Painted concrete block

Got a call from a kennel today. They want to strip all the white paint off in prep for new paint. They tried to do a section themselves with a regular high pressure tip and decided to call a contractor when they realized how much it took, lol. My question is, is there a chemical that will remove the paint or at least soften it up? Paint is around 20 years old.

Sounds like repainting would be easier but I did a retaining wall before with painted white bricks and used a turbo nozzle and it mostly came clean.

Yea I figured a turbo nozzle would do it, I was just hoping here was a cleaner, less abrasive method that I wasn’t aware of.

Walk away.

Do they even have to strip it for new paint? They would have to prime it a lot more if they do.

Why not just have the painter clean it?

1 Like

whats the point in removing the paint? If its stuck its stuck. Consider the stuff that wont blast off as a primer. Seems silly to me to completely blast off the old stuff that doesnt want to come off.

1 Like

a turbo nozzle will be acceptable for pre-paint prep.

If they really want the paint removing you can Use a sand blasting attachment on your lance. It works just like an x-jet except it sucks up sand.

1 Like

As has been mentioned if it is still that stable a surface they can just paint over it. If they still insist on removing it, if it is an oil based paint sodium hydroxide will break it down and make it easier to remove but keep it off you because it burns. Sodium Hydroxide will “help” with it is water based if it has badly failed but it does not have the same effect on water based that it has on oil and it has next to no effect on water based that is in good shape. If you don’t know what type of paint it is, use some denatured alcohol on a rag and rub vigorously. If it comes off, it is water based, it won’t do anything to oil based. Good tip for fences and decks too.