Cleaning Stone Wall
#1
06-11-08, 06:26 PM
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Cleaning Stone Wall
I just faced a wall behind the wood stove with stone. I was going to sub it out but the guy I had lined up kept putting me off so I had to do it myself. Anyway after much trouble I got it done but have a cleaning problem. Due to the fact that I
A: Had never worked with stone before and
B: Did it semi grout style.
I have a lot of mortar smears and a decent amount of thicker mortar on the face of the finished stone. I bought a concrete cleaner at depot. It called Heavy Duty concrete clean and etch by Sikgaurd.
The instructions say new concrete needs to cure for 60 days before using it. It says nothing about mortar. What will happen if use it anyway. Or should I dilute more than the 4 to 1 they recommend. Or is there something else that would be better for this kind of thing.
Thanks
The Paperhanger
A: Had never worked with stone before and
B: Did it semi grout style.
I have a lot of mortar smears and a decent amount of thicker mortar on the face of the finished stone. I bought a concrete cleaner at depot. It called Heavy Duty concrete clean and etch by Sikgaurd.
The instructions say new concrete needs to cure for 60 days before using it. It says nothing about mortar. What will happen if use it anyway. Or should I dilute more than the 4 to 1 they recommend. Or is there something else that would be better for this kind of thing.
Thanks
The Paperhanger
#2
06-11-08, 06:32 PM
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Return that product if possible. In general most mortar should be removed within an hour or 3. After this time frame, you will work increasingly harder to clean it. After several days, you are left with acidic cleaners, which do work, but are messy dangerous and can ruin the stone.
What type of stone is it, and how much water can you apply to the area?
What type of stone is it, and how much water can you apply to the area?
#3
06-11-08, 08:50 PM
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It is an acid, abit a mild one. Or I should say a milder one. If I use it I'll wear a breather and air the place out.
Well I can use a little water. It's plywood flooring right now. Want to do something before I lay tile and hardwood. But I can't hose it down.
The stone is called something lalic. Virgina I think. It's pretty hard. I wouldn't mind etching it a little to help the sealer I'm going to put on it stick. Or thats the plan LOL.
I'm more worried about what the acid will do to the mortar. I think I will do a little test on a spare piece of stone to make sure
Well I can use a little water. It's plywood flooring right now. Want to do something before I lay tile and hardwood. But I can't hose it down.
The stone is called something lalic. Virgina I think. It's pretty hard. I wouldn't mind etching it a little to help the sealer I'm going to put on it stick. Or thats the plan LOL.
I'm more worried about what the acid will do to the mortar. I think I will do a little test on a spare piece of stone to make sure
#4
06-11-08, 08:57 PM
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Do not use that product on your stone. Do a Google for a product called "Speedy Clean". It works and is the best thing for your application. No matter what you are going to have to have a wet/dry vac, some poly, and a good amount of water.
