Remove paint from concrete?
 

Any cement heads out here who could help me with this. Painter decided to spill paint on my new porch, stone work and grout. It looks like he painted with a broom. I have given my builder the chance to clean up this mess but I dont belive they are gonna do it to my satisfaction. I dont want to see any burnish or bleach marks where the spots were.

Paint is oil based and concrete is about a month old.

The quality of work nowadays is unbeliveable.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Joe

Joe,

It may be tough to get rid of the paint without removing any surface (cement) material. Even though the material is relatively new I'm pretty sure the paint has been absorbed. Short of powerwashing, sand blasting or the use of a poweful solvent removal may be impossible.

Some other thoughts:

It coudn't hurt to call the paint manufacturer for their advice.

Here's a Grafitti removal guide: http://www.az.ngb.army.mil/JCNTF/JCNTFGraf2.htm

Suggested products: http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/teametro/grprods.htm

Thanks Rick, I am affraid this is going to be the case. I was thinking somehow sandblasting or etching the entire slab would be the only way. I cant wait to here what the builder is going to do/ suggest. I will have to post a picture or two to show the hacks work.

This stinks. I think for concrete it might actually be called Water blasting where they use water as the vehicle to carry the sand (media) as opposed to air.

I'd definitely call the paint mfr. They know what disolves their product best.

Good luck.

will a water pressure washer do the job? the dude will have to do the entire area to make it look uniform. and if it looks too sketchy, then there is a product on the market made by quikset, that is basically a super thin grout product that you can mix up in buckets and squeege across the serface to make it look good again. the product is designed to cover minor cracking, discoloration, etc. neat stuff, you can even dye it with its counterpart coloring agent and change the entire curb appeal of your home. just like all of our other instructions i would try a tiny area first.

Cliff,

a pressure washer may get it out but Oil based paint is a tough customer. Also, I'm thinking that a stain will not take in a uniform manner if one section is contaminated with paint and others aren't.

Post a picture if you can, I might be able to help. I have seen miraculous results w/ a power washer against oil paint on stone and grout, but the paint must cure/harden completely first. Then it chips off w/ the pressure washer. (Approx. 2-3 weeks depending on weather cond.). :cool:

Depending on your take on the environment and any nearby landscaping, I use lacquer thinner, a tooth brush and a hose with a high preeure stream. If there are big areas to do, you could cover it up after wetting with water and then floating the thinner on the water (it actually combines for the most part). Then hit with the pressure. Paint remover works too, but you might see some staining. Best to check in a small area.

Lastly, new and old concrete can be sanded and the results are very pleasing. It's a whole new look and it's fairly elegant. This whole sanding process came about when they started using fiberglass strands in the concrete mix as an option for addtional strength. the fibers woulb be sticking up all over the place, so they sanded them off and came up with this ultra smooth look. It's nto too slippery either. If you have exposed agregate, back to the begining.

Here's someone you may want to call. By the end of this execise you'll be the expert.

"Tag Away Remover Extra Strength" - Removes unsightly graffiti from porous surfaces like brick, concrete, and stone. It is non-caustic, non-toxic, biodegradable and non-flammable, Apply the gel with a brush or roller and leave on for a maximum of 5 minutes and remove using at least a 2500 PSI pressure washer. If the surface is Granite or stone leave gel on for 3 - 5 minutes.

Available at: Graffiti Solutions, Division of Fiber Tec Coatings Corporation
P.O. Box 23209
Charlotte, North Carolina 28212
Phone (704)821-4433 Fax (704) 821-9599

You guys and this board rocks! I will try and resize my pictures but I havent had great success. You have to see what a so called professional painter did to our new home.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Joe

Why not just use automotive paint stripper? That stuff will strip catalyzed acrylic enamel, I think it would make short work of your situation.

Tshabet,
If I can get some pictures up you could see that when the so called painter spilled paint on the concrete he attempted to wipe it up. But the paint soaked into the concrete leaving a sort of stain. I think the stripper, unless used on the whole 6' X 30', slab would leave its own mark.
Joe

Ah, I see. FWIW, I've spilled the gel-type stripper on my garage floor before and it does sort of bleach the spot. What type of finish is on the concrete? Is it a porous/bumpy sidewalk type finish or a polished finish?

Regarding picture posting and resizing: http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/99113-porsche-photo-photoshop-question.html?highlight=paint

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1083881798.jpg


Here is one shot. I will try another.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1083882128.jpg

Here is another on the Faux stone. The firs photo happen to be right in front of the fron door! What an IDIOT!

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. I am going home to have a beer or two.

Joe

That concrete appears to have a pretty smooth steel trowel finish. Which works in your favor, and you mentioned the concrete is only a month old so it is really still curing ie water vapor is coming out of it.

The smooth closed surface means the paint did get do penetrate to far below the surface, and the fresh concrete means the finish hasnt been broken by traffic or wear, no nooks or porosity for the paint to seep into..

If a curing agent was used on the concrete even better!! the paint is laying on the curing agent..and easier to get off.

I bet pressure washing will clean that right up..... they shouild pressure wash the whole surface though... the laittane may be removed by localized cleaning, so the whole surface should probably be pressure washed..

did it rain while the concrete was wet? or is that curing compound? or did they use plastic sheeting for the cure?

Yikes four paragraphs about removing paint LOL

Craftsmen are a dying breed...

Lacquer thinner or acetone for sure on that little bit. When I paint and get a little on the concrete walks (which I cover and try not too, but there's always the ignoramous that walks across your cloth taking the apint to the uncovered areas), I use a little thinner, the brush I mentioned and then I sort of do a spin on the ball of my foot in my sneakers on top of the spot. You would never find the spotted areas after that trick. Sounds stupid until you try it.

Be careful with a pressure washer. At high pressures, they can make marks in concrete (stripes) that will be there forever, especially fresh uncured concrete. I'm talking less than 2 months old.

Wow, I thouigh the painter tipped a gallon can of paint or something. That's not much at all. I'd try Milt's advice as well. Should be no biggie.