Paint on Brick

[lionel762]

Our basement has a little corner bathroom that I would like to fix up. The foundation walls are red brick, and they have been painted yellow, white, and pink. I'm looking for advice on what to do. I've thought about trying to remove the paint and leaving the red brick. There is also the idea of painting it again although I don't want to trap any moisture in the wall. I also thought about leaving it and putting in a regular 2x4 wall.

From our research the basement was originally built in. However, the walls have always been exposed brick. There was lathe and plaster on the ceiling but that is all gone.

[phil]

i think you could sandblast it off if you can contain the stray sand without it becoming an issue. that would be a fast way to remove it. stripper will soften the paint but it won't really take it off. You could try going at the wall with a wire brush on an angle grinder but that sends a lot of stuff flying around including the wires so you'd need to protect yourself from that. also it may be leaded paint and you can take whatever degree of caution you think is necessary. You could cover it with panels or drywall. maybe you could make some calls and discuss with a sandblasting company? maybe you can tarp off the area to contain the sharp sandstorm? i htink wire brushing by hand woud be an excercise in frustration but you can try. if it's really loose and flaky you might win?

[Gothichome]

Lionel, unless your brick has signs of moisture I would be leaning towards paint. Does the paint already on the walls show signs of failure? Removing paint successfully is a daunting undertaking but not impossible.

[phil]

I guess you could paint it to look like brick, It would look better than butter yellow. Im not sure that would be my choice but it's an option.

the following link is just pictures of people sandblasting brick..Could you rent the machine ?

https://www.google.ca/search?q=sandblas ... 54&bih=715

maybe there is a way to do it with a pressure washer. for example if you had a stream of dry sand falling from a squeeze bottle and you put that in front of the stream of high pressure water then you get sand and water under high pressure flying at the object. I think a rig could me made up to mix the sand and water in a similar manor without needing to use two hands. I don't think I just invented the idea. the water might help stop the sand from being so airborne but there are obvious dangers that you'd have to think about before you tried it.

sometimes if I'm cleaning stuff Ill do that with compressed air. If I blow off a part with compressed air and hold a bottle of solvent in front of the stream it will blow grease and stuff off and it works really well . sometimes I use alcohol or water. . obviously it is a great way to start an explosion or get something in your eye but it works well. Its often forbidden just to blow stuff off with air due to plant and safety regulations never mind combining solvent!

I used to clean equipment with water miscible solvent then sometimes use air and alcohol to clean stuff like machine circuit boards. of course having a specially made booth with lots of huge fans helps and if you start doing this in your basement it might be dangerous but you can clean a greasy engine or something in no time with that method. just compressed air and a squeeze bottle for the liquid. - of course the wall needs some sort of grit I was just making a comparison of how you could project the stuff at the wall.

[Ober51]

There are paints that allow moisture to escape, no?

[phil]

maybe milk paint or dye?

[Casey]

There are paints that allow moisture to escape, no?

Yes, mineral paints breathe really well, bond to bare masonry.
Casey

[Sow's Ear Mal]

And please don't sand blast. Look into less abrasive blasting grit, sand blasting is too harsh on soft old brick. Or clean them manually, with stripper. Not sure if a heat gun works in this case. Either way, acrylic house paint, with built in primer, allows moisture transference. And btw, butter is a nice colour, lol

Casey, what is a mineral paint? Is that what Farrow and Ball make?

[1920brickbaby]

Oh please dont pressure wash or sand blast! you can start with less abrasive ways- we are currently removing paint, spray paint and other misc dirt, debris etc- we spoke with some restoration professionals and we are starting with muratic acid for heavy areas and for "debris / biologic" using bleach mix

[phil]

I wouldn't use muriatic acid in a closed room not for anyone. that stuff is horrible , fine for outside. Yea you could set up fans and stuff but please be careful if you choose to use it. even just the fumes will rust anything nearby. Im surprised they can sell it. If I used it in the house I'd make sure I had an air fed mask and not a respirator with a filter. that way you'd be breathing air from the compressor and that would be outside feeding your mask with a hose.

I mixed some 1:3 and put it in a plastic garbage can and was using it to strip paint and rust from car parts. It does work but its really horrible stuff.

I once did our garage, cleaned the floor and painted it. I was younger and wreck-less and by myself and I found myself outside doubled over and almost unable to breathe. It was scary. had I not had the strength to get myself outside things could have gone from bad to worse. It was very painful. I did have fans and the roll up door open. I was only using small amounts at a time and doing 3 foot squaree patches. I was neutralizing it with baking soda and cleaning it up as I went. Outdoors its a different story. Please don't forget to read up on the MSDS before you use muriatic acid. I will admit I have sometimes been not so careful about fumes from solvents and paints and stripper but Murtiatic acid is something I wouldn't use unless I truly have proper safeguards in place. even being in a fume filled room with only a mask is dangerous, you also need to vent those fumes properly in case your mask comes off while you are working.

I dont' think it's that bad environmentally as it can be neutralized. I have heard they use it to pump into the groundwater when they do fracking for gas. It probably starts eating the rock and neutralizes itself to something less harmful but I'm not a chemist. If I have acids like that around or when I work with car batterys I always keep a box of baking soda open and nearby so I can throw it in my face or rub it on my skin if I do have an incedent. even having a gallon of water with a box of baking soda is probably a good idea as liquid is easier to disperse and probably works faster. If you are cleanign up your car battery don't get it insde but you can use baking soda and water to clean the terminal posts and even take a cloth soaked in it and put that under the battery, then if you do get a little acid spill from the battery it will neutralize itself rather than rust your battery box.

I used to have to check the cells in forklift batteries and they can be pretty dangerous. we'd keep a box handy on the machine and used some to clean the outside of the huge battery packs. You can brush your teeth with baking soda or eat it at least in small amounts, it is cheap and works really well to clean a lot of things. It wont remove your paint though.