Either this concrete was etched or the paint has been taken up. I can’t tell if this is the natural color of the concrete or if it’s been painted. What do you guys think and how should I go about getting it clean?
it looks etched. Homeowner probably did it with a lowes 45 dollar SC and wants you to fix it. Summoning the resident grump when I say walk away.
I was thinking it looks etched too but the homeowner said the concrete is at least 8 years old and that happened just last year after a pressure cleaning
However that happened you need to set the expectation BEFORE you do work that you have a pressure wand, not a magic wand, and you can’t make it look brand new, but can remove organic growth.
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Homeowner should know if/when he sealed it with a colored sealer. Have you asked him?
Also, is there a covering over the concrete like a deck or a roof?
You can etch old concrete and new concrete, the age doesn’t matter (although new concrete is “softer” and etches easier). I’m sure it happened after a pressure cleaning applying too much pressure.
This looks etched to me, you do what you want. You can still clean it, with or without using a surface cleaner, but it doesn’t look dirty in the pictures. Applications of HW mix, or multiple applications, and some dwell time and rinsing will remove organics. You may need to use a stronger mix using a 12v or pump ups, or the racer approved application device.
Just make sure your estimate clearly states that you can’t fix the etching and that the etching is preexisting damage. As I said before, you may best be served by walking away. I’m guessing that the homeowner thinks another pressure washing will fix that look, it won’t. You could remove the rest of the cream to even it out, or paint it, or do 100 other things, but you can’t really restore it. Sure there are concrete overlays and things like that, but I don’t think you are travelling down that road. Avoid callbacks, and I get a feeling that this would be a call back whenever any covering begins to peel crack fade whatever.
If it is a paint/sealer, which based on the pictures doesn’t appear to be the case, then you still have to clean it before reapplying the same exact coating. Trying to remove an existing coating is a bear, depending on what they used. I think @DisplacedTexan has some experience in that department.
I have fully immersed myself into the KISS method. Part of that is avoiding anything that even remotely gives me the heebie jeebies. This type of work gives me the heebie jeebies. I’d rather go wash a house and make a bit less but not have a headache on my hands. I wholeheartedly suggest anyone else to do the same.
But, if you’re into punishment or whatever, you should be able to tell if it’s been sealed with a simple water test. Paint/stain should be pretty obvious, too. If it’s paint, you could do a test spot with some xylene and see what happens. I suggest the gel type. It hangs around a bit longer so it has more time to do it’s thing. That area being shaded helps a lot, too.
Smart money would be to thank them for having you out but that you are not interested in that type of work.
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I set expectations for the homeowner and ended up hitting it once with a house wash mix and rinsing and it cleaned up nicely and the homeowner was happy. There was hardly any growth at all. I also was able to tell that it was paint that had been taken up and not etching because I pulled back some grass by the edge of the concrete and the edge was unpainted. I advised the homeowner to get it repainted but she liked it just the way it was and was happy so I’m happy
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