Wagtail Precision Glide test drive

[Guido Possum]

I'll be doing the weekly window-clean at the Supa IGA tomorrow.

I'll take this contraption with me and see how we get along, since I do the supermarket windows every week, there's only fingerprints to clean off each time, and since I do it under contract with the company who employs me anyway I'd rather experiment on their job than my own windows.

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[Eric Gilliand]

Give us a review on it Guido. The silence on FB groups is deafening.

 

[Guido Possum]

Alright, so I should point out that I clean these windows every week and - apart from fingerprints - they're still clean when I get there each visit so it seemed a good shopfront to test the PG on.

And, going from the blue Moerman microfibre scrubber and Ettore Contour Pro+ handle to this, well, sure felt like a downgrade from the get-go.

I'll say this though; it was nice not having to swap between t-mop and squeegee so in that respect it saved time.

Last night I chopped the little scrubber strip - more like a bit of carpet - about 3/4" shorter on each end which eliminated the lines that are unavoidable when the strip of cloth is exactly the same length as the rubber, and replace the default red wagtail **** with a new ettore rubber.

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At the shop, I found the solution seemed to be doing most of the work and the only way to effectively 'scrub' the glass was to press the wagtail flat against the glass: with the bottom-end of the handle touching too, like so..

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The results were alright I guess for fingerprints at least, though anytime I'd find a dribble of something thicker than a fingerprint I had to pull-out the t-mop - it just took too many passes with the PG to get the gunk off.

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The channel and 'precision' clips are rubbish compared to the Liquidator: the clips pop-out anytime you accidently bump against the framing, taking the end of the rubber with them, and even when pressed against the very edge of a straight, two-inch deep frame without a seal they leave about 1/4 of an inch of liquid to detail-off afterwards, so any claims of 'zero detailing' are just marketing bullshit.

Seems to me that with both the wagtails I have, the only thing the company had spent money on is the handle: all the channel components look and feel as though they've been salvaged from a plastics recycling depot.

I could use it if I didn't mind replacing the channel, heat-gunning the handle to a better angle and swapping the strip of carpet for a decent microfibre pad, but why should I? Consumers shouldn't have to modify every component of a $45 squeegee just to make it functional.

The handle, the handle, the handle.

It's a pity really, because he idea of a one-pass squeegee is very appealing and I might still toss it in the bucket and give it another chance, but the way it comes - off the shelf - the squeegee as a whole is not worth the asking price.

Old Willie should just sell the handles - without the channels - and save us all room in our recycle bins: I swear the clips that hold the pad-strip on are just off-cuts of the clips supermarkets use to snap those yellow price-tags on shelving..

Anyway, the handle's good, but the channel in its entirely seems like a poorly-made fill-in for a good one.

Really, it's made me interested in making my own DIY 1-pass channel because I'll be ****** if I couldn't do a better job.

 

[Guido Possum]

As an addendum; I'm aware that the 'glide' strip is meant simply to keep the rubber slippy, but even with both glide strip & rubber pressed against the glass at the correct angle - for both brand new Ettore and Wagtail rubbers - you're left with a film of wet as wide as the rubber itself.

 

[Guido Possum]

Oh yeah I'd have done that with the Slimline already but I keep er not remembering to buy myself a heat gun

 

[CHWS]

Iv seen there is a few wagtails on the market. What one is the best ??

 

[Guido Possum]

Iv seen there is a few wagtails on the market. What one is the best ??

Having bought the Slimline and now Precision Glide, I can't see anything that'd persuade me to toss any more money away on any model of wagtail again.

They're all basically the same; good handle, everything else about them garbage.

Until the company invests a bit of money into the channels they hodge-podge together, I can't see any reason to buy one unless you want the handle for a DIY squeegee, which I will end-up doing with the two handles I currently have.

 

[CHWS]

Anyone else any oppinions

 

[Eric Gilliand]

Anyone else any oppinions

Sure. I'm a Wagtail fan and have used most combinations apart from the latest. The standard Slimline is the easiest to use and master. My recommendation would be to buy either a 12" or 14" Slimline Flipper (make sure they have the latest clip arrangement). When you first get it remove the pad and clips and set it to one side. Practice with the bare squeegee for a week or two until you're comfortable with your technique. Then add the flipper pad, practice and get used to it in hand. If primarily you want it for pole work? Start low and progressively go higher as you become more proficient and confident with it. The company will NEVER invest more or listen to our opinions and findings so it's simply biting the bullet and once used to the action modifying for our own personal use. I rarely use fixed handle and for all its apparent weaknesses I believe the pivot concept as pioneered by Wagtail is invaluable for trad work.

 

[CHWS]

Sure. I'm a Wagtail fan and have used most combinations apart from the latest. The standard Slimline is the easiest to use and master. My recommendation would be to buy either a 12" or 14" Slimline Flipper (make sure they have the latest clip arrangement). When you first get it remove the pad and clips and set it to one side. Practice with the bare squeegee for a week or two until you're comfortable with your technique. Then add the flipper pad, practice and get used to it in hand. If primarily you want it for pole work? Start low and progressively go higher as you become more proficient and confident with it. The company will NEVER invest more or listen to our opinions and findings so it's simply biting the bullet and once used to the action modifying for our own personal use. I rarely use fixed handle and for all its apparent weaknesses I believe the pivot concept as pioneered by Wagtail is invaluable for trad work.

I'm looking it for working of the end of my slx pole, at a near full height will this be hard to put pressure on the squeege for it to work?

 

[Eric Gilliand]

I'm looking it for working of the end of my slx pole, at a near full height will this be hard to put pressure on the squeege for it to work?

I personally can handle it comfortably at up to about 20ft if the windows are of reasonable size. Anything over that gives me a bit of a workout. Essential at those heights and above is to have a very rigid pole so with the SLX should be just fine. Good luck.

 

[CHWS]

I personally can handle it comfortably at up to about 20ft if the windows are of reasonable size. Anything over that gives me a bit of a workout. Essential at those heights and above is to have a very rigid pole so with the SLX should be just fine. Good luck.

Yeah they are big wide and long windows

 

[CHWS]

I personally can handle it comfortably at up to about 20ft if the windows are of reasonable size. Anything over that gives me a bit of a workout. Essential at those heights and above is to have a very rigid pole so with the SLX should be just fine. Good luck.

Yeah they are big wide and long windows

 

[CHWS]

When buying this do would I be best buying the other angle thing you put on the pole?

 

[Guido Possum]

Yep. You gotta have an angle adapter.