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Help! How to get concrete off of paint..

rasher | Posted in General Discussion on June 5, 2006 07:11am

I had a new concrete driveway poured last week and as an additional service, the crew splattered concrete all over the year-old paint on the side of my house and back deck, free of charge.
Now, instead of cleaning this off when it was wet last week, it’s dried nice and hard and the wifey is P.O.’d!
So, before I pitch a fit to the concrete contractor, can I get some advice?
What is the least invasive way to remove dried concrete from exterior latex paint? If it required the paint to be scraped off and repainted, so be it, but if there is an easier way, I’d sure like to know.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Replies

  1. Frankie | Jun 05, 2006 08:57pm | #1

    Try a lot of warm water and a stiff, natural bristle brush. These should only be splatters, so it shouldn't be too difficult.

    Frankie

    There he goes—one of God's own prototypes—a high powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live and too rare to die.

    —Hunter S. Thompson

    from Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas

  2. User avater
    MarkH | Jun 05, 2006 08:58pm | #2

    Try scraping the concrete off.  It wont have a lot of adhesion.  Then brush it with a scrub brush and some cleaner.  Anything left can be disolved with some diluted muriatic acid, and rinsed.

     

    1. User avater
      BillHartmann | Jun 05, 2006 09:34pm | #3

      You can start with some white vinegar.

      1. rasher | Jun 06, 2006 12:24am | #4

        So the paint's not ruined? I tried scraping a bit off with a fingernail for about 2 seconds and it didn't pop off. Maybe if I stare and seethe at it long enough, it'll just fall off!

        1. fingers | Jun 06, 2006 12:35am | #5

          "Maybe if I stare and seethe at it long enough, it'll just fall off!"

          Probably work better if you got the wife to do that.  Now I don't know yours, but at least in my case, the wife's stare could melt the paint off a battleship.  Fortunately, I don't see it very often.

           

           

        2. Piffin | Jun 06, 2006 03:14am | #6

          i'd start with the white vinegar and a stiff brush.Second step is to put those items in the hands of the concrete contractor and let him know the crete will be cleaned off before you write hgis check. 

           

          Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!

  3. WayneL5 | Jun 06, 2006 04:09am | #7

    Another vote for vinegar.

  4. philarenewal | Jun 06, 2006 03:53pm | #8

    I vote with Piffin.  Best tool for this situation is the telephone and the promise of a back charge if the mess isn't cleaned up.  If you already made the full payment, looks like you'll be the one doing the work.

     

    "Let's get crack-a-lackin"  --- Adam Carolla

    1. rasher | Jun 06, 2006 04:38pm | #9

      Luckily, we haven't paid in full yet.

      1. rasher | Jun 08, 2006 07:25pm | #10

        OK, so I tried some white vinegar on a stiff sponge.
        Good news: It works great! Concrete comes off, doesn't seem to affect the paint too much.
        Bad new: It works SLOW! Poor bastard who ends up doing it is gonna be out there for awhile...

        1. bps | Jun 09, 2006 12:08am | #11

          Rasher are you the concrete contractor? My vote is with Piffin. Do wrong and do hard work!

          1. rasher | Jun 09, 2006 02:23am | #12

            No, this time I'm the homeowner. I just wanted to see what the best way to go about it was...

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