Painting a concrete patio.

[troubleinwinter]

Well, the painting isn't the issue... it's removing the old paint.

Whoever painted this before used the wrong type of paint. I see three layers. Bottom is dark green (I think it was proper concrete paint, doesn't appear to be peeling). Above it is yellow, and above that is beige. The top two are peeling, and it even blisters up in wet weather.

My question is HOW TO REMOVE the paint so that it can be properly repainted. My father says "Well, ya can always use the old-time solution of lye mixed with water and flour to make a paste and brush it on." I asked if the lye would murder nearby plants, he said yes, but it can be neutralized with vinegar. Hmmm... sounds like a mess. I am sure there are chemical strippers, but I wonder about using a heat-gun?

[Warpy]

1. The heat gun is labor intensive but the best way to save plants

because chemical strippers can damage them.

It sounds like the kind of mess I'm facing here. This house was owned by a whole series of incompetent handymen.

[troubleinwinter]

2. Fact of the matter is...

there aint no plants, YET! Pulled out the spindly, measly roses, so planting is another project!

I HATE "labor intensive"! At least it's just flat concrete, about 8' x 20', not finely carved ornate antique woodwork!!!

I think I am leaning towards using a propane torch with "a wide-mouth burner tip to spread the flame over large areas" & a scraper.

[politicat]

4. I think your three handed handymen owned mine, too...

There's a roving band of three handed mechanics and handymen who go through the country, buying houses and doing scary things to them, then selling before anyone realizes what it was they did....

[troubleinwinter]

7. In my last house,

all the hot/cold water lines were backwards, so 'cold' meant hot (musta been done by a republican). In this new (old) house, all the electrical outlets are upside-down (big prong hole on the wrong side), and some of the switches are upside-down (up means off, down means on.... another republican handyman).

Ya gotta wonder why someone would put tan outlet covers over white outlets on a white wall.... so they'll "STAND OUT real good"?! And painstakingly painting around a huge black heater intake grille on the wall instead of painting it to blend with the wall, so it will "STAND OUT real good"!!!??? And putting in nice new BLACK floor heater vents instead of light ones on a light carpet... so they'll "STAND OUT real good"???!!!!!

Big sparkly "gold" rococo ornate switch plates and outlet covers in a plain kitchen so they'll "STAND OUT real good"!!!!

[politicat]

9. Oh, dear god-in-heaven on-a-pogo-stick...

I sometimes don't understand what people were thinking....

The black vents are to match the black heater grille? Maybe? The rest of it, I couldn't tell you.... maybe the tan switchplates were to hide the dirt?

Once upon a time, this house had rooms. Then someone figured out that the walls weren't loadbearing, and took them out. Not all of them, but the ones that meant we had a big formal dining room and a parlor with a door.... So now we have a great room where nothing really fits right and a den we don't really use.

And the fireplace does not bear speaking about. I'm still annoyed about getting suckered on that one. (And I can't blame this house on anyone but myself - I bought it for myself by myself when I figured out that I was making too much money to be living in a basement rathole.)

And anyone remodeling a kitchen - a peninsula countertop is a stupid idea. Just bite the bullet and do an island, okay? You'll be happier.

Also, white formed "marble" sinks suck.

[Kingshakabobo]

10. When my electrician asked me if I wanted "white" or "Ivory"...

switches and outlet covers I said "ivory" thinking they would be a white like color.

Much to my surprise they were yellow. Yuk. He wanted to charge me several hundred dollars to make the change so I bought the fixtures at Home Depot and did it my self.

LOL..I DO have one switch that is upside down...It's "one of those things" I haven't made time for yet.

[Kingshakabobo]

3. Perhaps you can sand-blast it.

You might be able to rent a sand-blaster at a local tool rental center.

A power-washer might work on, at least, the loose paint. I don't know if it will strip the paint to the bare concrete but power-washers are VERY powerful.

[politicat]

5. Power washer is probably your best bet if water is not a problem.

They're easy to rent and fairly easy to use.

They'll take the paint off down to the well bonded one, and may take off the well bonded one, too.

[troubleinwinter]

6. Hey, Kingshak and politicat

I think ya may have a real fine idea there with the power washer!!! Maybe if I get it taken down enough and put a good, proper primer on it and the right paint, it'll work. And power washers can be kinda fun (unlike chemical strippers & heat guns with scrapers)!!!

Thanks! Sounds good to me.

[Kingshakabobo]

8. Yes. You can wash the siding and your cars while you are at it!

:hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Sand blast (#1) or power wash (#2) ... but with extreme caution

Both of those are pretty powerful surface removers. In either case, try to hit the surface at an angle rather than directly down in it. Concrete is not as hard as we think it is.

If you use the sandblaster, you will get a very good 'tooth' on the surface to which the pain can adhere. If you use the power washer, you'll have to wait a good while to ensure that it is really, completely, thorougly dry before you paint. Even a hint of trapped water will lead to future paint failure.

And for all that's good ..... watch out for bystanders and onlookers. Both devices can propel grit and even pebbles with a lot force and for a remarkable distance.

[troubleinwinter]

12. All VERY good advice!

I have used a power washer before to remove moss/mold/mildew/stains from an unpainted concrete patio.

I doubt I'll have much trouble drying the surface after washing, as I just moved to Arizona from No. Calif. and am trying to get used to how fast things dry... after showering, dishes, bread (eat that sandwich right away!).

Since I have used a washer before, I will go with that, and see how it turns out. I suspect it will do fine to remove the top two coats of improper paint. The original bottom layer appears to be well adhered, so whether it comes off or not likely isn't important. I will go to the "real" paint store and get appropriate primer/patio paint.

[Kingshakabobo]

13. Good advice.

A friend of mine cut a pretty sizable gash in his foot with a power-washer!!!

[troubleinwinter]

14. Allrightie, then

Done with day two of using the power washer to remove the paint. Turns out there were FOUR layers of paint... green, brown, yellow, beige. Nobody EVER used any primer, they all bubbled and were never properly adhered. Whadda mess.

On the porch & steps, they'd glued some kinda astro-turf deal. It pulled off nicely, and left hideous hard glue. After we spent HOURS of hammering, chiselling, scraping and power washing, finally.......we won!

It is now down to partly the original well-ahered paint layer and 'neked' concrete. Next will be BEST available primer and proper paint.

Thanks, guys! Power washer ended up to be "just the ticket"!

[NMDemDist2]

15. take pics!

and well done! :applause:

[politicat]

16. Glad you got it off!

Sounds like a right mess, though.

Give it a few days to dry out and for you to unkink!

[troubleinwinter]

17. Alrightie then (PHASE II)

We went to Ace to get primer & paint. They had a lot of nice friendly perky 19 year old clueless employees.

So we went down the road to Sherwin Williams. They said, "No, ya cannot paint it. Hafta buy chemical stripper ($$), get every bit down to bare concrete, then use a chemical acid etch ($$), then use concrete stain." Pfffftt.

So we went to Home Depot and got some concrete porch & patio primer/sealer and proper concrete patio paint.

Dammit, my dad is 78 doing most of the work. We aint gonna do all those procedures that make a stupid patio outlive us! Let the kids deal with it after we're gone! It gets almost no traffic, and we don't get tons of rain, so phooey on it. We are doing much better work than has been done before. I think it'll work just fine.

[politicat]

18. Is that a Sherwin Williams thing?

I like their paint, but they want to sell me everything under the moon, and a brush for each one.

Do they work on commission?