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pittsburghpainter · Guest

removing oxidation from brick

Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC · Jan 18, 2011

Try some sodium Per-carbonate and a fair amount of Sodium Hydroxide. I had one many years ago. Not sure but I think that is what I used. It's been a while.

jimmyjamroofcleaninman · Guest

thats a good question, i'd like to know myself

Guest

Hi Doug, to begin with,..there's nothing wrong with using a power washer with a fan tip and a fair amount of pressure on work like this. Soft washing is fine for roof cleaning and house washing,..but it's not the cure for everything,..and using a washer doesn't make you irresponsible.

Now,..there are many types of brick, and mortar so you do have to use some judgment.
If you have a hot machine just try that first
Then I'd try something simple like Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power. Usually a few applications of this and it will come out. If not, then I'd boost it with the Hydroxide. Apply, let dwell a few minutes then work it out with the washer.

Be careful though not to get the "remover" on the oxidized siding.

Not sure when or where you're doing this,..but if you're in Pittsburgh it's gonna be waaay to cold for any product to work outside,..other than the use of a hot machine.

Jeff

pittsburghpainter · Guest

Raystown Roof Cleaning Central PA 1-800-236-0322 wrote:

Hi Doug, to begin with,..there's nothing wrong with using a power washer with a fan tip and a fair amount of pressure on work like this. Soft washing is fine for roof cleaning and house washing,..but it's not the cure for everything,..and using a washer doesn't make you irresponsible.

Now,..there are many types of brick, and mortar so you do have to use some judgment.
If you have a hot machine just try that first
Then I'd try something simple like Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power. Usually a few applications of this and it will come out. If not, then I'd boost it with the Hydroxide. Apply, let dwell a few minutes then work it out with the washer.

Be careful though not to get the "remover" on the oxidized siding.

Not sure when or where you're doing this,..but if you're in Pittsburgh it's gonna be waaay to cold for any product to work outside,..other than the use of a hot machine.

Jeff

Jeff,

Thanks for the insight.

This is just something that I come across several times a year. I usually just tell my customers that it can't be removed without using muriatic acid but the oxidation process will stop if the aluminum siding is painted. I was thinking if I could remove it with the SH while I was cleaning the house anyway that I'd be the cats meow.

Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC · Jan 18, 2011

If you try to remove it with SH. Listen very carefully and you can actually hear the brick laughing at you.

Rsuds · Guest

A lot of times it is also efflorescence and you can get some products from Eco chem. We have and do use Hydrofluoric acid to remove some of the stain. It is not recommended to use this stuff without being very careful and you can dilute it. I know people are going to yell at me but I'm just letting you know what works well. (No need to tell me) Mop it on and let it work, wash everything down.

AC Lockyer · none

Yes has to be something acid based.

AC

Guy B · Guest

Raystown Roof Cleaning Central PA 1-800-236-0322 wrote:

Hi Doug, to begin with,..there's nothing wrong with using a power washer with a fan tip and a fair amount of pressure on work like this. Soft washing is fine for roof cleaning and house washing,..but it's not the cure for everything,..and using a washer doesn't make you irresponsible.

Now,..there are many types of brick, and mortar so you do have to use some judgment.
If you have a hot machine just try that first
Then I'd try something simple like Castrol Super Clean or Purple Power. Usually a few applications of this and it will come out. If not, then I'd boost it with the Hydroxide. Apply, let dwell a few minutes then work it out with the washer.

Be careful though not to get the "remover" on the oxidized siding.

Not sure when or where you're doing this,..but if you're in Pittsburgh it's gonna be waaay to cold for any product to work outside,..other than the use of a hot machine.

Jeff

Excellent Advice!!!

Just because it's brick doesn't mean you automatically use acid. I have found there are only 2 reasons to use acid on brick. 1 is removing mortar tags on new construction brick, the other is Rust Removal on brick. Either way be very careful using acid on brick, the wrong application of acids could mean an Insurance Claim.

If you have a "Gutter Cleaner" like Gutter Zap or F-13 from Pressure Tek it will work also.

B.A. · Guest

We just removed these stains from an old brick house yesterday. Aluminum shutters were removed and there was some streaking on bricks as well as other discolorations.

Product used: OneRestore
Vendor: Eachochem

water plants, apply undiluted, dwell, reapply, do not let dry, remove with cold water 1300-2200 psi.

when it comes to brick and all of the garbage that can accumulate (calcite, efflo., stains, rust.....etc.) eachochem has been very useful for me.

CarolinaProWash · Guest

I just want to add in here that muriatic (on its own) is NOT a cleaner as much as it is an etcher. Although a lot of the acids may be based with muriatic, they do have the appropriate addition of buffers, surfactants and soaps that will properly clean brick without damaging it like straight muriatic can/will.

Celeste

Baltimore MD Roof Cleaning 410-482-4367 · guest

I am no Brick expert. Brick, like wood is kind of a field all it's own. I have a friend who removes morter tags and it is a tricky business spraying acid in DC and containing it from running on the street.

With that said, it makes good sense to me that a solvent such as a good gutter cleaner will remove oxidation with multible applications. We have gotten this to work as well.
But heed these guys warnings. There are literally thousands of kinds of bricks and hundreds of morter mixes that can be blended. Some morter is very soft, so are some bricks. We have run into houses that had interior brick on them and it can easily be destroyed. It is always a very good idea to test an inconspicuous area first. I have seen white bricks and white morter permanently stained yellow from acids. The better you know your substrate and your stain the better you will be able to deal with the situation. Dwell time is obviously important, but too much dwell time on the wrong brick can also cause undesired results. If you start using acids, keep them far away from your Chlorine solutions, and be sure to keep it off of you and your employees.

Best I can say is be patient and careful as you work with it.

Guest

I posed a similar question a while back, and was advised that ebased on the pictures that I posted that it (stain) was likely oxidation from aluminium on the brick. LSS, it was recommended to me to use an aluminium brightner such as one would use on semi trucks.

I'm simply repeating what I was told, as we specialize solely in roof cleaning.

Lots of PW industry experts have chimed in above. It's like a who's who of the big dogs on this thread.. (Myself excluded) This forum rocks!

Baltimore MD Roof Cleaning 410-482-4367 · guest

Totally Ted, those guys know a lot more about brick than me for sure. Brick kinda scares me, lot's can go wrong.

Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC · Jan 21, 2011

Roof Cleaning Northern Virginia (571) 250 9650 wrote:

I posed a similar question a while back, and was advised that ebased on the pictures that I posted that it (stain) was likely oxidation from aluminium on the brick. LSS, it was recommended to me to use an aluminium brightner such as one would use on semi trucks.

I'm simply repeating what I was told, as we specialize solely in roof cleaning.
Lots of PW industry experts have chimed in above. It's like a who's who of the big dogs on this thread.. (Myself excluded) This forum rocks!

I don't remember your pics but I'm pretty sure what Doug is talking about is the oxidized paint running down onto the brick not aluminumumumum.

I talked to the guy at EaCo Chem and he didn't hesitate for a minute to say that OneRestore would do the job.

Guest

It looks as though OneRestore is hydrochloric acid based. Removing oxidation with a butyl or hydroxide based product will be more likely to work.

Even if it did work,..chances are it's not readily available to most of us,..and at around $30.00 a gallon it isn't even worth discussing for the purpose at hand.

Jeff

Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC · Jan 21, 2011

Raystown Roof Cleaning Central PA 1-800-236-0322 wrote:

It looks as though OneRestore is hydrochloric acid based. Removing oxidation with a butyl or hydroxide based product will be more likely to work.

Even if it did work,..chances are it's not readily available to most of us,..and at around $30.00 a gallon it isn't even worth discussing for the purpose at hand.

Jeff

Ryan said he just got through using it and it worked. I don't know why he would lie about it. Ryan, do you own stock in EaCo Chem? biggrin

It is available at a brick supply company here in Raleigh. If it works, $30 is nothing. That would be a separate line item on my proposal.

Guest

$30.00 is alot compared to $5.00 in my world. No one said he lied,..look up paint removers and see how many of them are acid based.

Jeff

Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC · Jan 21, 2011

What is wrong with acid based? If you "know" something that works for $5/gal. please let us in on it. From past experience that has been a bear to remove.

-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Raleigh NC on Friday 21st of January 2011 06:52:50 AM

Guest

David, I didn't say anything was wrong with acid based products. But the reality of it is removing oxidation with butyl or hydroxide based is more likely to work. And maybe it did work,..but was way over priced for the task at hand.

Jeff

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