Restoring / Cleaning Brick Face Question

[asphaltgambler]

Hi all - have a question related to brick masonry cleaning / restoring. The front of my home is all brick and it is looking faded and dull. I know it's not supposed look like car paint but I believe it is sun faded (possibly).

The home was built 16 years ago and the bricks are light red and fairly even toned - but look 'faded'. That side of the house faces the west and gets all the sun from 1:00pm on. I've tried basically washing small area with water / soap and scrub brush - really no difference.

I've been told that acid washing gets good results but kills the grass and plants from the run-off. Also there seems to be many clear 'sealers' that you can apply to make the color 'pop'. But I don't want a glossy look, just brighter, more natural color.

Anyone here have this issue and tried process(s) that works?

[dad911]

I've used a matte sealer.

[asphaltgambler]

Can you describe in detail if you had the same problem, what product?

[Dave Kost]

Before I would use an acid cleaner, I would try a Hot pressure washer like a Hot Z or similar with a mild cleaner like Simple Green first. Then go to the acids cleaners if needed. I clean my brick walkways every couple of years. I bought 2 gallons of muriatic acid to use. The pressure washer alone did a great job. Still have the acid.

BE very careful with the acids if you decide to go that route or hire a professional.

(good reason to buy a pressure washer)

[dad911]

Pressure washer can take the finish off some brick, be careful. My brick has a powder, baked on the surface for color. We have the opposite problem, our brickfront is in the shade and gets dirty, I have to carefully powerwash, low pressure, wide nozzle, not to change the tone.

[tcar]

Show a close-up of the brick, maybe.

Fired? Sand (porous) finish?

How about the mortar?

You might call a masonry contractor to ask re: your particular brick.

[asphaltgambler]

OK - will post pic tomorrow, thanks

[Charles Freeborn]

Look at the line of masonry cleaning and sealing products by Prosoco. It's only sold through professional outlets.
16 year old mortar should not be compromised, unless it was sub standard quality to begin worth. I worked for a historic restoration contractor for a bit - Prosoco was all we used.
https://www.prosoco.com
-C

[look 171]

Like Dad911 wrote, matte sealer or stone enhancer (applies like sealer). Let find out whats causing this.

[asphaltgambler]

Here are a few pics - the coloring looks much better because of HD camera. To the eye it is very washed out looking

[DanielDudley]

You might try a mild pressure washing to start. That often perks up brick.

[dad911]

I'd give it a mild pressure wash with an electric pressure washer, wide nozzle. Shutters look more washed out than the brick.....

[asphaltgambler]

The shutters are gone as soon as the brick is in better shape..................................

[tcar]

You can see if the BRICK is faded by removing a shutter.

The brick won't be faded behind the shutter, assuming they've been on there for a long period of time..

The downside is, that if the brick did fade and you remove the shutters, you will always see where the shutters were. Sunshadow.

I would remove a shutter first and check.

[VincentVega]

We replaced similar shutters, actually found they had a lifetime warranty against fading. They shipped us new right away.

I had good luck cleaning brick with siding/deck cleaner and a brush. Sounds bad but it wasnt bad at all. Spray on with the garden hose applicator in ~4' sections, brush and rinse. Not perfect but cleaner.

[rick-l]

All the house flippers around here paint them which I think is the dumbest thing to do.

Is a sealer a maintenance item, would it need to be reapplied?

Ever considered just living with the natural color?