Use chemical strippers to remove old sealant.
Topical sealants protect the millions of pores in the surface of your concrete from moisture penetration. Topical sealants may erode over time and, if necessary, you can coat them with subsequent layers without having to remove the original coat. Before you apply paint, epoxy or anything other than another coat of topical sealant, however, you must first remove the existing sealant. You can complete the process with chemical strippers, but the job requires a lot of time and effort. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Shake the stripper's container vigorously to mix the contents.
2. Pour a quart or so of stripper into a paint tray.
3. Spread and scrub the solvent into the concrete with a solvent-resistant brush. Use a long-handle brush for concrete floors.
4. Cover the treated area with a damp cotton sheet to keep it moist while it works. If the area is exposed to bright sunlight or drying wind, cover the sheet with plastic sheeting. Dry stripper is inactive stripper. Do not let the plastic sheeting touch the stripper itself. The stripper will eat away at the plastic.
5. Check on the stripper after the manufacturer-recommended set time has elapsed. The set time varies widely depending on the type of stripper. Caustic strippers may begin to dissolve sealants in a matter of minutes. Environmentally friendly biochemical strippers may take as long as 24 hours to act. Apply more stripper to drying areas. Watch for bubbling, a sign that the stripper is removing the old sealant. Once the bubbling has peaked, the stripper is ready to come off.
6. Remove the cover and clean up the stripper. Scoop up the bulk of the mess with a squeegee and a metal dust pan. Clean up the residue with a clean scrub brush and a bucket of clean water. Be sure to clean thoroughly to clean up all of the residue. Focus on cleaning depressions or holes in the surface of the concrete.
7. Scrub the area clean with a clean scrub brush and hot soapy water. Rinse with clean water -- via a pressure washer if available and feasible -- to remove any soap residue and allow the area to air dry.
8. Repeat steps one through seven on the other sections of the concrete until all of the sealant is removed. Depending on the size of the project, you may want to break up removal into several days.
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