Adhesive remover for Concrete
 

Ok the thread title sucks! What I'm doing is removing tiles (~15yrs old) off a concrete floor. They are obviously are held down with some sort of adhesive (yellowish if that helps). I want to clean off all the adhesive and put a good epoxy paint down instead. What's the best way to go about this?

I have some 3M adhesive remover I was going to try but I think it'll take forever soaking, scrubbing, repeating, etc. I'd like to do it quickly and in less then a days work if possible (~350sqft). PLEASE HELP....

First make sure it is not BLACK mastic. That stuff is (asbestos) a big NO NO and the EPA will get you.

Try water and a floor scrapper.

Then muriatic acid.

Bill, I just stripped my painted 625sqft garage floor last weekend and applied Behr 2 part epoxy. I thought about renting a floor grinder, but instead went thru 4 gallons of paint stripper brushed onto sections then powerwashed till clean...... miserable job. After stripping the old "porch/patio" paint, I acid etched then used 2 epoxy kits. Looks great.... I hope it lasts as this was a PITA job!

I am "guessing" that the stripper might work on the adhesive also. You could try it on a small section to see.

It's not black for sure. It's definitely yellowish, kind of a dried mustard color? Is this stuff water soluble? I'll try it and see...

Where would I get the muriatic acid? Never heard of that before, sorry I don't do this stuff everyday.

Use a scraper designed for this purpose, then rent a buffer and sand the floor.

JR

get some dry ice, lay it on in areas, hit it with a hammer.

Any decent home improvement store will have the acid.

A true floor scrapper can be found at a tile supply house. The blade is a sharp thin piece of metal about a foot wide and has a handle like a shovel.

Good timing on my question then! This is inside (not a garage) so I don't know if powerwashing is a good idea. I don't want to wreck everything else around with the water. I thought about a floor grinder as well. But I wanted to see about other options first. Maybe the paint stripper alone and a scraper might work? It would be sweet if it is water based!

There is an easy to use adhesive stripper from Home Depot. I forget the name, but it comes in a 1 gallon can and is a semi gel consistency. You need some thin plastic sheeting ( 4mil )

You spread the stripper out with a plastering trowel and cover with the plastic as you go.
This prevents evaporation and produces maximum results.

After it has set for 20-30 minutes, you pull up the plastic and use a wide, flat blade scraper to get it all off. You need an old dust pan and a plastic lined bucket.

It's very messy, smells hideous ( wear a respirator ) and is slippery, so don't fall into it.
It is very caustic, so wear gloves and rain boots, too.

After you have scraped up most of it, use a commercial mop and wringer bucket.
You'll need to go over it a few times to neutralize.


The other option is to rent a 'shot blaster' instead.


KT

& javadog's advice might be the ticket!

Shaun 84 Targa - Seriously? I can just see the wife show up and see me working in dry ice fog and wonder what the heck I'm doing! Oh, nothing dear... :rolleyes:

WOW! Good stuff guys. Thanks for the quick replies!

This is the stuff:


http://lh4.ggpht.com/_rjRP3ZuUdVw/SK...2/P1010102.JPG

I've stripped about 4,000 square feet with this stuff, recently.
I recommend.



KT

It's certainly the most fun way to remove tile/adhesive. You will need a scraper too, and can always have fun with the dry ice and the kids afterwards if you have any leftover. Lots of great science experiments on the web with dry ice. How else can you remove tile and be the coolest dad? Fire maybe, but that gets tricky, and the wife will definitely be mad.

I doubt that water will remove the glue. Paint stripper is nasty stuff and I HATE using it, but sometimes one just has to use the stuff. The thicker you slather it on the better and using Trekkor's tip about the plastic sheeting has merit, but I typically just lay it on real thick.

The acid comes with the Behr Epoxy kit (Home Depot carries the kit). If yo uuse Rustoleum's kit you will have to buy the acid seperate (no big deal). The acid etches the surface of the concrete which gives the paint something to bite into. If you use the acid (and the stripper for that matter), you will need to rinse the floor afterwards prior to paint. The acid treatment is important for proper adhesion, but since this is indoors and will not have hot tires on it, you might consider skipping the acid.... I would not skip it though because you do not want to have to repeat this process in the near future if your wife gets p!ssed because the floor has some spots peeling. :)

I suggested the water first because water left on VCT tiles will pop them up if allowed to soak overnight.

I used the following to remove Sealer from patterned concrete. It worked amazingly well, and is relatively safe/green (made from soy)

http://www.franmar.com/index.php?cPath=21

I used Soy Gel, but I see they also sell adhesive removers: http://www.franmar.com/index.php?cPath=22

How many sqft does that 1 gallon cover? I'm leaning towards this method. I'll probably put it on thick and not cover it, like Tim mentioned.

Not a bad idea, but I need something local. Kinda under the gun here and need to cut in floor drains, etc....

I've used Simple Green and a pressure washer with hot water...

Call them. I bought it from a local distributor. They may have something in your area.

Best way would be to shot blast slab, which would remove the adhesive and the laitance (top layer of concrete). This requires specialized equipment which is not easily available for a homeowner to rent..

Hiring a contractor who has the equipment will be quite expensive, as shot blasters make there money on square foot/day... you probably have a tiny slab..it will cost a fortune to have a blaster come to your house

I'd buy the smallest size of any of the chemicals/products mentioned, and test and see which one works best... The go with that..

I'd strongly suggest you try to get most of it up with a scraper. It's fast and often you can get it all up. The adhesive removers will make a bigger mess and you'll get some adhesive, and god knows what, into the pores of the concrete. That isn't what you want under new paint.

JR

I don't remember the coverage, but the instructions is to cover with plastic.
Seems like 2-300 ft per gallon. ( i'm guessing )
It's super-easy.
You plop out the stripper onto the floor and cover with the plastic. You can spread it around from above. ( the dry side )

Work in 3 foot wide swatches.
Cut the plastic first, roll it back up and go for it!



KT

Yes, indeed!

How many square feet is your project?


KT

It's only about 350sqft. Maybe I should see how much this shot blast costs before I spend the time and energy. May be worth it?? Do you guys know what this runs roughly?

Seems like that would make a mess inside your house?

It's overkill, if all you are trying to do is get the glue off. If you want to do it to promote adhesion of the new paint, then it's a good idea. I'm in a different end of the country than you, so what it costs here may be quite a bit different but here it would cost the better part of a grand, to do it right.

Try a scraper to see how well the glue is stuck, and how "dry" it is. If it's too hard to scrape, or it is still pretty tacky, call a flooring company that does commercial work and get an estimate for them to scrape it off and sand the floor for you. With their equipment, it's less than an hour's work.

JR

Not really, most shot blasting set ups are equipped with a dust collection system, which is a high cfm vacuum and filters. You do get some stray shot escaping and some dust emissions it the rig crosses uneven surfaces..

Since the area to be prepared is only 350 sf.. even some of the smaller shot blast units could barely maneuver in that space... And getting a contractor to come and mobilize his equipment for such a small space would cost beau coup dinero..

We use shot blast subcontractor to prep thousands of square feet pf bridge decks for overlays.....

It is the best method for surface prep if you have huge areas...and its the best if have a small area.. maybe not the most economical in that instance...

The shot blaster we used was very maneuverable: Think two large shop vacs connected together.

We only used it once to remove cutback asphalt adhesive over slab that had radiant heat.

Check with any number of rental outlets. They will have hourly or daily fees. Not expensive.
Be aware:
1. The blaster will not get in tight areas or close along walls.
2. If you sit in one place for too long with in blasting you will start to bore a hole in the slab.

Those 'flakes' they broadcast into epoxy garage floors aren't just for decoration!
They cover up all the funk they create.


The key to a good mechanical bond is the porosity of the surface you intend to apply to.

Like I said, rinse several times after using the adhesive stripper.
Then let it dry. Take a wet sponge and wipe over a test area. If it turns 'dark', water is penetrating. Your paint will too!

This is also good test to see if your grout/stone sealer is still effective. If it doesn't turn dark, or better yet, the water beads up, it's still working.


Get to work!

It will take you about six hours... and less beers!


KT