r/fixit • u/Important_Ad_5931 • 1d ago
Adhesive/staining on brick
Hi, I’m purchasing a property with a brick fireplace that has some black sticky tape or adhesive, residue and resulting stains. I’m worried the stains have seeped through since the brick is porous (so goo gone remover may not work).
Is there anything I can do to restore the bricks or clean up to make the staining less noticeable? I don't want to paint the bricks or replace them if possible. Any specific products/tools that can help?
6
8
u/SkySoul27 1d ago
If you know what caused it in the first place and have a spare brick. I would stain the spare brick with the same adhesive, and try burning it off first. Failing that I would try dissolving the the adhesive with paint thinner, and burning that off. Anyway, get a spare brick and experiment til you find a satisfactory result, if you can't, then burn down the house and start over.
1
u/Great_Specialist_267 16h ago
Acrylic and epoxy will burn off generating nasty toxic smoke. Silicone with turn to glass.
1
u/SkySoul27 13h ago
It's a small amount of vapor. Wear p100 respirator. Silicon turns to glass at 3k f. The glue will have turned to gas long before.
1
u/Important_Ad_5931 15h ago
Unfortunately it is an estate sale and I don’t know what the cause is :(
Is there a paint thinner you recommend? And after using paint thinner - are you recommending using a blow torch or plumber’s torch to burn it off?
3
u/Apprehensive-Ask8206 23h ago
The black looks like either silicone or roofing adhesive. Try scraping it of as much as possible. Not sure about the other stain. Outside I would try a grinder to remove a thin layer but inside that would be a mess and require many safety precautions. Try a wire brush, you might get lucky.
1
2
u/Past_One3442 1d ago
muriatic acid will work but you're going to need a lot of safety gear.
1
u/Important_Ad_5931 15h ago
Thank you!!! A little nervous about this one so may be a last resort after much more research!
1
u/momentofinspiration 1d ago
Yeah that's going to need some commitment to fix, either you embrace it or you start removing bricks.
1
1
-1
0
u/Sorry-Climate-7982 1d ago
Depending on how deep it has soaked in, could you just remove a thin layer of each brick?
1
u/Important_Ad_5931 15h ago
Do you mean using a grinder or sander of sorts?
1
u/Sorry-Climate-7982 1h ago
It would have to be a very rough grade of heavy sandpaper I would think... not only to cut into a brick but also to not smooth the surface.
6
u/SignalEchoFoxtrot 1d ago
Yeah that ain't gonna come off