Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.
I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?

On Tuesday, 24 October 2017 17:02:16 UTC+1, wrote:
Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.
I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?

Thinners.
But the brickwork will not come up spotless,the tar will have got right in.
PVA to seal it after cleaning and then paint is the only solution.

In message , writes
Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.
I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.

Can you light an ordinary open fire in there first? That should burn
off the old tar.
--
Graeme

On 24/10/2017 17:02, wrote:

Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.

I don't think you will ever realistically get them clean enough to be on
show. A cement render over the old fireplace brickwork was my solution.

I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?

You might be able to get the worst off with a sacrificial wood chisel
but it will take forever to do and be hard to do neatly.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

On 25/10/2017 08:47, Graeme wrote:
In message , writes
Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need
to get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes
in. I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not
clearing it particularly well.

Can you light an ordinary open fire in there first?Â* That should burn
off the old tar.

No, that point has passed. The blowlamp didn't help, and the tar
presumably appeared from 25 years of previous fires.

On 25/10/2017 09:03, Martin Brown wrote:
On 24/10/2017 17:02, wrote:

Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need
to get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.

I don't think you will ever realistically get them clean enough to be on
show. A cement render over the old fireplace brickwork was my solution.

I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?

You might be able to get the worst off with a sacrificial wood chisel
but it will take forever to do and be hard to do neatly.

Somebody else is fitting the stove today so I'll need it work around it
at my "leisure", whatever that is ;-)

On Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:32:47 +0100, wrote:


You might be able to get the worst off with a sacrificial wood chisel
but it will take forever to do and be hard to do neatly.

Somebody else is fitting the stove today so I'll need it work around it
at my "leisure", whatever that is ;-)

Too late to try a heavy duty pressure washing then, it seems to have
got a lot of city buildings much cleaner since decades of soot from
coal fires has been washed off. Buildings in London and other cities
just looked black and depressing back in the 1960's.
Quite messy to do though.

G.Harman

wrote:

Too late to try a heavy duty pressure washing then, it seems to have
got a lot of city buildings much cleaner since decades of soot from
coal fires has been washed off. Buildings in London and other cities
just looked black and depressing back in the 1960's.

Pprobably sand or dry-ice blasting ...

On Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:48:26 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:

wrote:

Too late to try a heavy duty pressure washing then, it seems to have
got a lot of city buildings much cleaner since decades of soot from
coal fires has been washed off. Buildings in London and other cities
just looked black and depressing back in the 1960's.

Pprobably sand or dry-ice blasting ...
Could well be
Or maybe plastic bead abrasive of some kind in later years as
techniques were refined.
A nephew cleaned some old cast iron radiators the other day with a
"domestic" sandblaster the other day and apart from having to keep
stopping to let the fairly large compressure catch up the results
weren't that bad.
Very messy though and would require a lot of protective sheeting with
PPE being worn and it sounds like the OP is beyond that stage even if
the hire cost would be worthwhile.

G.Harman

On Wednesday, 25 October 2017 10:58:32 UTC+1, wrote:
On Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:48:26 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:
wrote:

Too late to try a heavy duty pressure washing then, it seems to have
got a lot of city buildings much cleaner since decades of soot from
coal fires has been washed off. Buildings in London and other cities
just looked black and depressing back in the 1960's.

Pprobably sand or dry-ice blasting ...
Could well be
Or maybe plastic bead abrasive of some kind in later years as
techniques were refined.
A nephew cleaned some old cast iron radiators the other day with a
"domestic" sandblaster the other day and apart from having to keep
stopping to let the fairly large compressure catch up the results
weren't that bad.
Very messy though and would require a lot of protective sheeting with
PPE being worn and it sounds like the OP is beyond that stage even if
the hire cost would be worthwhile.

G.Harman

Yes, sandblasting the OP wouldn't help


NT

On 25/10/2017 18:37, wrote:
On Wednesday, 25 October 2017 10:58:32 UTC+1, wrote:
On Wed, 25 Oct 2017 10:48:26 +0100, Andy Burns
wrote:
wrote:

Too late to try a heavy duty pressure washing then, it seems to have
got a lot of city buildings much cleaner since decades of soot from
coal fires has been washed off. Buildings in London and other cities
just looked black and depressing back in the 1960's.

Pprobably sand or dry-ice blasting ...
Could well be
Or maybe plastic bead abrasive of some kind in later years as
techniques were refined.
A nephew cleaned some old cast iron radiators the other day with a
"domestic" sandblaster the other day and apart from having to keep
stopping to let the fairly large compressure catch up the results
weren't that bad.
Very messy though and would require a lot of protective sheeting with
PPE being worn and it sounds like the OP is beyond that stage even if
the hire cost would be worthwhile.

G.Harman

Yes, sandblasting the OP wouldn't help

I agree!!!

Pressure washing a fireplace inside a house wouldn't help very much either!

We've delayed the final fitting of the stove so I can have another go at
the bricks and then decide whether to persevere with them or give in and
cover them with fire board.

Wrote in message:
Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.
I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?


Rake out joints, brick paint & repoint?
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On 24/10/2017 17:02, wrote:
Having opened-up a fireplace that's been closed since the 60s I need to
get the build-up of tar off the bricks before the wood burner goes in.
I've tried a blowlamp, wire brush and scraper but it's not clearing it
particularly well.
Suggestions?

Some feedback in case it helps someone. What I actually did was
persevere with the blowlamp to cook the tar until it bubbled and could
be easily scraped off. Some of the reside burnt and what was left could
be partly scrubbed off with a lot of water and a scrubbing brush. There
are still many black-stained bricks but it's a more acceptable type of
staining, whatever that means, than what was there at the start. It's
only a small fireplace but I probably spent 5-6 hours on it. The brick
acid did what it it was supposed to do with the mortar but, despite
suggestions to the contrary, did not seem to help the tar/stain removal.