1

I am prepping my concrete floors for epoxy. After removing whatever I can do mechanically with a grinder and cup brush, I was going to soak it in muriatic acid.

I did something similar to my exposed brick walls and the effects were fantastic, thar thing does clean. But I remember that I neutralized the ph factor with baking soda in water solution. Is this the right approach with concrete floors as well or should I use something else? If yes, about which ratio of baking soda vs water should I use?

Improve this question
4
  • I have rinsed with clear water and a large rubber squeegee 3 times. On the inside basements I cleaned I made a u shaped dam slightly wider than my squeegee I set my shop vac to suck the water as I pushed it in, it really worked better than I thought it would, I used some scrap angle iron but I bet some 2x4 scraps would work. On the basement I may have rinsed it 4 times. But on all the garages I spray & squeegee 3 times. This probably depends on the strength you used. I usually use ~15% depending on how bad the floor is. Baking soda will neutralize the acid but still need to rinse.
    – Ed Beal
    Oct 9, 2019 at 23:15
  • How long do you think it needs to soak in acid?
    – amphibient
    Oct 9, 2019 at 23:18
  • I watch the reaction. Fine finished surfaces that are clean only take a 1/4 hour or so. Heavily stained rough surfaces maybe a higher acid level and I use a broom to move it around to the darker areas when I see no more bubbles it is close to done. The acid is mostly done at this point so ringing with clear water is all that is needed, my first job in this case I only did 1 rinse, later I read more are better depending on the rinse. Better safe than sorry after trying to do it right.
    – Ed Beal
    Oct 10, 2019 at 2:05
  • @EdBeal Those would make a great answer...
    – Daniel Griscom
    Oct 10, 2019 at 11:23

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I have rinsed with clear water and a large rubber squeegee 3 times. On the inside basements I cleaned I made a u shaped dam slightly wider than my squeegee, I set my shop vac to suck the water as I pushed it in, it really worked better than I thought it would, I used some scrap angle iron but I bet some 2x4 scraps would work. On the basement I may have rinsed it 4 times. But on all the garages I spray & squeegee 3 times. This probably depends on the strength you used. I usually use ~15% depending on how bad the floor is. Baking soda will neutralize the acid but still need to rinsed. The reaction actually dose change the ph but not totally, I started using 3 rinse cycles after working with acid processing equipment (3 rinses is what they required).

Improve this answer
0

concrete's is naturally alkaline washing with water should suffice, but if you want to hit it with quicklime or baking soda that's not going to do any harm.

Improve this answer
2
  • 1
    Hi. I spend a lot of time asking newbies to spend time formatting their questions for readability. And then I repeatedly find your answers in the "Low Quality Posts" review queue, likely because they're single sentences with no capitals. They're good answers; would you mind putting a few seconds into capitalization, formatting, and a couple of additional support sentences? (Thanks.)
    – Daniel Griscom
    Oct 10, 2019 at 11:08
  • I understand why jasen formats like this He is using the app and proper formatting on a phone is a pain. He may even be using speech to text feature. If I upvote your answer will you edit it to make it easier to read?
    – Kris
    Oct 10, 2019 at 13:47

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.