What tool would you use to remove concrete paint?

[Uncle Ben]

I have a concrete patio and has two different colors of paint on it. The more recently added top coat of paint (over a year old) has been peeling off for awhile, but the coat underneath seems to be holding on much better.

It is probably about 700 sq ft or so, and I was thinking of using a sandblaster, but it might take a while. I would think a 2600psi pressure washer (I would rent it) would take even longer, but at least I wouldn't have to buy or clean up sand.

Any other ideas or suggestions for the fastest/easiest method to remove paint from a concrete patio?

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

 

[Pro-Painter]

I have a concrete patio and has two different colors of paint on it. The more recently added top coat of paint (over a year old) has been peeling off for awhile, but the coat underneath seems to be holding on much better.

It is probably about 700 sq ft or so, and I was thinking of using a sandblaster, but it might take a while. I would think a 2600psi pressure washer (I would rent it) would take even longer, but at least I wouldn't have to buy or clean up sand.

Any other ideas or suggestions for the fastest/easiest method to remove paint from a concrete patio?

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

A good pressure washer with a turbo nozzle will remove it fast. Sand blasting will make a mess and will texture it. Soda blasting would be better. No clean up or texture.

IMHO, A good pressure washer will be the best.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Would a gas-run 2600psi unit be enough? If so, I would probably try to rent from Home Depot...

 

[Outlawmws]

My 1100 psi electric has no problem cleaning paint drips and spills off of concrete, so I would think 2600 would be more than enough.

 

[jusridin]

A pressure washer will do the trick, concrete is naturally porous. I recommend an acid wash solution along with it to remove all leftover paint residue, then rinse it afterwards. Any masonry supply shop will have what ya need

 

[Uncle Ben]

Would 32% muriatic acid do the trick? I already have a few gallons on hand for pool maintenance? If so, should I dilute it first?

Would I add in the acid to the pressure washer solution tank itself, or apply it separately somehow?

 

[Uncle Ben]

Pro-painter: is a soda blaster a different type of machine, or is that achieved by adding a solution to a regular pressure washer?

I should also mention that the patio butts up to both the house and the garage, so I would like to avoid removing/damaging paint on those adjacent walls.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Pro-Painter]

Pro-painter: is a soda blaster a different type of machine, or is that achieved by adding a solution to a regular pressure washer?

I should also mention that the patio butts up to both the house and the garage, so I would like to avoid removing/damaging paint on those adjacent walls.

Thanks for the advice!

Soda blasting requires a special machine. You would be better off hiring someone to do it. A machine large enough to do what you need would cost a lot.

 

[Uncle Ben]

I checked with my local home depot and they have a 2,000 psi and 3,500 psi unit for rental, so I think I'll go with the 3,500 unit to make sure it can get the job done.

Would a powerful pressure washer like this also be an efficient way to remove paint on house trim and fascia board? I'll be repainting my house before long, so I'm starting to think of how I'm going to get the trim smooth before painting since there are several layers of paint, some of which are chipped away, leaving a non-flat surface.

Thanks

 

[trboxman]

3500psi pressure washer can etch concrete, be careful and pay attention to what you're doing. The pressure washer can also blast off any loose paint from your trim and fascia, but also be careful with this, you can easily break wood fibers with the wrong nozzle on the pressure washer. To get the smooth surface that you're looking for you'll likely need an electric paint remover. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000222YQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Or spend a good bit of time with a heat gun and putty knives...

 

[Outlawmws]

I checked with my local home depot and they have a 2,000 psi and 3,500 psi unit for rental, so I think I'll go with the 3,500 unit to make sure it can get the job done.

Would a powerful pressure washer like this also be an efficient way to remove paint on house trim and fascia board? I'll be repainting my house before long, so I'm starting to think of how I'm going to get the trim smooth before painting since there are several layers of paint, some of which are chipped away, leaving a non-flat surface.

Thanks

First you need to get to "good" paint, meaning nothing that is loose or scaling.

CAREFUL pressure washing (pretty easy to get too much pressure and do more damage then good...) then wire brush and scrapers for anything else loose. If you have different layers, then yon need to go over those with an appropriate filler (And sand smooth), before priming, then finally paint it.

 

[Outlawmws]

3500psi pressure washer can etch concrete, be careful and pay attention to what you're doing. The pressure washer can also blast off any loose paint from your trim and fascia, but also be careful with this, you can easily break wood fibers with the wrong nozzle on the pressure washer. To get the smooth surface that you're looking for you'll likely need an electric paint remover. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000222YQ/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Or spend a good bit of time with a heat gun and putty knives...

True statement. different nozzles and/or adjusting it to a fan, which lessens the actual pressure on the concrete. Even with my small one I could etch the concrete if I worked at it...

 

[camarotoolman]

wire wheel in an electric grinder, might take longer but no rental cost.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions and tips. Greatly appreciated

 

[Uncle Ben]

Update: rented a 3500 psi gas-powered pressure washer over the weekend and used a turbo nozzle with it. I quickly saw that even this kind of pressure was not enough to take off even the "youngest" top layer of paint, which is about a year old. It took a lot of work/time just to get that top layer off, but the layers underneath were even worse. Turns out that there are 4 layers of paint, and who knows how old the bottom layers are, but they are holding on tight. After I had the first coat removed, I tried spraying on a decent layer of muriatic acid (32% strength) over the whole patio and let it sit for a couple hours, then I was able to get off the next layers, but just barely. Then I tried another "coat" of acid again and this time let it sit for around 4 hours, but then when I proceeded to take off this layer it hardly budged at all. For 99% of the patio, it would not take off anything, so I'm still left with about 2 layers and not sure how to remove it.

So I'm thinking of going back to my original idea of sandblasting, which I was trying to avoid. Any advice that you guys can give me about sandblasting in this type of application? What type/power of sandblaster do I need? Is there a certain type of sand media that I should look for, and where would be the best place to buy it?

I have never used or researched sandblasters before, so I'm not sure where to begin.
Thanks!

 

[rockchucker]

You just need a large Compressor and a HUGE bucket of Blasting Media.

You would be better off hiring someone to do it unless you can rent an Industrial size Pump and Blast Unit.

You could do it with a tiny gun and a small Pump but it would take FOREVER....


You will also want to be careful with the possibility of the older layers being Lead Based. When you Blast older Lead Paint it is easily introduced into your lungs which is some bad juju. Same with regular Sand. If you just use regular Sand the Free-Silica can be VERY harmful to your lungs. Use Blast Media and wear a Respirator.

 

[rockchucker]

Eastwood has a decent priced Soda Blaster...


http://www.eastwood.com/soda-blaster-starter-kit-w-media.html


Media Blaster...


http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-50lb-pressure-abrasive-blaster.html

 

[Uncle Ben]

Thank you for those suggestions. Unfortunately my 21 gal compressor only does about 5to 6 cfm at 90psi, so I would still need a better compressor to use with those units.

Does a soda blaster use some type of finer powder type of media instead of something more abraisive like sand?

 

[trboxman]

They use baking soda.

 

[Pro-Painter]

They use baking soda.

Well kinda, It is Bi-carbon soda. It's like a course baking soda.

Your compressor is no where near big enough for a sand blaster. You need at least 14-cfm just to run the small units. You will need a large blaster with a compressor that is at last 20-cfm.


Sounds to me like you need to buy some paint stripper. If it is too thick for a pressure washer to remove, then a sand blaster is going to be very, very slow. If I was you, I would go to Sherwin Williams and ask them what type of paint stripper they recommend.

 

[Uncle Ben]

Okay, I'll look into the paint stripper option, and I was kindof hoping there would be another chemical method I could try.

How would you recommend removing it after the paint stripper is applied? Pressure washer again? I have an electric 1600 psi unit that I could try after applying a paint stripper, that way I wouldn't have to shell out another $90 to rent the 3500 psi unit again, but obviously the one I own is far weaker than the rental unit.

 

[Seattle Surfaces]

If you are left with any bad spots after your next go around, you can try grinding with a Zirc disc. They don't gum up like other sanding discs.

If this house is older than 1978, you could be dealing with lead paint which can be hazardous. If it is your place, I don't think you can get in any trouble with the EPA regarding the RRP Act, but it can still be dangerous particularly to young kids and pregnant women. FYI

Dave

 

[Daves69]

two words " Shot Blast"

http://www.empirepls.com/services/Shot-Blasting-Services.html

 

[Uncle Ben]

I contacted the company at that link for "shot blast" but they said they are too backlogged with work to even give me an estimate, so my job was probably too small for them.

I also called a local sherwin williams store, but they said they didn't have anything specific to concrete, and the only thing they did have that will remove multiple layers is $45 per gallon and each gallon only does 35 sq ft (I haven't measure the sq ft of my patio, but I think it is somewhere around 400 sq ft.

I did find this Behr (Home Depot) paint remover that is specifically for concrete/masonry that says it will do multiple layers, but I'm skeptical that it would be heavy duty enough considering how strong this paint is holding on. Here is a link ...anyone have experience with this stuff, or any other heavy duty paint stripper that will do multiple layers at once?

FYI: the link is very slow to load and it will take you to a page first that says "welcome to behr, please wait while your page loads" and it will load after a minute.

 

[RKA]

What about a diamond grinder (like they use to prep floors for epoxy)? It's a pita, however so is trying 4-5 different things until you find one that works.

http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139059

 

[jtrace]

Try renting a "hex pin grinder" mounts on a 17" floor buffer.I worked as a mechanic at a tool rental place for 16 years.I think this or a floor grinder.Edco makes them,they use 6 stones (3 each on 2 counter rotating wheels) The Hex Pin should be about $100 a day and the grinder slightly less. Also as stated watch for the lead paint as these machines will kick up alot of dust.

John

 

[WheelsNT]

if the bottom layer is an oil-based paint (as opposed to latex), then Peel Away #1 will take the whole mess off for you without any problems. Concrete is perfect for Peel Away #1 -- #1 will darken wood but it's fine on masonry. Put it on with a trowel, cover with the wax paper stuff they give you, wait 24 hours and pressure wash it off. You may get left with a white powdery residue after all the paint is off, if so hit it with the muriatic acid to get the powder off. No sweat.

if the bottom layer is latex, then you're on your own.