I posted a question on 7/4/09 asking about the best way to remove paint from concrete cills (Wire brush V abrasive discs).
Thanks for all the advice. Job was booked for yesterday & today and its been a good learning experience. Customer breeds rare cats, dead against Nitromoors, so it had to be mechanical removal.
First off, visit to local Screwfix trade counter to buy wire brushes & dust mask. Whilst there I spotted a Site angle grinder (made by Makita) on offer @ £30. I don't use angle grinders a lot, so I've just bought Chinese cheapies in the past. Since I was going to be using one for two days, I treated myself.
What a difference! Sooo much easier to use & control I couldn't believe it. Well worth paying a little extra for. Never realised how different a goodie & a cheapie could be.
Anywho, I bought three wire brushes, a Titan bevel brush, a Bosch equivalent and a Titan twist cup brush;
I bought the Titan & the Bosch to see if there was any benefit from the Bosch branded one, which was over twice the price of the Titan. No difference in performance at all. 48" x 8" cill took around 40 mins.
Brush wear rate is phenomenal though. Did two cills 48" x 8" and the Titan brush was worn away completely. The Bosch brush lasted for four 24" x 8" cills, so exactly the same rate of wear, but the Bosch cost £16.76 as against £6.84 for the Titan. Won't be buying Bosch again :-)
The dust mask was a real revelation.
Interesting bit of info. The customer went to Brewers for advice about paint. They asked about the preparation method and as soon as they knew about the wire brush they recommended the use of an oil based primer, prior to masonry paint. The reason being that the wire brush would leave tiny metal particles in the surface of the concrete, which would rust & bleed through the water based masonry paint. I'd never have thought of that, Brewers obviously know their stuff.
Hope that helps anyone thinking of doing a similar job or buying an angle grinder or dust mask.
Oh, BTW its an incredibly dirty job! SWMBO wouldn't let me in to the house last night until I'd used the workshop airline to blow most of the dust off!