soften old linseed oil?

[plasticpigeon]

Hello, I have recently laid a reclaimed quarry tile floor. The results are a bit so so as some of the tiles obviously have remnants of an old sealer on them that I can't remove. I believe it may be old linseed oil. I have tried paint stripper, lighter fluid, white spirit, jif, alkali cleaner, brick acid and now a cleaner called wash and go from Tile doctor, and none of them have touched it. Th good news is that the marks nearly disappear when wet, so if I can find a coating I like then the effect of the stains will be reduced, but I'd really like to remove the stains. Does anyone have any ideas??? I would never lay reclaims again as it took an age to get the old mortar off, they are different sizes by up to 1/4" and look dirty. It seems companies are manufacturing new 9" tiles now at around £3 a tile. They look good to me, would all be the same size, consistent colour and would be a darn site easier to lay. Something to consider for anyone else doing the same job.

 

[88v8]

Acetone? Toluene? and wire wool?
Getting rather radical here.

Ivor

 

[88v8]

Oops

 

[plasticpigeon]

Forgot about acetone I shall try. I also tried T cut and cellulose thinners to no avail, all used with lots of wire wool!

 

[LadyArowana]

Forgot about acetone I shall try. I also tried T cut and cellulose thinners to no avail, all used with lots of wire wool!

Nail varnish remover is fairly handy for getting rid of strange sticky stuff.

 

[Penners]

Ahem - nail varnish remover, otherwise known as acetone....

 

[Penners]

Acetone? Toluene? and wire wool?
Getting rather radical here.

Doesn't sound terribly radical to me, Ivor.

Trinitrotoluene - now that would be radical...

 

[Penners]

Pigeon - if you've tried all of those solvents and they haven't shifted the stuff, then I strongly doubt whether it's linseed oil. I fear you may be looking at some modern chemically hardened gunk that's going to be well nigh impossible to remove, unless you can sand it off without damage to the substrate.

Of course, I may be wr... wro... wron... it's no good, I can't bring myself to say it.

Perhaps you should try a very small test area with brick cleaning acid. Full personal protective equipment, please.

 

[noj]

Treat the whole floor with linseed oil....?

But trinitrotoluene would undeniably shift the stains

 

[paulb33]

I removed some deco fireplace tiles laid in the 30s? with (careful) use of a heat gun. It soften the gunk sufficient to prise the tile off. Albeit, the underlying substrate was a similar glazed tile (much nicer Edwardian…. ), which probably helped.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Treat the whole floor with linseed oil....?

But trinitrotoluene would undeniably shift the stains

I think oiling the floor is the only option. After having spent a fortune on many totally useless products I shall end up using a £2 bottle of oil. Using TNT would mean I'd have to find a new product to remove scorch marks, a whole different can of worms I'd rather not open!

 

[LadyArowana]

Ahem - nail varnish remover, otherwise known as acetone....

I use the non acetone ones, which are based on ethyl acetate? and also have some oils and things in. They are a little gentler and not quite as solventy smelling as the original acetone ones. A little slower to work on some of the varnishes that have sparkles in, and of course essential for any of the polymer bonded extensions/ wraps etc ...... OK don't tell me, I lost you again didn't I ?

 

[Penners]

Eh? Wha...? Good grief - is it morning already?

 

[plasticpigeon]

If anyone is interested, the alkali tile cleaning fluid worked a bit after leaving for 30 mins and scrubbing with wire wool. I Think I shall try a very strong caustic soda solution, as the alkali seenms to be the most effective. I'm convinced these modern expensive potions are all snakeoil.

 

[Keithj]

I get very aggressive some times (sorry...). Sadly, I don't have any trinitrotoluene (I wish - might shift the pesky moles).

I do find that very strong caustic soda solution helps stuff see things my way. When that doesn't work, I change tack and use spirits of salt (aka hydrochloric acid). They can make a mess of the underlying material, so are very much a last resort, but they do work (mostly).

 

[Penners]

spirits of salt (aka hydrochloric acid)

aka brick cleaning acid (see above).

Nasty stuff, not to be used lightly. Use with great care, wearing chemical-proof gloves*, goggles (full faceplate is better) and disposable overalls. Ventilate the area extremely well while you're working. If you should get any of the stuff on you, irrigate it immediately with copious amounts of water.

*Although these are proof against some chemicals, they may not withstand conc. HCI for very long. However, they do offer some protection.

 

[Toby Newell]

Acetone nope.

Toluene. Seriously? That stuff will kill you.

HCl, That will burn you, your lungs and then kill you...

DCM solvent stripper, phone Jenkins or Mylands in London. Paramose is good.

Or boiling caustic soda.

Both these items are highly unpleasant but manageable.

What people have been suggesting is amusingly dangerous.

What I am suggesting is slightly less dangerous. And works.

I have spent many hundred hours of my life stripping. Unfortunately. Possibly more. I don't want to think about it. I'm going for a lie down.

Good luck.