We are redoing our basement flooring. We pulled out the old carpet, but under that it looks like they had laid tiles down. It appears there is a black glue probably from the 60s era tile. My original plan was to acid etch to prepare the concrete. Will that even be effective?
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Thinking about trying Delta Dye for basement flooring
- Thread starter nae_bakee
- Start date
oledude1952
Well-known member
Being in that time era, if its 9" x 9" square VCT tiles be careful. As the tile and even the black mastic can have asbestos in it.
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Shea
Well-known member
Acid etching will not remove mastic. It can be removed, however, with eco friendly products such as Bean-a-Doo.
https://products.franmar.com/products/mastic-adhesive-remover-for-concrete-bean-e-doo
The problem with chemical removal is that you may still have the faded outlines of the tile from the glue embedded in the surface of the concrete. The only way to get a clean slate is to grind.
As the previous post stated, make sure to test for asbestos first since you are dealing with 60's era tile.
https://products.franmar.com/products/mastic-adhesive-remover-for-concrete-bean-e-doo
The problem with chemical removal is that you may still have the faded outlines of the tile from the glue embedded in the surface of the concrete. The only way to get a clean slate is to grind.
As the previous post stated, make sure to test for asbestos first since you are dealing with 60's era tile.
manwithtools
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Even after grinding there will be "ghosting" of the lines between tiles. The concrete is likely stained down an inch or more from sealers, liquids, whatever made its way into the joints between tiles.
Just went through this on a 6000 sq ft floor. We went with an opaque epoxy to cover the lines left in the concrete after grinding.
Just went through this on a 6000 sq ft floor. We went with an opaque epoxy to cover the lines left in the concrete after grinding.
LegacyIndustrial
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Have to grind, but you need to make sure these are not asbestos or asbestos adhesive.
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
It appears there is a black glue probably from the 60s era tile. My original plan was to acid etch to prepare the concrete. Will that even be effective?
That is called "cutback" glue. It does have a small amount of asbestos in it, but it is not friable so it is not dangerous.
Removing cut back is a difficult process. There is only one solvent that will work on it. Sentinel 747. (Not me, but I did similar testing.) I got similar results. Used lots of blue paper shop towels to mop up the liquid before it rehardened. Second application was better, but far from "clean, bare concrete". I did an acid etch and epoxy. Holding up well after almost 10 years.
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theoldwizard1
Well-known member
Have to grind, but you need to make sure these are not asbestos or asbestos adhesive.
It will gum up a Diamabrush and if you make dust, the adhesive does have asbestos in it. BTDTGTT