# Remove Carpet Glue from Concrete



## BRIANL00

What may I use to remove indoor/outdoor carpet glue from a concrete slab?


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## itsreallyconc

*we use a walk-behind edco diamond grinder*


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## BRIANL00

May you or someone recommend a solvent/cleaner solution like a paint remover-like product, etc.?


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## CraigFL

I never had any luck with solvents -- just melts the top of the glue and spreads it around. 

What are you trying to do? Do you just need a flat surface for another covering or are you trying to stay with bare, flat, even color concrete slab?

If it's outdoors, I would fire up my pressure washer to clean it.


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## BRIANL00

I want to get the concrete slab back to its original state so I may thenapply a slip resistant paint.  The slab is indoors.


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## itsreallyconc

*since concrete is porous, the glue's penetrated the surface & nothing will get it back to the ' original state ' once its changed,,, some like franmar's beanee-doo however its very slippery & the resultant stains are a pita ro remove so we don't use it,,, there is no paint that will satisfactorily adhere to conc im-n-s-h-fo    however there are coatings into which you can mix traction grip*


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## BRIANL00

I think I am going to try the Franmar Beanedoo.  Thanks to all!


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## itsreallyconc

*good luck - there's definite reasons we do NOT use it - 1, its more expensive; 2, its very slow; 3, cleanup's a LARGE pita, & 4th, whatever you try to put on top probably won't adhere.

it IS, however, YOUR home !*


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## john4153

The Franmar product looks interesting, but it seems to be focused on adhesives that are soluble in oils, like asphalt is.  The MSDS shows it to be mostly long chain fatty acids and maybe a little organic solvent.  As a test before buying it, you may want to see whether mineral spirits or kerosene  softens the adhesive on your floors.  

Do you know if the adhesive is water based or oil/solvent based?  If it is a water-based latex, removing it could really be tough.  How big an area are you dealing with?  That is, just a few spots or is it most of the floor?  

Some other options:

1)  Peel Away makes products for removing adhesives and paints.  I have used both its "green" version and its original caustic versions.  The green version tends to dissolve and smear; the caustic denatures and removes.   

2)  Your adhesive may not need to be removed.  Maybe it can just be scrapped to the surface and smoothed.  Your new coating may stick to it.

3)  If you do use the Franmar product, please let us know how it works.

John


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## Rusty

Rubbing alcohol will remove the residue after most of it is scraped off. It will be very hard to get it clean enough to paint. Latex adhesive, which is what is normally used indoors, will not usually soak in much.


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## BRIANL00

I applied Beanedoo on a small section of the floor and left it until it dried.  I then was able to remove MOST of the glue with a drill using a wire brush attachment.  The total area I am working on is ~ 200 sq ft.  I applied a second coat to what was remaining on the small section and let it dry and was then able to completely remove the glue.  As itsreallyconc stated, it(Beanedoo) is expensive($34/gal), it is slow and clean up is a hassle.  If I were dealing with a larger area, I would probably not use this approach.  If I thoroughly rinse all Beanedoo residual, I do not see why a concrete coating will not adhere.  Least ways, that is what I intend to do.  Thanks to all for your comments.  This is my first post to DIY Home Improvement and it has been very beneficial.


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## john4153

Sounds good.

Note the MSDS:


> Product Name: BEAN&#8226;e&#8226;doo® Mastic Remover
> Fatty acids C 16-18 and C 18 unsaturated.
> Methyl Esters CAS # 67784-80-9, and mild surfactants.



Methyl esters of long-chain fatty acids is what biodiesel  mostly is.  Fatty acids and their methyl esters will support microbial growth, so be sure not to skimp on the rinse steps.

John


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## itsreallyconc

let's not get into ' zen ' floor prep - its only 2 or 3hrs work for us & results in a CLEAN floor,,, beanee-doo's 2 days AT LEAST


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## BRIANL00

Thanks.  Will let everyone know how things turn out.


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## resurfacer

Your adhesive, if it's color is yellowish, it's a latex adhesive. You can remove most of this adhesive with a wet scrape method. Soak the floor with water, scrape the adhesive with a razor blade scraper.(4 or 5 in.scrapers works best for removal of adhesives)

 Clean the remaining adhesive residue with SureCrete's glue remove or Bean-E-Do. Saturate the surface, after the residue softens, scrub the area with a floor buffer equipped with a black pad. Rinse with water and wet vac without allowing the surface to dry. Do this in smaller sections. 

The wet vac will remove most of the residue, but as previously posted, some residue will remain in the pores of the concrete.

FYI : A lot of my concrete resurfacing projects require removal of a failed apron store paint or colored sealer. Just don't adhere.

If your adhesive is a waterproof glue, (it's color will be dark Brown) I would recommend a mechanical blade stripper to remove the ridges down to a thin residue, then apply the same technique above.


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## itsreallyconc

many of our jobs require removing other resurfacing products ( cti, stardek, sundek - all the acrylic-based stuff ),,, anyway, don't forget that after removing the ( whatever it is or was when this thread started  :help:  ), most products will require further prep work - acid-wash & neutralizing - prior to any overlay.

haven't tried sure-crete's stuff ( did they file ch 11 yet ? ) & e-z chem has something hot but we're still in this biz to profit & time = $$$


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## kevin55

i had some sucsess with a heat gun...heat it up and scrape off,did it to an outdoor porch covered with that old style carpeting


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## resurfacer

wet scrape the adhesive with a 4-5 inch razor blade scraper. Mechanically remove any contamination in the substrate by an approved method. Mechanically cleaning removes the contaminates and the concrete to which it is adhered leaving only a clean, sound, and solid surface behind.

We recommend that all concrete substrate preparation proceed using one or more of the following mechanical methods: shotblasting, scarifying, grinding, sandblasting, scabbling ( bush hammering ) chiseling, and in some cases, high-pressure water blasting. 

Methods to avoid: acid washing. The use of sanding equipment is not an effecive method to remove adhesives, curing and sealing compounds.

*All types of solvents should be avoided* Their use will drive oil, grease and other contaminates further into the concrete, only to permit their release back to the surface at a later time,
*Never use adhesive removers or solvents to remove contaminates from porous concrete. These materials can carry contaminates into the pores of the concrete, which will later migrate back to the surface resulting in a floor covering, floor coating bond failure.*

Concrete coating failures are expensive, and improper substrate preparation causes 90 % of all coatings and flooring installation failures. 

Never had an installation bonding issue in 37 years using the above preparation methods.


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## dharlee

I am interested in this also. The carport and full back patio and basement stairs were covered in this mess of green astroturf and it's horrible. It's a very large area and I wonder what type of person would I call to get this work done? Do I need a general contractor or whom? Thanks!


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## BRIANL00

I do not know who to call for this type work.  After I got the glue off, I used Muriatic Acid in an attempt to etch the concrete and get to a cleaner surface.  After I finished cleaning, I then applied a couple coats of Behr 1-part epoxy acrylic concrete and garage floor paint.  It has been down now for a couple years with no major chipping.


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