Cleaning Stamped Concrete With Xylene

Use a broom to remove loose debris from the concrete.

Cleaning stamped concrete with xylene.

Always use a gentle cleaner when washing stamped concrete. If you aren t sure what your stamped concrete is currently sealed with you want to run a quick xylene xylol test. Keeping the roller wet with xylene xylol roll over the area until it gets tacky. Use a clean 3 8 inch nap roller and back roll across the area a few times to work out the problem area.

Sweep and wash the surface occasionally to avoid dirt buildup using a push broom garden hose and a mild detergent. Here are the steps for cleaning stamped concrete. Step 1 sweep the surface. Routine cleaning of stamped concrete is simple.

Find an area where the sealer is still visible and mark off a 1 ft x 1 ft area. If it is an outdoor surface you can use a leaf blower for extra assistance step 2 wet mop the surface. Rinse well with a garden hose on high pressure. The cleaner will release the dirt that gets trapped in the valleys and crevices of the stamped concrete.

Start by removing any visible peeling and flaking and use a solvent based stripper such as xylene to remove the previous sealer. If concrete was dyed or stained using xylene can damage or change the color of the concrete pressure wash the surface and allow concrete to completely dry. The first step in cleaning a stamped concrete surface is removing loose dirt and grime from the surface. Can xylene be used on stamped concrete.

If the surface gets sticky tacky leave it to dry for 24 hours. After sweeping the floor dip a rope or foam mop into a bucket of warm water. Over time the high pressure breaks down the sealer and reduces the protection the shine and expected life of the sealer. For regular cleaning of stamped concrete surfaces a weekly wet mopping is usually sufficient.

Many oil based decking enamels and varnishes can be thinned or cleaned up with xylene which also works well as a solvent when used with compounds that are applied to metals to keep them from rusting. Maintaining the stamped concrete by keeping it clean and re sealing when needed 2 3 years will keep the concrete looking as new as possible. Never use a pressure washer to clean your stamped concrete. Xylene can be applied in three ways all of which depend on the antiquing and or cleaning method used when the concrete was stamped.

To clear up whitened cracked and hazy looking concrete sealer sometimes it s better to try and re melt the existing acrylic solvent based sealer with an application of xylene xylol. Spray a thin coat across the surface and let it liquefy the sealer. In the case of the 5 year old stamped patio my recommendation would be to try a solvent bath with xylene or use one of the new solvent bath products on the market. If the excess antiquing release was thoroughly removed before the original seal coat was applied the best way to fix sealer problems is to fill a pail with xylene and use a natural bristle brush on a broom handle to scrub the xylene onto the surface.