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crazy ? for masonry/concrete experts

Karl | Posted in General Discussion on December 2, 2006 02:15am

As I was mixing some acrylic admix in with a bag of thinset I started pondering the difference between the admix and common household paint.

I am curious if there are any benefits/drawbacks to using leftover paint instead of water when mixing up concrete instead of clean water?

My local dump collects cast off paint at their household hazardous waste recycle faciltity, remixes the good paint with like colors, tints the entire batch and gives it away in five gallon buckets.

I am also wondering if it wasn’t a bad water substitute would it also reduce the permeability of the concrete to moisture after it was cured.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this.

Karl

Reply

Replies

  1. WayneL5 | Dec 02, 2006 05:16am | #1

    Just a guess, but the pigments would probably weaken the structure of the concrete.

    1. Karl | Dec 02, 2006 05:56am | #2

      I worry more about the cement hydrating properly. It seems like latex paints dry so fast I suspect the portland cement may not get adequate water to thoroughly hydrate.I also wonder if finishing flatwork would be more complicated if the paint made it stickier (like a latex modified thinset).I don't think the pigment would hurt too much. Concrete seems to tolerate so many diverse additives to reduce its weight, make it more plastic, reduce cracking, etc that I suspect paint pigment should be ok.Keep the ideas coming.Karl

  2. Piffin | Dec 02, 2006 06:09am | #3

    I *think* both have some PVA in them, but the similarities end there. I doubt one would work in place of th eother and could do more harm than good.

    ( polyvinyl acetate)

     

     

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  3. booch | Dec 02, 2006 07:06am | #4

    I'm not thinkin I like pink concrete.

    Your statement has some creedence though. Latex admixture is ...Latex and in the case of paint colorants which are mostly suspended particulate. Sounds lucid.

    The latex liquid does make it dry slower than with water. so the previous poster would be mistaken. However the amt of pigment is dramatic compared to the traditional thinset admix.

    I'd guess like everything else in life...everything in moderation. Use up the old paint in the mixture but in small additions. I think the admix is 10x stronger in latex liquid (whatever that is) than in the paint by volume. Thus the moderation recomendation. I'm sure someone will step in and tell me I'm full of blue mud but that is my 2 cents worth.

    If you are wanting to use up old latex paint though, the best place is in a basement. I buy mistints at the paint store and mix them in batches of 20 gallons or more (be concious of the colors you mix to). spray it on the underside of the basement floorjoists-flooring and it becomes a kids play room without the suspended ceiling. It is cheap if you have to buy the paint. If you recycle it, it is darn near free.

    Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?



    Edited 12/1/2006 11:16 pm by booch

  4. User avater
    zak | Dec 02, 2006 11:25am | #5

    I've always thought (heard) basically what piffin said: acryl 60 is mostly white glue, or PVA.  It's not the pigment I would be worried about, but I think paint is more opacifier and solid content than it is binder.  With acrylic admix, you get binder and nothing else.  A primer would work better than a paint, though, if you think about it.  They've got more binder and less solids.

    zak

    "When we build, let us think that we build forever.  Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin

    "so it goes"

     

  5. User avater
    xxPaulCPxx | Dec 02, 2006 11:47am | #6

    Actually, at the last JLC Live event I heard Michael Byrne talk about doing just that to color his grout and having great success.  He didn't know about any difference in using a gloss vs. a flat finish paint (I asked). 

    Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA

    Also a CRX fanatic!

    1. Karl | Dec 02, 2006 08:28pm | #7

      Paul,
      Thanks for the reply. Did Michael Byrne mention if he used 100 percent paint of a mix with water?Did he comment at all on any impact the paint additive to the grout would have on its strength or workability?Karl

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