When working with exterior insulation and finish systems, what do you do to prevent the fast buildup of basecoat on your hawk?
Each morning I spray it generously with WD-40. There may be a little buildup, but I don’t scrape it too hard. At lunch I scrape it clean, let it dry and do the same WD-40 treatment. At the end of the day I scrape it, wash it, let it dry and spray it. I think the spray penetrates a little overnight. I give the trowel the same oil treatment the same way, but I do wash it off every time I set it down even for a few minutes. Now, for my fingernails … .
—John McElwee, Fresno, California
Stop goofing off and get the material on the wall!!! And if you spray the basecoat, there is no need for a hawk.
—Robert A. Aird, Robert A. Aird, Inc., Frederick, Maryland
Work faster.
—Buddy Upton
Take a bucket of water and wash it off with a long handled brush if you notice a buildup.
—Anonymous
1st choice: Use WD-40. Spray several times a day on the back of the hawk. 2nd choice: Apply petroleum jelly to the back of the hawk. 3rd choice: Apply red metal mask tape to back of the hawk. 4th choice: Use one of the many product sold to clean EIFS, example: Demand Products citrus cleaner etc.
—Laddy Dale, Dale Enterprises, Grand Junction, Colorado
Apply a thin coat of Vaseline or WD-40, then apply a thin layer of basecoat or finish and let it dry in the sun. Once it’s dry, work all day without scraping or washing your hawk. If material dries, just wipe a tight coat over top of your hawk. At the end of the day, you can easily scrape your hawk clean.
—Rex Yoder, Owner, All-American Plastering, Lincoln, Nebraska
Spray with WD-40 before you start, then spread basecoat over the hawk and let it ride. You can knock the whole works off at lunch and start over.
—Anonymous
I make sure my hawk is perched on the scaffold above me so as not to cover him. It usually prevents him from getting us dinner as his feathers don’t allow him to fly cleanly. It took years of training but we have him trained now. I also gained back my 20 pounds I lost while we had to retrain! For those of you who are still training and have to clean your hawk, I would check with PETA so that you do it correctly.
—Jeff
Find a job in the office so there is no mud on your hawk at all! No, just a coat of WD-40 at the start of work, and don’t clean with water or you will need to re-apply. This will work with all tools when working with basecoat. Also keeps your water bucket cleaner, the mess and time to keep cleaning your tools and of course making you more productive than the guy next to you. Duct tape and a tie wire hook to hang in your water bucket, and you’re good to go!
—Pat Brashler, Bradshaw & Assoc. Inc., Anchorage, Alaska
Keep a big bucket of water close by. When the buildup starts to get on the hawk, a quick paintbrush with water does the trick. If it gets too hard, whack it with a hammer!!!!!
—Wayne Dickinson, Dickinson Drywall, West Bridgewater, Massachusetts
