Thanks All,

I guess that I will have to step back and punt. The tiles are on a spa
that allows the water to cascade down into a pool. (Horrible idea) Every
year I have to remove the residue. I have tried acids, paint scrapers
and last year I broke out the big grinder with a heavy duty
Scotch-Bright pad on it. It worked pretty well. This year the pool has
water in it, so I don't want to use that electric grinder. A local pool
guy told me that he blasts the tile. I was kind of concerned about
removing the glazing, so that is why I asked.

I guess the next step is finding some sort of phosphoric acid gel like
Naval Jelly. Damn, grit blasting sure sounded good. 8^(

Thanks again

Jake


ATP* wrote:
"Jake in Escondido" wrote in message
news:a_5ie.9$%y4.0@fed1read04...

I have some nice ceramic tiles that are heavily incrusted with water
deposits (Metal content- calcium). They are vertical and quite a few square
feet and acid washing is not practical. It was recommended that I sandblast
the deposits. I don't want to damage the tile, so I was wondering what
might be the best medium to blast them with. Any ideas or cautions?

TIA

Jake in Escondido


I've used baking soda on a few bathrooms, with no visible damage to the tile
glaze, but it makes a friggin mess, will peel latex paint off, takes a lot
of baking soda and you need a very precise media valve on your blaster. I'm
not sure why you say an acid wash is impractical. If at all possible, I
would try a phosphoric acid based cleaner. This product has worked well on
some nasty deposits:

http://www.spartanchemical.com/web/P...C?OpenDocument

It can be applied with a garden sprayer but protect yourself from the fumes