Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas or can comment on what I'm about to do.

I have recently put down a (black) slate floor in my utility room. These were uncalibrated slate tiles. I spent ages cleaning them then applied HG Impregnator to one side (the side facing up). When they were laid, I used Lithofin Cement Away and then re-applied HG Impregnator. They looked great.

But then the painters came and now they are a mess (they've scarpered). Basically I need to remove the paint. I think there are two types of paint on them; water and oil based. Scrubbing with water and a green pan scrubber seems to remove it, however, I was thinking of using white spirit, then Lithofin Cement Away (although I don't logically see the point of this to be honest with you), then re-seal.

I'm worried that:

a) too much scubbing will ruin them somehow.
b) white spirit will dissolve HG Impregnator and cause the tiles to stain (since there'll be lots of dissolved paint on the tiles as I'm working).
c) How about a heat-gun? will that work? hmmm.

I guess that one redeeming fact is that they were sealed.

Any comments?

Thanks in advance and regards

Laurence.

I must add that the paint on it is not heavy, like someone tipped a can of paint, rather, paint like if someone had got their shoes covered then walked on it together with a hazy film as if paint had dissolved with water and then dried. Thank again.

Could you not try some wire wool to remove the paint whilst it is still in its solid state. Try a less noticable area first. Then re seal.

That's the reason I don't lay floor tile's before decoration

I would persevere with the green scrubbing pads and sugar soap....when done clean again with clean water and leave to dry and see what you have....
This should really be down to the painters......to sort out..( cost wise ).....

Don,t use white spirit!!!!!!!!!!!!

Painters should be insured for this sort of damage. Get them back in!

Grumpy

if you are struggling..you could sand the slate back a layer until raw slate again, then seal...this would be a last resort...the paint is now dry and should remove with the seaalnt without staining the tile....Gaz

You could try using a steam gun, that would work.

re: wire wool
I had thought of this before but I feared that it would scratch the surface of the slate. I may try it, as you suggest, on an inconspicous area. Otherwise it's a weekend of green pads for me. Good suggestion on the sugar soap.

Originally Posted by lbarea

re: wire wool
I had thought of this before but I feared that it would scratch the surface of the slate. I may try it, as you suggest, on an inconspicous area. Otherwise it's a weekend of green pads for me. Good suggestion on the sugar soap.

Exfoliation for the tile

Get a stanley blade and shave the paint off like you would a cut throat on your skin its not been absorbed by the slate its only on the surface. Any scratch marks are cured by puttin a little sealer on them

wORST CASE SCENARIO use HG remover,take off seal wash clean and reseal...last stop option if none of the above work

Did you manage to remove this paint? I have just had the exact same problem last week. Got more paint on floor and furnishings than on the walls, I think they might have been blind! My tiles have been down for 8 years so not sure if the sealant is still working that well.

I left it but did improve it slightly. It was in a basement so it ended looking a little rustic!

Bad news on the sealant. It does need to be reapplied periodically (I'm talking years here) although I believe that areas of little wear will fare better. Pour a little water on the slate and see what happens; if the water sits on top the sealant is still working! If not, the time it takes to get absorbed will be an indication of how well it's working.

Paint droplets aren't difficult to remove. Be patient, use a chisel but be gentle as the slate will 'scratch' . Use wire wool too but again I have found it too abrasive, so be gentle. Ignore the sanding suggestion made earlier (could have been another forum, mind) since it's ridiculous. White spirit helps, but wipe off quickly esp. If sealant ain't working. However, where watery paint has dried creating a sort of film - I just dont' know. I wonder whether paint remover would work but I wouldnt try it, to be honest with you as it will damage the slate. A good possibility I think is white spirit, a green pan/dish scrubber and elbow grease although take care because the green scrubber could afect the tiles adveresly.

What I WOULD do is to try everything on an inconspicuous area e.g. How hard to scrub with wire wool, how much pressure you can get away with using a chisel etc. because slate is not all the same and yours may be better than mine.

The o.

The

Originally Posted by Emma5000

Did you manage to remove this paint? I have just had the exact same problem last week. Got more paint on floor and furnishings than on the walls, I think they might have been blind! My tiles have been down for 8 years so not sure if the sealant is still working that well.

I have just taken all the paint off of a slate fire surroun using wire wool and on the really bad areas dipped in nitromors. Wash off with plenty of water when clean. Not sure if this is appropriate for slate tiles but it did a great job on my slate fire surround. Was no sealer on it, but there was a victorian marbled paint job, but I guess it would take off the sealer as well. If your sealer worn out I suppose you will need to reseal anyway so not a major problem.

I have DIY renovated 4 houses now so have done this several times with wood, slate, quarry tiles, architectural metalwork etc with good results each time but it does take it back to base layer. Anyway best of luck getting them cleaned up.

I know of a well respected stone floor restoration company who use Nitromors to remove paint. Why should there be a problem?

Originally Posted by rich hand

I know of a well respected stone floor restoration company who use Nitromors to remove paint. Why should there be a problem?

It wholly depends on the type of paint. You need to be careful on some types of paint products can break the paint down and spread it making things worse.

tel

I had the same problem with a gallon of white paint spilling on my multi color slate tile kitchen floor. I had brilliant success with goof off and fine thread steel wool. The steel wool left a haze on the tile. Use heavy duty Mr. Clean magic eraser to remove the haze. Now it looks like it never happened!

Removal of any contaminants off any type of hard flooring is about applying the right products in the right order. Example:
You have oil on your hands and wash them under cold water some oil comes off. You change the water to warm and more oil comes off. You add swarfega or washing up liquid it all comes off. It is not only about the products you use it is how they are used and in what order.
If you apply this to all such problems or ask a specialist you will be able to sort most problems regardless of the surface.

Kevin

Why don't you use a liquid to clean the slate. There is a liquid available in the market which is used to remove the paint.