Brick Acid question

[Stugarlinge1970]

Hi, I'm finishing off my selfbuild and I'm wanting to remove light cement marks from the brickwork, some of the marks are light stuff around the edges of the bricks and some of it is where I got caught out in sudden real heavy downpours and after throwing the hessian on the wind smudged it a bit. So what's the correct process on using brick Acid, plus if it devolves the cement marks won't it damage the pointed motor, cheers stu.

 

[themiddleagedun]

Assuming the mortar has had a few weeks to fully cure. Hose down the wall. The acid will need to be diluted to the manufactures recommendations. Then applied to the wall and scrubbed with a stiff brush then rinsed off. It won't damage the mortar.

 

[Blagard]

As themiddleagedun has said your mortar will be OK. The reaction between acid and mortar stops once all the acid has re-acted with cement. It does not continue to re-act thereafter. The acid is only any good for small smears and won't remove larger blobs of mortar without repeated application.

Wear protective clothing, I use goggles and a pair of marigolds. I find a nylon nail brush handy. I cut off the bottom of a milk container to get a small tray about an inch high. put a small amount of acid in it so you can dip the brush bristles in it and apply to the affected areas. Once done I wash off with water. Have a bucket of clean water handy to deal with any accidents.

While the vast majority of bricks will be OK, it is always wise to apply to a small area first to check that they are not affected.

 

[Stugarlinge1970]

Cheers lads

 

[jeds]

Don't wear a fleece. I cleaned a house down a few years back. When I went to pull my fleece off, the cuffs came away in my hand.

 

[noseall]

Whilst brick acid does not 'damage' the mortar to any great depth, it does have a detrimental effect on the finish of the struck joint. It kinda etches the smooth finish away and has a similar effect to a years worth of ageing or weathering.