painted cement steps

[tolbiny]

Would anyone have a suggestion on how I could remove the paint from the cement steps in front of my house? They were painted with what I assume is some kind if paint made for cement before I bought the house. Now they have started to peel and flake in a few places. I tried a power washer,but it just removes a small amount and takes forever. I would rather not repaint the cement as I'm sure it will just peel again in a year or two,but the way they look now is not good either. I also tried a wire brush to remove the paint with less success than the power washer.

[Joseph Meehan]

Sorry hit the send key too fast. There is also the option of sand blasting.

[Joseph Meehan]

Without knowing what kind of paint, I would suggest trying some paint remover. Nothing sure there as it will be ineffective with some paints.

[RicodJour]

Whatever you use to remove the paint will probably damage the surface of the concrete and/or leave paint residue behind. Something like Peel-Away which uses the cover fabric would probably be a good choice.

You'll probably find that the stripped steps would probably look better painted. Epoxy paint meant for garage floors would be a good choice and will last more than a couple of years.

R

[Lawrence]

Ouch, that's a tough problem. Sand blasting was already mentioned and a very good idea. another idea is to cover the steps with a deck. it could be the same size as the steps or larger if you like. You could attach sleepers directly to the steps and build up from there or you could build a larger deck with its own foundation that would just hide the steps. good luck with whatever you try.

Lawrence

[Steve Manes]

I had to do that job on my old cement stoop and it wasn't fun. I started with a 3200psi pressure washer to loosen what paint I could. I followed that with a long-dwell stripper: Peel Away for masonry. Removed that, pressure washed again. Then two or three (can't remember) applications of Rock Miracle stripper for the paint that Peel Away wouldn't touch. Then more pressure washing.

I eventually got it all off but if I'd had a sand blaster I would have used it. I tried getting it sandblasted commercially but was told it wasn't legal here because of the potential for lead contamination.

The story ends with me replacing that stoop last year. Sigh. Steve Manes, Brooklyn, NY Home renovation site:

[scott21230]

I got my paint off with a power waser and have been wondering how to rinish it. I think I'm going to try a concrete refinisher.

[scott21230]

I tried that and it worked. used the resurfacer on the parts where the power washer blew away the concrete surface, then repainted. Looks excellent. This was on a verticla surface too. Had to palm on the resurfacing material, wait fir it to dry, then sand it with a cement brick to smooth it out. Using the resurfacing material as if it were spackining and brick as if it were sandpaper worked just fine.