Acid Wash

[Tscarborough]

Re: Acid Wash

Brickie, you are right about non-professionals doing excellent work, but this is a little different. Muriatic acid can maim or kill you, to say nothing of ruining the work you have already completed.

There are alternatives, and around here very few professionals clean their masonry with muriatic acid anymore, and no commercial work allows it.

[C5dad]

Re: Acid Wash

If you know how to handle - which most learned in High School, acid is not a problem.

1 - Always pour acid into water
2 - use Gloves and Goggles
3 - use not more than a 10% solution
4 - If it gets on your skin, do not panic, wash with water for 5 to 10 minutes. Do not pour baking soda or other neutralizers on it. The pour on neutralizers have a special chemical which acts as a buffer to slow the reaction.
5 - after cleaning the bricks, rinse with water and then baking soda - gotta control the reaction.

Folks, there are a lot of people who use muriatic acid in their swimming pools all the time - and also mixing in chlorine which is way more dangerous. Just google acid safety training - there are many free online courses out there. Educate yourself - its really easy!

Respect the chemicals cuz they do not care!

p.s. as a chemical engineer and former safety manager at an acid plant, I think I am somewhat qualified

pss: I have seen many who use the stuff all the time out here in Arizona for prepping concrete, cleaning concrete, prepping metal prior to painting (though phosphoric acid is better for that.) and MANY other professional and non-professional uses.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Acid Wash

Muriatic acid can maim or kill you,.

From someone from a gun toting nation, that quote is really funny.....

[brickie in oz]

Re: Acid Wash

These bricks have been acid washed, check out the users address..

[Tscarborough]

Re: Acid Wash

Um, that is a residence. I sell hundreds of gallons of muriatic a month to residential masons (as well as some proprietary cleaners), but none to commercial masons. They only use propretary cleaners (which are, in actuallity buffered acids).

[C5dad]

Re: Acid Wash

Commercial masons have to deal with increased regulatory issues, thus they use the buffered cleaning solutions. Most large companies hold the contractors feet to the fire to make sure they are operating in an environmental sensitive manner wherever possible due to the quantities they have onsite. Having just gone though a shutdown, it is amazing to see the quantity of chemical which come on site during a project.

[sacwoodpusher]

Re: Acid Wash

I would suggest that you don't smear the brick with mortar, first, and if you do then there are various proprietary acidic cleaners available that will not burn the brick. Sure Klean 600 is the main one here in the states, I am sure there is an Aussie analogue. Vinegar is also a good choice, but the best method is soft bristle after tooling, then wire brush if needed after initial set.

Yep....don't smear the brick with mortar.....Thanks.

Sure Klean 600.....will look for it. I think my soft bristles may be doing the job, a good old scrub brush with plastic bristles. Then I have to decide, is that mortar I put on the brick, or a little of the distressing......My take is that if it won't come off, that's the distressing that came with the brick.

[Tscarborough]

Re: Acid Wash

The thing to do is, do not mess with the mortar while it is wet. That is when you will smear it. Leave it alone until it is crumbly and soft, then use a soft bristle brush to remove most of it. That will usually be about the time to tool the joints, so do that first, then soft brush, then after it sets further, to the point that it won't hold fingerprints, you can use a wire brush to clean further. Rub the brush diagonally across the brick. Anything remaining after that, use vinegar upon.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Acid Wash

In the pursuit of truth, happiness, and scientific experimentation, I did a clean with vinegar today on some work that was washed out with a wild rain storm we had last week.

The brickwork above the washed out section is how we usually keep our work looking.

The washed out work below shows the before and after effect of viginar washing, the mortar smears were just superficial and rubbed with a fine soft brush and viginar.
I wouldnt use a wire brish on brickwork as it tends to leave metal marks on the bricks which are impossible to remove.

The brickwork is 1 week old, we dont normally wash our work down, that is left to a professional brick cleaner, and they use acid......run for the hills, we'll all die.......

The work is still in my opinion dirty and would shine if cleaned with acid.
I will try to get a pic of the same work after the acid wash.

The vinegar used was no name white vinegar, would the outcome have been different if I had of used Balsamic, or malted?

[brickie in oz]

Re: Acid Wash

My take is that if it won't come off, that's the distressing that came with the brick.

Or you didnt use acid to wash it?

[Moley]

Re: Acid Wash

Keep the Spirit of salts for the bricks and the vinegar for the battered whiting dont confuse the two.

[bris-pizza-oven]

Re: Acid Wash

just a quick question here to clear things up out off the guys saying use or dont use acid ......what is your trade?? bricklayer? because im a carpenter and i asked a few brickys on a few building sites that ive been to and they said acid


and lets face it if used the right way acid is safe.....its a bit like electricity its safe until someone stick's a knife into the socket


cheers paul

[RTflorida]

Re: Acid Wash

Personally, I DO USE ACID, but I am not going to recommend its use to a novice on this forum. Come on, every day there are new members who have never mixed a single batch of mortar in there life but they are eager to tackle an oven build....GREAT for them, just don't mention acid...really stupid for anyone to squeeze there way into their oven to clean the bricks or mortar joints with an acid solution. Just my two cents, and now I'm off to spend it.

RT

[brickie in oz]

Re: Acid Wash

Why would anyone clean the inside?
Id never even thought of it, until now.

[bris-pizza-oven]

Re: Acid Wash

Personally, I DO USE ACID just don't mention acid...really stupid for anyone to squeeze there way into their oven to clean the bricks or mortar joints with an acid solution.

RT

see electricity coment