Picture this. You’ve just laid a beautifully smooth concrete floor. It’s now time to paint the walls to help bring your brand-new room to life in your preferred colours. Now that the paint is all dry, you remove the plaster or sheets you’ve put down on the floor to find spots of paint that have accidentally found their way onto the concrete!
Fear not, for we here at Oxcrete are here to help by offering you 5 ways in which to remove paint from your concrete floors and surfaces.
- Using a scraper or brush
The first (and possibly most obvious) solution that comes to mind is using a scrub brush or scraper to remove the paint. We would recommend this for small areas or spots on the surface as we don’t want to cause any harsh discolouration in your concrete floors!
- Paint stripper
Paint stripper can be a way to remove paint from concrete. Remember to keep in mind the type of paint stripper you’ll need! If your paint is water-based or oil-based, this could mean that the paint stripper should vary. Again, we wouldn’t recommend using this on large areas, but rather for small spots! Be sure to follow the paint stripper instructions carefully.
- Orbital sander
If you’d prefer not to use chemicals, an orbital sander could work wonders. The sander removes the paint in two ways. It’s movement removes any loose paint, whilst the actual sandpaper or attachment itself removes the paint on the surface of the concrete. Make sure you’re wearing the proper safety equipment such as goggles, a breathing mask and gloves! If left in the same spot for too long, be aware that this could leave a circular pattern on the surface – keep the sander moving and be careful with how much pressure you use.
- Soda blasting
This method uses Baking soda as the scouring agent that removes the paint. It’s another method that is considered more environmentally friendly as there isn’t any use for chemicals and does minimal damage to the concrete below! You will need a specialised blasting unit (a local hardware store may be able to rent this out to you, as well as the baking soda. We would recommend checking with the same store to see if they have the amount of baking soda you would need. Again, make sure you’re wearing the correct safety equipment such as goggles, gloves and a respiratory mask!
- Pressure washer
A pressure washer is also very useful for when it comes to removing paint from a concrete surface. Ensure that the surface is prepped before renting a pressure washer unit with the correct agents needed.
If you’re in need of some extra help, get in contact with Oxcrete now. Are you wanting to know how to lay a concrete patio? Maybe you’re just curious as to how concrete is made. Get in contact with our expert team and let’s see how we can help with your project!