Stain removal on concrete

Ok, so normally I would pass this up 100% of the time. However, my phone isn’t ringing that much right now with the current pandemic situation so I’m actually entertaining the idea. Guy has a small patio that he is wanting the stain removed. It’s already coming up in some spots and I’m pretty sure a good bit of it would come up with pressure only. But do any of you guys have any chems besides your basic big box store strippers that you use? He is wanting to remove this to reapply stain to the area. Any suggestions?

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You will need to know if the current stain / seal is water or solvent based.

Look into Uni Stripper by SEK Surebond. I have seen some guys get amazing results with it on different types of sealers, that said I have not used it myself. They also have good tech support so you can run it by them for a more definitive answer. Lonnie Shook is a good POC (630) 940-8288.

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Thanks @MDA1775. I will reach out to him on Monday!

@SurfaceMedic Not sure if you’ve seen this thread, but there’s great info in it about various products to remove stain/sealer.

That was me, that’s a different type of sealer than what he is dealing with.

True. :+1:

I just found that thread very helpful for learning about the removal process and different chems out there to use. Some good info in there. :ok_hand:

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You needed to use blower while applying. With a rough surface like that you let sit for about 5 min and then put your helper walking around blowing. What happens with an irregular surface is that when it pools in the little low spots in the surface will be shinier than the high spots.

Doing one right now that I’m spending almost as much time blowing as I am applying.

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I didn’t apply it Rick. Customer just wants me to strip it so he can re-stain it.

Edit: I now see you were replying to @qons

@Racer That’s brilliant!

Rick, Have you tried a split foam roller for the low spots? I find it makes a tremendous difference when sealing uneven surfaces.

I’ve got one, but after talking to some guys that do a lot of sealing, for the irregular surface and because not concerned with sealing the joints since it has polymetric sand, they suggested the blower over the roller and it works well.

I’m not doing pavers, mostly flagstone with cement joints, pool coping etc. I’m usually doing it up against a house, I’d be afraid I’d be sealer where I don’t want it. If I get a free standing one I’ll give it a try.