# overspray on concrete from home builder



## mechanix (Dec 10, 2008)

hi i have another question for you guys about a concrete floor i am preping for acid stain. a one year old house im woking on has madtown overspray on the concrete from the painters. do you think the cleaner/etcher will take it up? or will i have to use paint stripper? 

and is this normal for homebuilders these days to cut that corner and just overspray the crap outa the floor when they are painting the walls? because my house was build in 1945 and doesnt have any overspray on the floor.


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## Glasshousebltr (Feb 9, 2004)

Make em clean it up Mec.


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## Burby (Nov 25, 2008)

mechanix said:


> hi i have another question for you guys about a concrete floor i am preping for acid stain. a one year old house im woking on has madtown overspray on the concrete from the painters. do you think the cleaner/etcher will take it up? or will i have to use paint stripper?
> 
> and is this normal for homebuilders these days to cut that corner and just overspray the crap outa the floor when they are painting the walls? because my house was build in 1945 and doesnt have any overspray on the floor.


Most painters take care to prevent overspray or paint of any kind form falling on concrete floors or anything as far as that goes. 
Being a year old makes it a bit hard to find them now and or get them to return to clean up their mess.
Read the directions or call the product customer service # to be sure as to what needs to be done. This will offer the best advice and either save you time or let you knwo it be a good time to have a keg party, BYOS, (bring your own scraper)

good luck :thumbup:


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## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

If the concrete was not designated as getting a finish and builder and painter were planning on carpet whatever going over top of it, then I have never heard of the flooring being masked off when the trim is sprayed. On your older home, the trim was probably not sprayed but brushed.


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## Burby (Nov 25, 2008)

DeanV said:


> If the concrete was not designated as getting a finish and builder and painter were planning on carpet whatever going over top of it, then I have never heard of the flooring being masked off when the trim is sprayed. On your older home, the trim was probably not sprayed but brushed.


 
Correcting my post above yours, I agree if in a house built on slab. Rooms to have carpet, no need to take care to prevent over spray on the crete floors. 
It has been so many years since being in a house built on slab, when he stated prep to "stain concrete floor", I was posting in reference to a garage floor. 
Do people with homes built on slab use stain as a finish for a room floor?


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## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

Every once in a while some one will do something funky on a cement floor in a basement, but it is not common at all. For garage, I agree that there should not be any paint on the floor. I guess I just assumed he must be talking interior, since garage floors would obviously (I hope) not be covered in paint.


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## mechanix (Dec 10, 2008)

ty for all the responces guys first of all. what a big help. 

and yes, its the interior not the garage if there was overspray in the garage there would be a big problem lol. the interior concrete stain is wonderful and pennies on the dollar when compared to doing tile so its a good option for people. 

im going to call and see if they will clean it up because they are still building in the area. its in arizona where the home building never seems to really stop so ill give it a try. 

but anyhow ill probably have to use paint stripper of some sort. does anyone have any experience with the etcher/degreeser that you are supposed to use before you acid stain a concrete floor? i want to avoid using to much product if i can. ill probably just get one gallon because i need it anyhow. then ill just test a spot. but i think ill neede stripper. 

have a good one guys 

-Mech-


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## JBBS (Jan 17, 2008)

Good luck. If the homebuilder knew they were getting acid stained floors the concrete should have been treated like a finished floor after it was poured. Acid etching and most likely even strippers will affect the outcome of your stain. All sorts of things that you may not even see now will be seen when you do the acid stain. Flux from the plumbers, wd 40, or any other &*$# spilled will show up as an odd area. What products are you using? Sealer? If it were my job I would do an overlay, if you don't do overlays find somebody who does. Good luck.


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## DeanV (Feb 20, 2006)

I do not think you will ever pull all the paint out of a regular cement floor. They are not usually trowels super smooth, so there is lots of places for it to be lodged in where stripper will not really get it out. I think your best best is going to be grinding it down.

As a painter, I do not think you are going to have much luck with asking the painters to remove it for free, since the house is one year old and it sounds like it was not specified to have a finished floor. Basement floors are not typically protects any more than subflooring is during the painting process.


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## Dorman Painting (May 2, 2006)

In a slab home, the concrete always gets peppered with overspray. I've done tons of them and unless noted, the floor is to be carpeted. Now the garage is a different story, that should not be messy, we always take care in the garages. Like Dean said above, the basement floor is a green lighter too. Normally the only places a good painter will get overspray are next to the baseboards and at the feet of the door jambs.


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## tsb (Jul 6, 2008)

If there's just a little bit of overspray it can be removed with a zec disk on an angle grinder without affecting the concrete profile. If there is a lot of overspray this may not be a viable option.

Diamond grinding the floor will most likely expose some aggregate and you won't get as much of a "mottled" look if using a single color.

An overlay may be the best option if there is a lot of paint on the floor but can get expensive.

*edit* and I agree with previous posters, unless the concrete was spec'd as a finished floor there's going to be overspray and I wouldn't expect the painters to remove it for free.


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## Hoven (Aug 13, 2008)

Soy gel works well


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## WisePainter (Sep 16, 2008)

I did it, and I am *not* sorry!!!!

HA!

The only time I protect a concrete floor is when a glue down wood floor is in the plans. When I _have_ over sprayed, the floor guys take care of it. 

And no, they didn't spray trim back in the 40's it was brushed, they had only brushes to apply paint to walls until the 70's.
Thank God I don't live back then.

Use Dad's varnish and marine stripper, it even removes epoxy.


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