Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

AWEM

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

.... will wreck the enamel glaze/finish.

Even very weak acids will wreck it.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message ...

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

... will wreck the enamel glaze/finish.

Even very weak acids will wreck it.


The glaze on tiles is very close to glass, you can leave brick acid in a
glass bottle for years with no harmful effects. Brick acid is hydrochloric
acid - same stuff in your stomach. If it takes glaze off tiles then they are
particularly dodgy tiles. Glazed tiles are used to line the VATs in some
acid production plants

AWEM

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message ...

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

... will wreck the enamel glaze/finish.

Even very weak acids will wreck it.


The glaze on tiles is very close to glass, you can leave brick acid in a
glass bottle for years with no harmful effects. Brick acid is hydrochloric
acid - same stuff in your stomach. If it takes glaze off tiles then they are
particularly dodgy tiles. Glazed tiles are used to line the VATs in some
acid production plants

Vitreous Enamel looks indestructuable like glass, but it's not.
Hence the great care needed in selecting cleaning agents for it. It's
very easy to take the glaze/finish off it by dissolving out some of the
alkali components with acid cleaners and descalers. This will only damage
the surface, but once that's happened, it's slightly absorbent and more
likely to get dirt/stains on it, and the shine is gone, so it won't look
new anymore.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In message , Andrew Mawson
writes
"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message ...

In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...

Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

... will wreck the enamel glaze/finish.

Even very weak acids will wreck it.


The glaze on tiles is very close to glass, you can leave brick acid in
a glass bottle for years with no harmful effects. Brick acid is
hydrochloric acid - same stuff in your stomach. If it takes glaze off
tiles then they are particularly dodgy tiles. Glazed tiles are used to
line the VATs in some acid production plants

It depends on the glaze - I buggered the enamel of a bath some years ago
with HCl


--
geoff

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Andrew Mawson" writes:
"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)
Brick acid and a sponge & marigolds?

... will wreck the enamel glaze/finish.


No it wont.

Even very weak acids will wreck it.


No they wont. Not it its vitreous coated.

Or descalers would ruin baths every day.

--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.

"Wesley" wrote in message
o.uk...
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)


Now this is something I have had experience of on the past.
What I did was to get a rag and soak it in boiling water and then cover
cement with rag and leave for about an hour, then using a piece of plastic,
old door trim is great for this, just work from the edges until it is
removed. It's a slow process and you may have to do it time and time again
until it is removed but worth the effort.
Jim G

On 21/03/2012 23:19, the_constructor wrote:
wrote in message
o.uk...
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)


Now this is something I have had experience of on the past.
What I did was to get a rag and soak it in boiling water and then cover
cement with rag and leave for about an hour, then using a piece of plastic,
old door trim is great for this, just work from the edges until it is
removed. It's a slow process and you may have to do it time and time again
until it is removed but worth the effort.

Apart from preferring a sharpened tooth brush for this I am inclined to
agree that weakening it slightly by thermal cycling followed by gentle
mechanical removal at the edges is the least worst option.

A very steady hand and a sharp wood chisel might be faster but with
greatly increased risk of collateral damage.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 22/03/2012 12:04 p.m., Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

This reminds me of a question I have - how to remove tile cement from
ceramic tiles? Some of it chips off reasonably easily, but most is very
stubborn and with a hammer and chisel there is a real risk of breaking
the tile.

"Gib Bogle" wrote in message
...
On 22/03/2012 12:04 p.m., Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

This reminds me of a question I have - how to remove tile cement from
ceramic tiles? Some of it chips off reasonably easily, but most is very
stubborn and with a hammer and chisel there is a real risk of breaking the
tile.

Is it water proof or does it soften if you leave it wet for a few days?

In article ,
Gib Bogle writes:

This reminds me of a question I have - how to remove tile cement from
ceramic tiles? Some of it chips off reasonably easily, but most is very
stubborn and with a hammer and chisel there is a real risk of breaking
the tile.

Ceramic tiles vary, but if they have a good glaze or a completely
non-porous finish, then an acid will attack the cement bond.
However, tile cement is not just cement - it also contains glues
as a bonding agent, and may contain waterproofers too. So it may
be a case of going slowly - dissolving the outer cement layer, and
then rubbing the sand free of the glue, before getting to the next
cement layer.

If these tiles are fitted in-place, you need to be careful of the
grout, which in some cases will dissolve faster than the tile
cement in the presence of acids.

Test any acid on one tile first, including cleaning it off and
allowing it to dry. If the cement has not been there long, you
may find you can get it off with quite weak acids such as vinegar
or descaler, rather than brick acid. It sets significantly harder
over time. Modern tile adhesives are _very_ much stronger than
older ones, which were often little more than fine sand and
cement.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Gib Bogle" wrote in message
...
On 22/03/2012 12:04 p.m., Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

This reminds me of a question I have - how to remove tile cement from
ceramic tiles? Some of it chips off reasonably easily, but most is very
stubborn and with a hammer and chisel there is a real risk of breaking the
tile.

Drop your tiles into boiling water and leave to go cold. Adhesive will come
off easily
Jim G

On 22/03/2012 11:14 p.m., the_constructor wrote:
"Gib wrote in message
...
On 22/03/2012 12:04 p.m., Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast
iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

This reminds me of a question I have - how to remove tile cement from
ceramic tiles? Some of it chips off reasonably easily, but most is very
stubborn and with a hammer and chisel there is a real risk of breaking the
tile.

Drop your tiles into boiling water and leave to go cold. Adhesive will come
off easily
Jim G



This isn't really feasible - these are 50cmx50cm tiles. I could pour
boiling water over them.

On 21/03/2012 23:04, Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)

Soak it, for a good long time, then attack with one of those stainless
scourer thingies that look like a handful of swarf.


--
Cheers,

John.

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Wesley wrote:
Is there any easy non-destructive way to remove tile cement from a cast iron
enamelled bath?

I've ruled out hammer and chisel and angle grinder :-)


mm. Of its vitreous enamelled cats iron, any acid will eventually do it
- i'd start with a de-scaler first and only go to hydrochloric as a last
resort.

remove the bulk with a careful scraping as far as you can.


--
To people who know nothing, anything is possible.
To people who know too much, it is a sad fact
that they know how little is really possible -
and how hard it is to achieve it.