We dug out one end of the house to make our basement a walk out. The poured walls (brick-shaped texture) had polystyrene sheet glued to them.
I'm scraping it off, but there is a lot of glue left behind that I'll need to deal with before they come to cut the door & window holes.

Current plan is to finish scraping the big chunks off tomorrow and then:
A) Muratic acid & pressure wash
B) Wire cup brush & angle grinder
C) Both A & B
D) ???????

I'm not sure if the wire brush is a good idea or not. I'll try it in a small spot first. Don't like A, but that's most likely to work.

Any suggestions or warnings would be appreciated.

Looks like acetone will dissolve Styrofoam so it may also attack the glue.

https://www.thoughtco.com/diss...am-in-acetone-608924

You could try it on a spot and see what happens.

If it was me, first I'd try a heat gun to see how much I could get off. Then I'd use the stuff I scraped off to test a few different organic solvents. Acetone, MEK, Toluene, etc. to see which one is best at loosening the stuff up. If you can find out the manufacture of the adhesive, their website might provide some info on the best product to use to remove it.

KenS

does the ultimate finish matter? My inclination is to just mechanically (grind rather than wire brush) it off. or burn it off then grind.
Solvent is likely to just move it around on the substrate.

Just don't use your tongue.

Takes freakin' forever

My plan "A" would be my 4300 PSI pressure washer.



Photos?

https://diamabrush.com/product/hand-tools/

We used this to remove glue from out concrete floor. It works fast and effortless, but be warned. It is extremely dusty. Be sure to wear a proper mask when using and seal off any where you don't want dust to go. I picked it up at Home Depot.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
Just don't use your tongue.

Takes freakin' forever

I am hard pressed to refrain from asking.

The construction cement typically used for that needs to be mechanically removed. A 4.5" grinder is in order. The knotted type cup brush should do.

WIll the knotted cup brush/4.5" angle grinder tear up the concrete? WOuld like to leave it bare, but covering might happen. The finish of the new retaining walls is slightly different & my wife already noticed, therefore it is a deal killer.

I'm testing solvents now & acetone is breaking up some of the gummy glue/cement/whatever this shit is.
Need to grab some MEK & other stuff to try,

Plan A didn't do shit. Power washer with 15* tip would have taken forever to knock the foam that was stuck on off & didn't do much to the glue left behind. 0* took even longer, but cut foam into smaller sections.
Acid didn't do anything to the glue, but it makes what was already clean look a lot nicer - that will be a finishing step.
Shoulda tried plan B before I left for Menards, but I wanted to get the acid washed off.....

I have used water stop to put a finish coat on concrete and have also used it to fill a crack in the basement floor by chipping a V in the crack and then filling. I finish the surface with a brick after it has dried some and the surface is wetted.

You can add color to the mixture as well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/QUIKR...ALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is a poured wall, with a brick-shaped pattern that has squiggles running in the 'brick' and smooth 'mortar' spots. If it was a flat/smooth floor, it would be much easier.

I couldn't find a solved that dissolved the goop, it would make it less sticky, but wouldn't penetrate. Acetone MIGHT work, but I'd need a metric fuckton.
Knotted cup brush just flung bits of goop everywhere, but it didn't take much off. Gummed it up right away & basically made designs in the muck. Then I hit foam & got styrofoam balls stuck to the goop on me. Good thing I'm going to cut my hair tonight...

Contractor will have to come up with plan E on this one.

I've use industrial strength Goof Off. Let it sit and then use a scraper. Makes the whole job easier.