Removing paint off brickwork

[Dougie212]

Hi there..

We've just had some drainage work done, and after finally getting the all clear of no more leaks, we want to do up our courtyard. Whilst we wait for the damp to dry out some and re point, I was wanting to clean off the horrific job someones done of painting and clearly changing their mind prior to us moving in. Does anyone know what would be the best way of clearing the brickwork in the picture off please? I had hoped a wire brush would get at it, but it hasn't touched it.

 

[opps]

Acid and a pressure washer will remove it but the acid you need is a trade only product. Do not attempt to buy it online.

A friend of mine is a pointer. He had an employee who had holes in his gloves. The guy ended up in hospital for a week and they had to pull his finger nails out.

The process however is likely to damage the pointing (which has paint on it anyway).

Sorry, but this is not a DIY job (assuming that you want it done properly).

If you do decide to DIY it, you could use an angle grinder with a diamond cup to grind the brick faces but you have pipes in the way and your bricks will probably end up with heavy scratches. You would then need to remove the painted pointing and repoint it.

A less painful and the cheapest option would be to buy something like the Everbuild Motar Tone. Mix it with dilute PVA and touch in the painted sections.

https://www.toolstation.com/shop/Co...+Mortars/sd3259/Powder+Mortar+Tone+1kg/p48790

You may need to buy more than one colour to obtain the correct shading.

 

[Dougie212]

Thanks for your response Opps. Its a huge wall, so my initial idea was to paint it and see how it turned out, but Im guessing it would cost a fortune in paint. Is the process you talked about above an expensive task for a trader to come and do? Im just thinking of which one would be more cost effective..

 

[opps]

Without having seen how tall the elevation is, it is hard to comment.

Painting will be the cheaper option (probably by a very large margin) but it might not be the better looking option.

If your home is a two story property, the paint will be 10 to 15L (for the rear). That's about £60-70 (for Dulux Trade Weathershield). What do you consider to be expensive?

 

[Dougie212]

Its a 2 storey mid terrace, £60/£70 for dulux weather shield seems good to get it looking at least a bit smarter..

 

[opps]

Off the top of my head- to acid remove the paint and repoint the bricks, £5000 upwards plus scaffolding. Possibly £10k+ in London.

 

[Dougie212]

wow!!.. paint it is then..

 

[bobasd]

its not a big deal kind of job just tiresome.
screwfix do a suitable wheel for a 4" angle grinder others do larger cups for 9" grinders.
first you rake out the beds an perps an then set to with the paint removin wheel.
best to use a tower if goin high but can be done off a ladder.
last thing is to piont up with a 3 x sand an 1 x lme mix.

 

[Burnerman]

Google ‘dust free wet blasting’......if there’s someone near you, the results are superb.
John

 

[opps]

its not a big deal kind of job just tiresome.
screwfix do a suitable wheel for a 4" angle grinder others do larger cups for 9" grinders.
first you rake out the beds an perps an then set to with the paint removin wheel.
best to use a tower if goin high but can be done off a ladder.
last thing is to piont up with a 3 x sand an 1 x lme mix.

Would you seriously be happy to use and angle grinder mortar rake and then a dressing wheel off a ladder?

 

[opps]

Google ‘dust free wet blasting’......if there’s someone near you, the results are superb.
John

I googled it and got this

https://www.google.co.uk/search?saf......0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.5lofyQJ8yRQ

None of the results on the first page are relevant to the OP. Can you provide specific/relevant links.

If, as I suspect it happens to be firms that pressure wash the bricks, then as per my first post, it is likely that they will damage the pointing.

 

[KenGMac]

Google ‘dust free wet blasting’......if there’s someone near you, the results are superb.
John

As John, there are several best described as blasting methods, similar to sand blasting, but? they use Soda and other mediums to softly remove all sorts of muck from brick, stone and soft metal?

Worth a look?

Ken

 

[Burnerman]

www.enviroblasting.co.uk
This guy lives in the same village as me and he decides what grade of blasting medium to use.
If the pointing is knackered then its knackered - whatever method is chosen.
John