Bleach or what for driveway?

scooterguitar

scooterguitar

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I need to clean and pressure wash my garage this week to prepare for our reception, as the food will be in the garage. Pressure ashing works great as I have done it before, but wondering if I should apply bleach, soap, or some chemical like an APC to the floor to get it super clean?
I alreayd have planned to keep one of my Pits at my detailing products area to keep any nosey guests at bay:D
 
I used some Catrol Super Clean ( Purple Stuff ) Once to clean a garage floor
for a friend that was selling his house. He was a mechanic and the floor
had plent of oil and grease stains. It worked great. I would not let the mist
hit you car. It has a bad habit of spoting paint like on cars. I used a broom
to agitate the tough stains and let it dwell on the surface for 10 minutes.
 
Acid etch and UCoatIt epoxy will leave you with an unbelievably clean floor.:awesome:
 
I use chlorine and water solution for all my sidewalks, driveway, etc. It's twice a strong as bleach and 1/2 the price. Mix it with water and it's 1/4 the price of bleach:D Pool supply company's and home improvement stores(I think) carry it. Spray, let sit for 10 minutes, then rinse. No pressure washing needed.

Castrol Super clean or Purple stuff works good too.

Good luck!!
 
GearHead_1 said:
Acid etch and UCoatIt epoxy will leave you with an unbelievably clean floor.:awesome:
Click to expand...

I'm going to use UCoatIt's kit for my garage when I have time. It looks amazing from what I've seen. Where can you get the acid etch? Lowe's?

Thanks
 
Any hardware store will sell muratic acid. It's a little harsh for just a clean up though. It will remove most oil stains and it will discolor cement. That's why I was saying acid before epoxy.
 
So you use muratic acid to etch the concrete? Any steps before that? What if the floor is already painted, but needs refinished?
 
Shot blasting is probably the easiest way to remove paint. Some epoxies don't require the removal of a previous coat assuming it's a sound foundation. I think UCoatIt requires a clean concrete to begin with. Mine was new so I didn't have to worry about that part of it.
 
The only thing I hate about bleach or chlorine is the odor. My x-wife used
it to clean up the dog room. She showed dogs. The smell and taste lasted
for a few hours. No I did not taste it, You got a taste in your mouth from
it being used that way. Cannot be good for you. Chlorine is toxic and the
smell is the chlorine eveporating into the air.
 
dengood1 said:
shot blasting??
Click to expand...
It's a media blaster that uses the same principal as sand blasting. It fires downward and then vacuums the excess shot (steel, I believe) back up (at least most of it.) You can rent it at stores like Lowes or Home Depot and they'll sell you a quantity of shot and you pay for what you use and then return what hasn't been used. I've only read about this so I can't give you first hand accounts. There's quite a bit of information written about it on another forum that I visit. If your interested in the URL PM me and I'll give it to you. Guys that have spent a lot of time trying to scrape or remove paint from a floor swear it's real life saver.
 
Oh, thanks for ht etips.
The floor is not oily or really bad, but I figured I wnated to super clean it this time, as all the food will be out there. I imagine soap would do it fine, but I'll probably try some of Purple Power and a little bleach.
 
scooterguitar said:
Oh, thanks for ht etips.
The floor is not oily or really bad, but I figured I wnated to super clean it this time, as all the food will be out there. I imagine soap would do it fine, but I'll probably try some of Purple Power and a little bleach.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mix the two....could prove to be toxic----like bleach and ammonia mixed(DON'T EVER do that):eek:
 
media blaster

Media blasters are good, but difficult to get in to corners and at the bottom of the wall, so some acid etching is still needed.

Remove paint with paint stripper, then acid etch after that.

Carefully pour some baking soda on your driveway so it doesn't get acid etched when you rinse out the garage and to neutralize the acid before it runs into the storm drain.
 
driveway

If you have tough EPA people and nozy neighbors, you have to do what it takes. I probably would anyway, but at least I have an excuse now.

There are some paint removers that are not so toxic as in the past. They take more time to work, though. If you remove the paint and media blast or acid etch, just remember that the concrete is now porous and until it gets coated, anything spilled will be difficult to remove. Any of the major home stores will have what you need. Let the stripper do the work and follow the instructions. Adequate ventilation means use a fan bringing in fresh air. IMO concrete stain is for pros and unless you work extremely fast, you will get lap marks. The garage floor epoxy kits are good. Paint is just that. Good for color and appearance, but not so durable if you use floor jacks, or work on your car with heavy tools, roller carts, etc.
 
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