How to Remove Paint From Concrete?


This is quite a typical story if we talk about stains on various objects, especially when it comes to the “hardest to remove” objects. This can reduce the life and effectiveness and even the look of that object, such as clothing, wood materials, or concrete-made patio.

Not many people know how to remove the stains if they have them on their sidewalks or patios in ancient times. Let alone talking about the market that sells those stain-removing objects. But now the time has changed and so do the things along with it. Many of the stain removal cleaners can vanish the stains in just no time with no stain left.

How to remove paint from concrete?

To remove paint from concrete, do the following steps:

  • Step 1: Do Concrete deep cleaning.
  • Step 2: Wait to dry.
  • Step 3: Apply paint stripper.
  • Step 4: Wait some time to set.
  • Step 5: Scrub the surface.
  • Step 6: Do scrubbing with a power wash.
  • Step 7: Repeat steps until all the paint is removed.
  • Step 8: Clean the area to get rid of all paint strippers.


Here are some examples and some of the names that can bring back your stained patios’ original look if you have one. The best general or you can a standard one, cleaner for the concrete is

1- Simple green OXY Solve Cleaner. 

2- Driveway Pressure Washer Cleaner

Yes, these two Genes can remove the hardest of all stains from the concrete. They are not expensive, which is not in the access to everyone, but contrary to this, they cost only $19.99, plus you can easily find them in any utility store or even on Amazon.com.

This product is even rated by 937 people on Amazon, and it got 4.2 stars out of 5. Its descriptions show that it can remove even the dirt of grease stains and all other stains.

Not only are these two in the market, but there are also a massive number of products that can serve the purpose on the other frequencies as well. For example, semi-permanent concrete stain removers can work quickly on the concrete and the other rough and hard surfaces.

They can work on different notes, have their frequencies, or say their capacity to remove the stains; not all the products serve with equal ability. Here we have other options mentioned as well. Since many people have different criteria of their choices, many want cheap cleaners, and many others may wish to have the expensive one for their concrete. Many may want to in bulk quantity, or many may want in small amounts.

Here is the list as follows, which is categories based on stains:

Permanent vs. Semi-Permanent Stains

Before we proceed into other categories, here is the fact that you need to check before deciding on the cleaner. First, you need to check whether the stain you want to remove is a semi-permanent stain (removable one) or a permanent one.

If there is a stain on your sidewalks or patios (concrete), it has been sealed or coated with other materials surface instead of cutting down the stains. Therefore, there might be no chance for t to be obliterated since it has been covered under the surface with a non-resistant material.

Under any surface, if there are stains, it can only be cut down if the upper layer of material is removed. And even in such a case, if the color is being pushed down by the upper layer material, the case would be the same as it will not be obliterated.

But No worries since there is still one option for you: to paint over those stains. This can give your concrete a new look, and you can have an even-looking surface by putting no effort at all.

On the contrary, if your case is a reverse or opposite, you don’t have the stain covered or sealed by other material’s surface. Then there is a hope that it can be removed easily by using different cleaning materials.

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But make sure that you do not use any other material over the stain before it is completely removed, or else it will cause the same effect or sealing the color and causing it to be not removed.

There are different types of stains, and similarly, there are different kinds of stain removers. Here are the followings.

Different Types Of Stain Removers

1- Not every stain remover is created equal because not every stain is comparable.

Using the standard-level cleaners that are generally used for all purposes can be a good choice. Since if the stains are typical, the available cleaner will solve the problem immediately. However, on the other side of the color is giving you a hard-to-remove look, and you doubt if it can be cured or not, you might need to go with a special treatment for the stain removal.

Here are some of the stain types and their roughness to remove.

Removing oil stains from concrete

To remove oil stains from concrete, do the following steps:

  • Squirt dish soap onto the oil stain
  • Scrubs the stain with a heavy-duty brush.
  • Rinse away the soap with water.
  • Repeat the process until the oil stain fades.

Oil stains can be things like kids throwing some greasy or oily food or something; the other complex colors can be grease or car oil dripping. It may be the machine’s leakages of oil. Since oil is the only thing that is hard to remove, especially from concrete, it always finds its way to spread concrete.

So, here comes the answer about removing stains, and that is if your concrete has semi-permanent colors, then go for the de-greasing of oil, or the other option is breaking down.

This is not it; this is the start of the process here; you will pour out the degreasing material on the stain and let it sit for some time and then wash it off with a power washer, or you can scrub off the paint. The de-greasing material cut down the strength of the stain and let it get divide into many pieces.

How to Remove Rust Stains from concrete
To remove rust stains from concrete:

  • Mix 1/2 cup baking soda to one gallon of water
  • Add 1/8 cup of liquid dish detergent.
  • Spray on patio surface,
  • Wait for 30 minutes
  • Scrub and rinse. You can use a pressure washer as well.

Rust stains are not always hard to remove; they get their strength when it applies to them. The longer the rust stays on the concrete, the more it has a strong shape, and it can be removed easily.

When they get water, these stains develop on the metals or are in humid areas for longer than their lives. So commercial rust stain cleaner or the standard is the way to go, and chemicals like oxalic acid, trisodium phosphate, and hydrochloric acid are things to look for.

Be careful since these materials are chemical-based, and they can be proved dangerous if they are not used correctly or if someone is allergic to dust or inhaled gases. It will help if you protect yourself when you are using it. Would you please not use them without wearing masks or gloves?

How to remove organic stains from concrete?

To remove organic stains from concrete, do the following steps:

  • First, using a pressure washer removes all solid leaves.
  • Apply an organic detergent to damp concrete.
  • Wait few minutes.
  • Scrub with a scrub brush.
  • Rinse the concrete with water until you remove all the soap.


Organic stains are those stains that are made by organic materials, such as leaves, pine cones, and sap, that stay on the concrete for a more extended time and then they leave their signature marks on your concrete which are annoying sometimes, and the point is that they sometimes become so strong that it becomes difficult to remove. The main reason behind this is that the carbon decomposition process and those stains developed due to this chemical process are often hard to remove.

Stains made from organic materials that undergo the organic chemical process are usually developed from organic pigments or oils, implying that they are not easy to remove.

All those stains that are developed due to the organic chemical process are hard to remove as well. For example, the plastic back covers of the cell phone that is transparent in appearance. Still, after a few months of using them, they become brownish because they undergo chemical combinations. So those stains are also quite impossible to remove.

But for concrete surfaces, some of the semi-permanent organic stains can be removed using detergents since detergents have ammonia in them like bleaching agents. The reason is that these chemicals containing ammonia or bleach are natural to cut down the organic stains.

Drink Stains on Concrete

Drink stains (wine stains) are sometimes stubborn because they contain a food color or any fruit’s natural color that can stay on the concrete longer and get strong as a stain. Using those cleaners with acetic acid can clean the drink stains, whether it is wine or mango juice. The solvents in that sour acid cleaning agent will dissolve the stains in no time, and after that washing, the whole will give the concrete of your patio or sidewalk a good look.

Paint Stains on Concrete

Paints stains are called the most stubborn stains that are ever got this name and property in the history of colors. Like seriously, they get the most annoyed look once they are dry on the concrete surface. If you are the one with this case, the ultimate option is the cleaning agent containing something more like tri-sodium phosphate. It is referred to as the intense cleaning or stain removing agent with more prone to paint colors eliminating properties.

Salt Stains on Concrete 

How to remove salt stains on the concrete?

  1. Spray affected areas with water.
  2. Fill the area with warm water and add vinegar or dish soap, or detergent.
  3. Dip the broom into the water
  4. Scrub the surface of the concrete several minutes
  5. Use the Shop-vac or Mop to soak to remove the excess water.
  6. Cover the area with clean water to rinse.
  7. Scrub again.
  8. Remove the water with the vac.
  9. Allow the area to dry.

In especially the chilly winter season, when there is heavy snow, many people try to throw salt on their sidewalks and patios to prevent slipping on the snow. And that salt leaves its marks as yellowish or brownish on the sidewalks once the snow is melt and the summer season begins to arise. However, those stains can be removed as well by just using the Hydrochloric acid-containing cleaning agents.

Pet Stains on Concrete

How to clean pet stains from concrete?
To remove pet urine, feces & Odor From Concrete, you need to do the following steps:

  • Step 1: Saturate the stain and/or odor with Skout’s Honor Patio Cleaner & Deodorizer or Urine Destroyer.
  • Step 2: Let it soak into the surface as urine would.
  • Step 3: Wait 5 minutes.
  • Step 4: Hit it with the hose.
  • Step 5: Allow to air dry.

If you have a dog or cat who left their marks on the concrete, there are no worries about those stains since the cleaning or stain removing agent containing the hydrochloric acid can work best on those stains well.

Some of the best cleaning agents and their names. With this table, you can easily find the market products according to the stains you remove.

Best Concrete Cleaner for Removing Semi-Permanent Stains

The best Concrete Cleaner for Removing Semi-Permanent Stains is Zep Neutral pH Floor Cleaner Concentrate ZUNEUT128 because of the neutral formula that shows excellent results on marble, granite, vinyl, and stone floors. This concrete cleaner maintains polish without stripping a protective coating.

Advice

The most basic ways to get the work done, especially removing the stains, are scrubbing and power washing. These two ways are more gross and easy because you don’t have to deal with the chemical materials or chemical-oriented products that can be proved as harmful agents to one’s health. Many people want to have the quick results of the cleaning, but that can be harmful as well since many cleaning agents that work on the hardest stains might have hydrochloric acid in them, which releases the harmful gases when they are pouring out on the colors, and that can push the lungs to cough. And coughing can shake hands if the chemical is still in the hands of the coughing person that can turn into an accident.

On the contrary, working with human beings’ physical capacity and using the lower degree of chemicals to remove stains is better. For example, you can use the power washing pipes directly on the colors. This will tear them down into smaller pieces, and after scrubbing them out, the stains can be gone all over.

Careful Reminder:

Good luck with your project; remind yourself of all those tips and tricks to help you have an easy construction process.  And don’t forget to take safety measures that would not be something to compromise on. Every construction process includes chemical processes so being on the safer side is the best choice for those who would like to work on their construction projects by themselves.

You can always ask your friends to come over for help, plus you can divide the project into a separate small task.

 

Mark Brown

Mark Brown

Mark Brown is a construction engineer from California who has been working as an independent contractor and writer for the past 15 years. From 2022 onwards, Mark has also been contributing author of home repair articles at nimblefreelancer.com. Read more on Mark Brown's biography page. Contact Mark: mark@nimblefreelancer.com

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