effectively got 16 squares on each side so as one section gets dirty you unfold and refold so the dirty section is on the opposite side ,but watch for the dirt bleeding through the cloth then when that it is dirty you refold at the adjacent section and keep doing this until the cloth is fully exhausted. then you rinse and crack it then you are ready to go again

hope i explained clearly
dave

this scrim thing is all over the place

[dai]

Back in the late 1950's I used to have segs on my hands from ringing out scrims.
A chamoise mop and a damp scrim or as David from St Ives said one damp scrim and one a bit wetter. You will never beat a clean damp scrim for polishing glass be they old leaded or plain. I carry one of those sray bottles in the van just to dampen scrims if I need one for polishing
 And Tosh wear gloves man, I wear gloves all the time summer and winter, mind you I still prefer a wooden ladder, gloves prevent splinters too. Dai

[Moderator David@stives]

the reason the first cloth is a bit wetter is that you need more moisture to wet and lift the dirt off the window.the second cloth is merely just  for drying up and taking the final residue off ,as if it was to wet it would leave the window slightly wet trapping some dirt inside the water that is left behind.if it was a dry scrim it would just spread the dirt about .
sometimes a dry scrim or microfibre can be used to polish off ,but there will be no moisture to suck up the dirt into the cloth

[mark f]

noone bothered bout dying then???

[Moderator David@stives]

you die when you die
what with worrying about lead ,food,smoking,boozing ,flying ,driving,smog,etc
i dont want to die .i think i will just stay in bed .

[Ian_Giles]

There have been a couple of comments about lead being absorbed while cleaning leaded windows.
Some were from a guy who worked with lead, upshot is that it is not really possible to absorb sufficient lead from window cleaner to suffer even the slightest risk to your health.
You simply are not going to be in contact with it for long enough.

My way for cleaning leaded windows though?

A very light spray just as Roger said, but a microfibre for me...A DRY one
The mist of spray on the glass is absorbed by the dry microfibre (or scrim) and this lifts off and polishes the glass.

Use of the damp scrim and a barely damp scrim is fine, but getting into corners means a slight pause in motion, and this can leave marks.
I'm not saying it can't be done (I used this method myself many years ago) but using that method takes a great deal of skill to get it right.

A dry scrim, and to a lesser degree a dry microfibre, if used on glass that is too dry will do a poor job, lot of dust left behind and the dirt only moved around and not picked up, but when the glass has enough of the solution on the glass it comes up fine, and it doesn't take so much skill as the other way to get a good result!

Regards,

Ian

[Moderator David@stives]

ian i could not agree more .
i think you are better at descibing things than me .

just a thought , a spray bottle is just another thing to carry .
i have done that method as well sometimes to change things about a bit ,when i fancy a change.

to do away with the bottle i dab a few dots with my washer which is already in my bucket on a belt .so eliminating the need for the spray ,as sometimes it saves carrying extra equipment or rushing back to your vehicle to get your spray..


p.s. is that an extra large pint or are you one of them borrowers

[gibbouk]

i posted a piece a while ago bringing up this subject.
the only risks of piosoning are
inhalation, 
through dust particles. if you  wet cloth then dry cloth, most of the dust particles are trapped in the wet one. dont shake out your dry cloths afterwards
indegestion.
have you ever needed to lick the window to clean them so no real risk. just wash your hands after.
absobing. very small risk, wash hands after.
there is no need to panic or rush to your doctors, unless you clean a church every day of the week

[Moderator David@stives]

i did lead solering and beating at college about 10 years ago.
there was no mention of any health issues then.
it is just another scare to rush us into buying  a wfp.
sales must of slumped recently .so they have to think of newer and more phsycological ways to get us to buy there poles

  ;)read between the lines that is where the subliminal messages are hidden

[gibbouk]

there is a risk,
but there is from a glass of water flowing through lead pipes.
from contact with lead paints and for us older ones from the lead soldiers we played with as kids.
the article stunk of scare mongering and as you said buy this and you will be ok.
it highlighted the worse case for it all and made it sound as if we all had it.
i used to teach stained glass to  people with learning dificulties so i had to know all the implecations concerning this issue

[mark f]

mmmm yes dont clean them by hand........... any way i wouldnt mind wfp to clean leads bet its a breeze. (till i lift up my pole to admire my work and hit an overhead cable!)   ( Or worse still slip on all that water, Or watch the old dear come round the side to pay me as she does a triple lutz over the hose pipe. When i get wfp i will be feeling im working within the regs a bit better but then give it a year or so and there will be a new batch hammering the wfp and all the accidents it may cause!)

[Deanyp]

Remove lead.......applicate, then blade........replace lead.Aint tried it yet but its gotta work aint it?

[vistech]

try using a really small blade ,about 4-5 inches long  and press quite hard when using but do either vertical or horizontal strokes only ,it is better on some than others but worth a try if you cant buy a small blade just hacksaw a larger one down then cut your rubber to size
hope this helps. martin