Removing 'tar' from external brickwork

[tomjcollins85]

Hi all!

I have recently removed a porch from the front of my property. Unfortunately, it has left tar (or what I believe to be tar) all over my brickwork. I've attached an image for reference.

I've had a go at this with a wire-bit, but I feel like it's going to obliterate brick. What would be the best way to deal with this?

Thanks,
Tom!

 

[misterhelpful]

Looking at those drips, it looks like someone may have used bituminous paint on the top of the porch. It's tricky and messy to remove but there are some things that can work. You can use turps or petrol as a solvent to help remove it but you are likely to end up spreading it all over the place as you work, and it will take a lot of clean rags to absorb it all. Using a heat gun to soften it very slightly beforehand may aid in this method but don't use the heat gun once you start applying either turps or petrol, for obvious health and safety reasons.
An issue you may have doing it this way is that those fletton bricks may end up absorbing the sludge and staining them brown, making complete removal almost impossible. If this happens, you could always use a stain block and paint over the brick above the door to make more of a feature.

 

[chappers]

You have virtually no chance of removing that, I would do as mister says and paint over it maybe on the angle, starting from the corners of the painted lintel to mimic something like this , otherwise it's a case of replacing the brickwork

 

[tomjcollins85]

Thank you both. I'm going to photoshop a few paint designs and canopy's to determine the best course of action. Real shame there's not a quick fix!