Pavers

Grime Busters LLC

New member
I had a lady call me several days ago and ask me to come out and pressure wash her pavers. Said they had hard water deposits all over them. Assuming this one would be a piece of cake, I scheduled her for a minimum time frame this morning.

Looking at the pavers, it appeared to be more than hard water deposits. She insisted it was. Long story short, the lady had the pavers done about 6 years ago, and the original sealer that was used by the contractor was failing, and was pealing, a milky white film. To complicate matters, the red brick was bleeding red oxide. I tried using pressure and a 15 degree tip, but stopped when I realized the red oxide was running faster that the film was pealing off.

So, I turn to my peers. Is there a product that will safely remove the old sealer, without damaging the landscaping surrounding her patio ? I've seen a couple products at Home Depot, but have no idea if the claims on the label are accurate.

Thanks in advance for your sharing your knowledge and experiences.
 
http://www.aldonchem.com/popup-ab-efflorescence.htm

That the product i used on my own pool, cleaned it and the other prevented it.

Keep in mind you can get it off with a turbo and acid. It will come right back often in days.

NCE just took in a sealing company.
 
Jim - this is what I use to remove sealant. www.glaze-n-seal.com The MSDS sheet is on their website.

Cleaners / Misc.

Glaze 'N Seal offers a limited number of high performance cleaners that will handle over 95% of all cleaning situations.

Paint Sealer & Coating Stripper

Fast acting gel stripper to remove toughest acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy or lacquer sealers from concrete, masonry, tile, stone, grout, and wood. Also, removes graffiti, paint, and oil stains. It is non-flammable, low odor, and will not harm surface.
 
http://www.aldonchem.com/popup-ab-efflorescence.htm

That the product i used on my own pool, cleaned it and the other prevented it.

Keep in mind you can get it off with a turbo and acid. It will come right back often in days.

NCE just took in a sealing company.

Don't think it's efflorescence Ron, its a very thin white milky film that is peeling. I'm assuming it's the sealer from 6 years ago.

I need an environmentally friendly solution to remove the existing film, then I assume I will need to reseal the pavers. Any suggestions ?

Thanks Newlook, I will checkout the product you've suggested also.
 
Ask the customer if there's an old bottle of the sealer laying around. A lot of times there is. When you figure out what the sealer is, you can figure out what is best to strip it. You can look up the sealer online and find out what it's base is.

I'm sure you know already, but make sure the customer knows this is going to be a much bigger job than what was originally quoted.
 
Ask the customer if there's an old bottle of the sealer laying around. A lot of times there is. When you figure out what the sealer is, you can figure out what is best to strip it. You can look up the sealer online and find out what it's base is.

I'm sure you know already, but make sure the customer knows this is going to be a much bigger job than what was originally quoted.

Thanks Chris. I asked when I was there and no she doesn't have any of the sealer or remember who the contractor was that did the job originally.

After I wasted my time pressure washing, she then told me she's tried full strength muratic acid; didn't faze it. If she disclosed that information before I ran 300' of hose to her backyard, I could of saved my time and her money.

Can't remember the name of the product I saw at Home Depot, but 1 gallon would do 75 sq ft. I think it was $30.00 a gallon. She has approx 400 square foot.
 
Make sure the money is there before putting a lot of time into it. Stripping and resealing jobs are never cheap in time or materials.

Prosoco makes some good strippers. Check out prosoco.com to see who your local dealer is. They should be able to give you samples of all the products so you can go out there and do test patches. Then you'll know what product to use and how much it's going to cost.
 
Make sure the money is there before putting a lot of time into it. Stripping and resealing jobs are never cheap in time or materials.

Prosoco makes some good strippers. Check out prosoco.com to see who your local dealer is. They should be able to give you samples of all the products so you can go out there and do test patches. Then you'll know what product to use and how much it's going to cost.


Thanks Chris.
 
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