Removing old concrete from trowels, floats, etc?

[cowboy73]

I see alot of used trowels, edgers, floats, etc. at the flea markets. Alot of the cheap ones are covered in old concrete. Any tips on getting off the old concrete or is it a lost cause? I was thinking about heating them up a little with a propane torch, since the metal will expand alot faster than the concrete and it should just pop off.

 

[dandan111]

We just scuff them on a concrete driveway to clean the working part up. On the back side I wouldn't wast my time.

 

[Haukur]

Try muratic acid. It's used for etching concrete, might be good for cleaning off thinner layers.

I worked in construction fora couple of years. We cleaned up and refurbished old molds once. Hammers, chisels and angle grinders with wire wheels, the kind with twisted together wires.

It sucked but we got them cleaned up and painted.

 

[yost69]

I have used the wire wheel on a bench grinder for that before.

 

[bimmerZ5]

hard steel scraper and a hammer and chisel them off...

 

[ihateminimumwage]

I have used the wire wheel on a bench grinder for that before.

This is what I've always done.

 

[TheGrooveking]

Soak them in sugar water, sugar breaks the chemical bonds of concrete, it may take a few days.

TheGrooveking

 

[up_in_the_air]

air hammer flat wide chisel and a face mask

 

[ZRX61]

I have used the wire wheel on a bench grinder for that before.

That. They end up looking new.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

My old man said he saw/heard something about spraying dried concrete on tools with DRY ICE, then just smack it and it falls off. But he couldn't really remember for sure if that's what he saw/heard. (In all seriousness, he's getting a little older and memory's fading)

Anybody know anything on this? Google failed me...

 

[djb2]

Soak them in sugar water, sugar breaks the chemical bonds of concrete, it may take a few days.

TheGrooveking

Sugar will slow the setup and change the strength of fresh concrete, but won't do much to old concrete.

A little sugar in the mix will slow the cure, and increase the ultimate compressive strength. More sugar results in a weaker mix that is slow to cure and easier to break up even after curing, and thus is often used to kill a failed pour when cleanup has to be delayed.

If sugar on fully cured concrete had any effect, vandals would be buying it by the hundredweight. And most dive bars would have only gravel left on the floor.

 

[K2Orion]

Use a hammer, chisel, knotted wire cup brush in an angle grinder, and a crew of finishers and laborers who are hungry and broke after a long wet winter.

A needle scaler or air hammer works also.

 

[neophyte]

Sugar will slow the setup and change the strength of fresh concrete, but won't do much to old concrete.

A little sugar in the mix will slow the cure, and increase the ultimate compressive strength. More sugar results in a weaker mix that is slow to cure and easier to break up even after curing, and thus is often used to kill a failed pour when cleanup has to be delayed.

If sugar on fully cured concrete had any effect, vandals would be buying it by the hundredweight. And most dive bars would have only gravel left on the floor.

Any chance you know what the minimum and maximum proportion are for adding sugar to concrete. I've seen and heard references to sugar, and rice flour, being used to increase the strength and harness of mortar and concrete, but I don't recall actual proportions being mentioned. Either that or do you know of a reference book that goes over it.

 

[tontotheindian9]

Might be surprised by what you can do with sandpaper actually.

 

[isb cornbinder]

This stuff eats concrete.

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[bb29510]

oranges and another method vinegar

 

[yatg]

Had some tile levelers that had old caked on mortar. Put them in the ultrasonic and they came out mostly clean. Anything that didn't come off went in for another cycle. Don't know if it will work for concrete, but its another option to try.

 

[Walkers]

Sand blaster cleans them right up!

 

[PCustoms]

Timely thread. I used my float the other night and somehow forgot to hose it off.

Does CLR eat aluminum/magnesium?