Protect Drywall for Pressure Washing

[pds0006]

I'm going to use a pressure washer to take the old coating off of my new garage floor. Do I need to cover the drywall with tarp or something before I do this? It seems like that much water in a relatively enclosed space might be bad so I want to make sure I'm not setting myself up for failure.

On a side note, I'm not sure what kind of coating is in the garage now. It's a grey floor with no flecks, a very thin appearance and there is bare concrete in several places from tires. Is there a method to finding out what a particular coating is?

 

[battmain]

You probably wont be able to protect the drywall much. Water gets everywhere. Best you can do is monitor where you point the nozzle and where the water deflects. I watched some doofus pressure wash the garage door safety sensors at my mom's house. Ugh. I told her to fire the dumb s*it and pay the money for a epoxy floor.

 

[sberry]

I doubt a pressure washer will remove any coating.

 

[KM1013]

Agreed a pressure washer may not do it. If you are taking it off what does it matter what it is?

 

[Michigan Pressure Washing]

If you are asking so many questions already, save your time and nerves and hire some good power washing company. They have the right equipment, right cleaning and stripping chemicals and know how.
Power washer will not remove any paint. Right chemicals needs to be used to soften old finish first and power washer to finish the cleaning/stripping process.

Google Pressurenet website to find pros from your state/city.

Good luck!

 

[gatchel]

If you are asking so many questions already, save your time and nerves and hire some good power washing company. They have the right equipment, right cleaning and stripping chemicals and know how.
Power washer will not remove any paint. Right chemicals needs to be used to soften old finish first and power washer to finish the cleaning/stripping process.

Google Pressurenet website to find pros from your state/city.

Good luck!

Maybe you could help a brother out. This is a DIY style forum

 

[KrisS]

On a side note, I'm not sure what kind of coating is in the garage now. It's a grey floor with no flecks, a very thin appearance and there is bare concrete in several places from tires. Is there a method to finding out what a particular coating is?

It sounds like the same mystery mess I had. I tried soygel stripper and a pressure washer. One stall, two passes, 2.5 gallons, and hours later = FAIL. A shot blaster took care of it, but now I have very rough spots and an uneven texture. Next time I will try a 7" grinder.

Regarding the walls, I painted everything with a high quailty eggshell-sheen latex paint. I can even lightly pressure wash the walls and trim now.

 

[pds0006]

I was thinking if I knew what the coating was I could find the best method for removing it. Same concept as with antique furniture and stripping finishes using the right chemicals for the task.

If a pressure washer won't do it on it's own I'm probably going to hold off on removing it for now. There are several items that need to be done to the garage before it's fit for work and the finished floor really is a perk rather than a necessity. Thanks for the info and the advice; all of it actually did help.