latex overspray on walkway

[frank shic]

hey guys, what's the fastest way to get rid of latex overspray on the concrete walkway outside my house next to the garage? i'm hoping i can fix this before my wife takes a stroll out there... power washer? sand blasting? i really don't like paint stripping and scrubbing :eek:

[ray hampton]

how close are the walk the the walls ? you will need to point the tool away from the garage wall or the water or sand will hit you

[Ray Newman]

Power washer and as ray hampton posted, becareful 'bout hitting the walls.

[curtis rosche]

or you could just do the entire walk and say you didnt like the way it looked before

[frank shic]

so a power washer would be sufficient? the walkway is about 2 feet away from the walls. great! i could use it to clean out the pool filters (another odious task that i detest!). any recommendations on brands? haven't really been doing much research in this field...

[Rich Engelhardt]

If it's fresh - like in the last couple of days - a strong solution of ammonia and a scrub brush should do it.
Alcohol cuts fresh latex also. Rubbing alcohol and/or windshield washer fluid are the least expensive.

[phil harold]

. any recommendations on brands? haven't really been doing much research in this field...
Alkota if you want a professional one that will work 24-7
but you need to buy from a dealer....

look for minimum 2 gpm @ 1600 psi is a good size size to start with
hot water ones if you need to remove grease

[Jay Jolliffe]

That's a lot of money to spend to clean a little paint off the walkway....I guess another reason for a new machine:rolleyes:

[Rob Holcomb]

A pressure washer will definitely do the job. Yes they are expensive but you'll be surprised at how many things you will find to use it for

[Ray Newman]

I would consider a rental unit.

[Peter Aeschliman]

When you say it's overspray, do you really mean overspray, or do you mean that you accidentally sprayed the concrete directly?

In other words, did the atomized paint float and settle on the concrete? If so, hot water, soap, and a stiff bristle brush should take it off pretty easily. If you sprayed the concrete directly, then definitely a pressure washer. Maybe leading with some ammonia and a scrub brush to soften it up and then following up with a pressure washer will be needed.

If you're worried about the pressure washer damaging your siding, lay a scrap piece of plywood along the house to protect it.

[ray hampton]

If it's fresh - like in the last couple of days - a strong solution of ammonia and a scrub brush should do it.
Alcohol cuts fresh latex also. Rubbing alcohol and/or windshield washer fluid are the least expensive.


vinegar will also eats the water-base paint

[Jerome Stanek]

If you use a pressure washer make sure you protect the siding as the spray will splash up and get the house dirty. then you could start all over.

[frank shic]

i actually did try to protect the walkway first time with a standard drop cloth which was a bad idea because the paint seeped through and then the second time with a disposable paper drop cloth but i guess it wasn't long enough... thanks for all the advice guys especially about protecting the siding - hadn't thought about that!

[Greg Portland]

Option 1) A 4k-5k psi pressure washer with a rotary head
Option 2) Muratic acid, TSP, or Xylene (Goof Off) -- all 3 will work but are nasty chemicals. Never use them with each other!

[Rich Engelhardt]

There isn't really a good "fast" way to remove overspray/spills of latex from concrete.

An excellent "slow" way is to make a poltice of any of the things I mentioned above - or as Ray suggested, vinegar - and mix it with dirt.
Just plain old dirt. Form a mud poltice over the affected areas, cover it with a wet towel and let it sit overnight.
Next morning hose off the mud poltice witha garden hose and repeat the whole process.

After a couple/few days, the paint will lose it's grip and come loose.

That's how I/we used to do it before pressure washers hit the scene.
That's how I still do it - even though I have a pressure washer.

The big problem with a pressure washer is that it turns the small job of getting the paint off into a large job of doing the whole walk way - and everything it connects to.

[Jason Roehl]

Ammonia and a wire brush. Saturate it, let it set for a while, then scrub and rinse. Been there, done that.