My husband recently retired and had a 20X24-ft metal, steel frame ‘shop’ built on a cement foundation. I am very happy for him (not to mention that my ‘wish’ list is already growing).
While clearing our garage and transferring supplies, etc, to the shop he discovered that a container of tar had somehow been pushed to the back and under things. It had leaked and now there is a hard “blob” he has to contend with.
I told him I would come to you and hopefully you could give us advise on how to get this off the garage floor.
We will turn this into a work area for me with my kiln and hobbies and “finally” I will once again have a place to park the car out of the weather .
Replies
Depends on the type of tar. But Here is what I do.
Place ice on it to make it hard enough to pry or scrape off. Then wet a rag with paint thinner and rub. Keep using different parts of the cloth to rub it with a clean portions
If it really is tar, it will soften in solvent. Chip off what you can, or saw it off with a hacksaw blade, build a dike with plumbers putty, and soak it in paint thinner (for starters). Do you still have the container it came in? Read the label and see what the cleanup solvent is. If it is roofing cement, you have a different problem.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Good Morning.
WD-40 will remove black tar. Available in the economic gallon size.
rg
Soften it with a hair dryer and scrape with a putty knife.
Done this lots.
Whack the lump off with an old slick or spud. Don't worry about the color, you are going to stack something elese there anyway, right?
If it's hardened, try to scrape off the bulk of it with a chisel or scraper.
Then try mineral spirits for the residual.
stack some dry ice on it for a while, then chip it off with a floor chisel and a hammer.
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
"If it is roofing cement, you have a different problem."
Thanks ever so much for all the good advise!
I am confident it is roofing tar, the container of which was taken to a dump site (put in the hazardous section, of course).
We will use your good advise and hope to get most of it up, if not all.
As to whether or not it will be covered up, I do not know just now. It will be turned into a work area for me, as well as housing my car.
If there is another solution for roofing tar, please advise.
Not sure why you copied that one line, but I'll take a guess that you don't understand the difference. Roofing tar is an asphalt product, and can be softened or dissolved in the appropriate solvent. Roofing cement is a plastic product, and once it sets it is essentially solvent-resistant.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Last year I cleaned up a really nice piece of hardwood that is now a beam in my kitchen.
The thing came from an old bridge and was on of the bits that gets driven on. Soooo, it was covered in a thick layer of tar.
Blowtorch. Heat/burn then scrape. Heat some more..........wire wheel followed by sanding discs in an angle grinder got it.
Cos of the lack of grain I am thinking concrete would be easier.
Everything, 100% of it, depends on how you look at it.
DW
I checked with my husband and he said it was roofing tar. The area covered is about 3 square feet of varying thicknesses, he said.
It will take some effort, but he will be able to get it off...thanks to your advise.
how big of a glob of tar ?? and how high ??
is there windows you can open
heat the glob with a torch on the ends and use a ice scraper to lift it up .
once that is done you can clean the area with mineral spirits