Removing epoxy from driveway

[snowboarda42]

Finished my first time coating the floor of my garage with a kit from Epoxy-coat today, it turned out great!

I have a couple of drips in the driveway though, and a small section where I accidentally rolled some epoxy when I looked away. I didn't have any xylene to wipe it up with at the time, so it had to dry.

What's the best way to get it off?

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[pauls_workshop]

nice looking floor there. For getting it off, you need to grind that off. A hand grinder with any wheel on it could do that fast or a little dremel with a grinding bit if only a small area. You could try a hammer/chisel too if a very small spot or two, but the above would be better and likely give a cleaner result unless you are good. - Paul

 

[JakeKohl]

looks like a pebble finish on that drive. I would go with a wire brush in a drill or side-angle grinder to try and clean that off....and start easy to avoid removing too much cement.

 

[rlitman]

How about a sandblaster. One of those spot guns should do it if the wire wheel doesn't.
Yeah, I wouldn't grind into the pebble finish. It'll look worse than the epoxy.

 

[bdamico]

time

 

[grissom]

How about putting a rag soaked in acetone on it?

 

[The Bramptonian]

Since most epoxies are intolerant to moisture and can not sustain constantly wet environment, why not use this to your advantage? I would just keep a wet cloth over it constantly for a few weeks/ months and see if that would cause the epoxy to peel away or loose its grip. My reasoning is eventually some moisture will seep under the epoxy layer from the sides and may cause it to peel away. I have never tried it but this doesn't seem very far fetched. Does it? After all, how many epoxy jobs have failed due to excessive moisture?

Beside, since it is outdoor, most likely rain and snow will take care of this in due course. Give it a few months and once in a while clean lightly with wire brush. Eventually, this will go away without much efforts or damage to your pebbled surface. Definitely stay away from any sort of grinding.

Another option, may be use a regular cement based concrete patching compound and thin it to the paint consistency with water and paint a very thin coat over it with a brush. Natural dark grey cement colors on a pebbled floor are much better looking than an ugly epoxy grey. This will probably hide the grey of epoxy for good and wouldn't look so bad. After all, your pebbled floor is made of concrete.

Finished my first time coating the floor of my garage with a kit from Epoxy-coat today, it turned out great!

I have a couple of drips in the driveway though, and a small section where I accidentally rolled some epoxy when I looked away. I didn't have any xylene to wipe it up with at the time, so it had to dry.

What's the best way to get it off?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[SteveCh]

I'd be tempted to leave it alone. If weather exposure doesn't do the trick, over time, then you could always try the grinder/etc. route.

Forget it.

 

[Edger]

I am an ex graffiti (Peter the Graffiti Eater) remover so you need to dissolve it chemically and wash it off otherwise you will leave a permanent mark behind if you grind, sand, shotblast etc.

Find some paint stripper and apply it keeping it wet until you can see it has dissolved, which may take a couple of hours or so. I think Beanydoo or something like that is environmentally friendly and can be washed off.

Once it is thoroughly dissolved scrub it gently with a brush and detergent water then hose it away when it looks very clean. Water jet is best. Let it dry completely and do it again for residues. Once you have the epoxy removed any residues will usually fade away.

Be careful to completely wash away the residue, you do not want it to dry on your concrete 10 ft away. Be careful to wash it away from your garage.

 

[pauloman]

it is there for good - your best fix is paint matching the color of the cement

note that for some reason spills and mistakes like this always bond better then the places where extreme surface prep was performed

actually epoxy over spray etc. is often removed with heat. epoxy will soften with heat and is then sort of easy to scarp off (on some surfaces) - you could also try to burn or bake it off, but that could be worse (burn spot or 'exploding' cement.

on the plus side, you can see how quickly and how deeply it yellows in constant direct sunlight. I do 'a lot' of tests like this!

 

[tncatadjuster]

I am an ex graffiti (Peter the Graffiti Eater) remover so you need to dissolve it chemically and wash it off otherwise you will leave a permanent mark behind if you grind, sand, shotblast etc.

Find some paint stripper and apply it keeping it wet until you can see it has dissolved, which may take a couple of hours or so. I think Beanydoo or something like that is environmentally friendly and can be washed off.

Once it is thoroughly dissolved scrub it gently with a brush and detergent water then hose it away when it looks very clean. Water jet is best. Let it dry completely and do it again for residues. Once you have the epoxy removed any residues will usually fade away.

Be careful to completely wash away the residue, you do not want it to dry on your concrete 10 ft away. Be careful to wash it away from your garage.

+1 pre wet the driveway when washing it across to nearest edge.

 

[JakeKohl]

I am an ex graffiti (Peter the Graffiti Eater) remover so you need to dissolve it chemically and wash it off otherwise you will leave a permanent mark behind if you grind, sand, shotblast etc.

Find some paint stripper and apply it keeping it wet until you can see it has dissolved, which may take a couple of hours or so. I think Beanydoo or something like that is environmentally friendly and can be washed off.

Once it is thoroughly dissolved scrub it gently with a brush and detergent water then hose it away when it looks very clean. Water jet is best. Let it dry completely and do it again for residues. Once you have the epoxy removed any residues will usually fade away.

Be careful to completely wash away the residue, you do not want it to dry on your concrete 10 ft away. Be careful to wash it away from your garage.

Assuming this was a true 2-part epoxy, there's not much that will act like a solvent to it (I don't know of anything...but I'm sure there is something but chances are that it will also affect the concrete as bad or worse as abrasion). The heat is a really good idea. Make sure to get it warm...abrading it off is going to be the only practical option.

 

[Shea]

note that for some reason spills and mistakes like this always bond better then the places where extreme surface prep was performed

This is standard epoxy coating law

 

[tncatadjuster]

I remove set epoxy off tools with paint remover, if it is methylene chloride based. It takes a while, lay some paper over the top to stop it from evaporating too quickly.

Almost anything can be removed if you know how.

 

[pauloman]

methylene chloride is about the only solvent that will soften cured epoxy.
note the ordinary epoxies will handle 75% sulfuric acid without problem - your hardware store paint removes aren't even in the same league.

for removing epoxy from boats, folks use a heat gun and scrapper

paul

 

[Edger]

Methylene chloride based strippers used to be the normal hardware type. They will work.

Put it on thick, cover if possible, allow to sit for 30mins to 1hr, break it up with a wire brush, water jet it off. If there is a small residue allow mother nature to fade or remove it rather than risk another stain from acid.

Epoxies are resistant to acids, alkalies, oils etc. but not very resistant to strong solvents like Methylene chloride.

 

[snowboarda42]

Sweet, thanks everyone for the replies! I'll post pictures once it's off

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[shaun oriold1]

Try Xylene. I use it to clean my tools after applying epoxy. No problem!