I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there were
vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch. Are
solvents a good idea?
Second problem:
Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
Thanks
Karl

Karl Vorwerk wrote:
I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there were
vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch. Are
solvents a good idea?
Second problem:
Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
Thanks
Karl


Many tool rental places have a tool called a scrape-away tool, a
circular scraping attachment which fits a floor buffer. It has steel
blades that ride at an angle on the concrete and scrape the mastic off.
You can get more done with one of these things in 45 minutes than hot
air, sanders or solvents combined. I've used this gadget a number of
times and it's always been a labor saver. It may be called a different
name in your locale, but describe it to the rental houses and you should
be able to find it.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Sounds cool. I'll keep it in mind. Seems like over kill in my situation but
maybe not if the price is right. one is 3'x8' and 2 @ 3'x4.
Thanks
Karl


"Gary Brady" wrote in message
ink.net...
Karl Vorwerk wrote:
I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there
were vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch.
Are solvents a good idea?
Second problem:
Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
Thanks
Karl
Many tool rental places have a tool called a scrape-away tool, a circular
scraping attachment which fits a floor buffer. It has steel blades that
ride at an angle on the concrete and scrape the mastic off. You can get
more done with one of these things in 45 minutes than hot air, sanders or
solvents combined. I've used this gadget a number of times and it's
always been a labor saver. It may be called a different name in your
locale, but describe it to the rental houses and you should be able to
find it.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

Maybe you could make something like a scrape-away to fit a 1/2 inch
drill. Round piece of sheet metal, a couple of slots and the center
with a mandrel.


Dan

Karl Vorwerk wrote:
I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there were
vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch. Are
solvents a good idea?
Second problem:
Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
Thanks
Karl



Don't use a propane torch. The floor will explode as water in the concrete
turns to steam. Don't ask how I know this!

Jon

The best point of beginning is one of the razor scrapers about
half way down this page:
http://www.craintools.com/fs-tear-outtools.html
These will work quite well on floors and walls. Heat, as in a
heat gun or propane torch will soften the material but you will
probably have better luck just scraping cold. The floor disk that
was referenced earlier cost a little over $600, I don't know about
rental. They do not work well in heavy cut back adhesive (black).
Avoid flammable thinners,etc. If you want to try chemical, get
some citrus solvent from a commercial floor installer's store. I
still think your best bet is a good floor scraper with plenty of
fresh blades and a little elbow grease.

(top posted for your convenience)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Keep the whole world singing . . . .
DanG (remove the sevens)




"Karl Vorwerk" wrote in message
...
Sounds cool. I'll keep it in mind. Seems like over kill in my
situation but maybe not if the price is right. one is 3'x8' and
2 @ 3'x4.
Thanks
Karl


"Gary Brady" wrote in message
ink.net...
Karl Vorwerk wrote:
I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor
where there were vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I
need my propane torch. Are solvents a good idea?
Second problem:
Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably
going to be painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
Thanks
Karl
Many tool rental places have a tool called a scrape-away tool,
a circular scraping attachment which fits a floor buffer. It
has steel blades that ride at an angle on the concrete and
scrape the mastic off. You can get more done with one of these
things in 45 minutes than hot air, sanders or solvents
combined. I've used this gadget a number of times and it's
always been a labor saver. It may be called a different name
in your locale, but describe it to the rental houses and you
should be able to find it.

Gary Brady
Austin, TX

"Gary Brady" wrote in message
ink.net...
| Karl Vorwerk wrote:
| I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there
were
| vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch. Are
| solvents a good idea?
| Second problem:
| Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
| painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
| Thanks
| Karl

I know that if you get it cold, the mastic gets brittle like old tar
chunks. That said, you can get some dry ice and put it where you want to
scrape. Not sure how well it will work, but it might be worth trying.

I read somewhere that you put a box of dry ice over the vinyl tile you
want to remove and after moving it out of the way you smack it with a hammer
and tile leaves in lots of small pieces. Same idea.

On Thu, 21 Apr 2005 00:53:18 GMT, carl mciver wrote:
"Gary Brady" wrote in message
ink.net...
| Karl Vorwerk wrote:
| I have to remove remove some mastic from a concrete floor where there
were
| vinyl tiles. Is a hot air gun enough or do I need my propane torch. Are
| solvents a good idea?
| Second problem:
| Mastic again. This time on a concrete wall that is probably going to be
| painted. What's the best way to prep for painting?
| Thanks
| Karl

I know that if you get it cold, the mastic gets brittle like old tar
chunks. That said, you can get some dry ice and put it where you want to
scrape. Not sure how well it will work, but it might be worth trying.

If you've got a source of liquid nitrogen, that might be another answer
(well, for the floor at least). Note that both dry ice, and liquid nitrogen,
will displace oxygen from the room. If you enjoy breathing, caution is
advised (lots of ventilation). CO2 will pool, which is inconvenient if
you pass out. Liquid nitrogen is inexpensive _if_ you have a local source.

I read somewhere that you put a box of dry ice over the vinyl tile you
want to remove and after moving it out of the way you smack it with a hammer
and tile leaves in lots of small pieces. Same idea.

I have to try that.

In article , Dave Hinz says...

If you've got a source of liquid nitrogen, that might be another answer
(well, for the floor at least).

This is actually how most of the paint was removed from the inside
of the statue of liberty, during the recent restoration.

Jim


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On 21 Apr 2005 10:13:07 -0700, jim rozen wrote:
In article , Dave Hinz says...

If you've got a source of liquid nitrogen, that might be another answer
(well, for the floor at least).

This is actually how most of the paint was removed from the inside
of the statue of liberty, during the recent restoration.

Right. Wasn't it tar-like substance as well? I remember that that had had
lots of time and money budgeted for it, and ended up coming in for that
part of the project way early and under-budget.

I like the liquid nitrogen/dry ice idea but will probably end up using a
scraper as I have a large one and shorter replaceable blade one.
Thanks for these and the louver suggestions.
Thanks
Karl

"Dave Hinz" wrote in message
...
On 21 Apr 2005 10:13:07 -0700, jim rozen wrote:
In article , Dave Hinz says...

If you've got a source of liquid nitrogen, that might be another answer
(well, for the floor at least).

This is actually how most of the paint was removed from the inside
of the statue of liberty, during the recent restoration.

Right. Wasn't it tar-like substance as well? I remember that that had
had
lots of time and money budgeted for it, and ended up coming in for that
part of the project way early and under-budget.