Strip a brick floor

[Michael Ellis]

How would you tackle stripping this "wax"? Lady pays $300 every six months, and that's getting old. She told me a tale of it being stripped decades ago with muriatic acid (I presume) since the techs had respirators. Then they put this unknown finish on it. I have an AT and basic tile and grout certification and skills, but this is over my 60-year-old head.
I haven't been on MB for a few days, so "hi" to those I know from ICS and Cleanfax days!

 

[Mikey P]

Hey Mike


from the pics it looks great, why does she want it stripped?



Stripping brick is a nightmare and you certainly dont want to use an AT to do so. If the wax gets in the blower, you're out 10k

 

[hogjowl]

I spent my first few years stripping ValOil off of brick floors with muriatic acid and wire brushes.
No matter how high you price it
It’s not worth it

 

[Kenny Hayes]

You could strip it with something similar to Betco Extreme and hi pro pad. But years of finish will be difficult. You can only take it so far. As Mikey said, don’t use your equipment you mentioned.

 

[BIG WOOD]

Is it acrylic wax or urethane finish?

 

[Trip Moses]

She should buy a couple of new rugs to take her mind off of the bricks.

 

[steve_64]

She should buy a couple of new rugs to take her mind off of the bricks.

Or replace it with some new Italian tile.

 

[Trip Moses]

Or replace it with some new Italian tile.

Yes. We are cleaners not remodelers.

 

[Michael Ellis]

Hey Mike


from the pics it looks great, why does she want it stripped?



Stripping brick is a nightmare and you certainly dont want to use an AT to do so. If the wax gets in the blower, you're out 10k

She's fed up with spending $300 every six months for years...I don't see using HWE to do this - I have other tools but am ignorant about what to recommend.
I told her the same - looks great!
The house is killer and her lil' goldmine so??

 

[Mikey P]

Here is our time proven recommendation on the best way to maintain your tile, stone, vinyl and wood floors – The Connoisseur Carpet Cleaning blog.

 

[Michael Ellis]

Is it acrylic wax or urethane finish?

IDK. Does it matter?

 

[BIG WOOD]

IDK. Does it matter?

If it's acrylic, you can do the traditional method that's done on all the VCT floors. If it's urethane, you'll need to get the stuff that comes in the metal can and is in a gel like form. The vapors are so strong, a plastic sheet will need to lay on top of it for a period of time. And instead of extracting the slurry, you'll need to scrape it up and dispose of it in a sealed bag.

The first step I'd take is testing it to see if it's acrylic with normal floor stripper to see how it reacts

 

[Mikey P]

IDK. Does it matter?

Yeah, do NOT strip that floor.

Its hard enough to strip a flat floor when you know what your doing.

Stripping a brick floor when you don't know what you're doing would probably lead to suicide at your age.

 

[hogjowl]

Don’t be a hero

 

[The Great Oz]

Hmmm. Great looking floor/tired of paying $600 a year to maintain a twenty-plus year old finish. If she wants it stripped off, the every six months guys should be forced to handle that build-up.

If she wants someone else to handle maintenance, I wouldn't even refer someone. This is the Titanic at the dock. Maintain some distance from this disaster.

 

[Michael Ellis]

Your replies confirm the words I told her, but I had to explore them. I cannot imagine "stripping" such a porous floor except with muriatic acid. I did that last time when I was a kid helping my dad prep the garage floor for VCT.
Yup! Aint touching it.

 

[hogjowl]

Your replies confirm the words I told her, but I had to explore them.

I’m sure he’s talking to me