How To Etch Concrete Floor With Muriatic Acid

Ideally you want to test the strength needed first before doing the entire floor.

How to etch concrete floor with muriatic acid.

A smooth concrete floor must be roughened before paint will stick to it. These solutions are for etching the concrete. The concrete etching solution can be poured out distributed using a squeegee and agitated the surface using a push broom. The acid is applied on the concrete and then rinsed off with water.

You want to dilute it down to a 10 dilution 1 part acid to 2 parts water. For several years it was a basic technique of concrete preparation utilized by almost all commercial institutional and business flooring finish installers depending upon the flooring size and system to be set up. Then mix 3 or 4 parts water with 1 part muriatic or hydrochloric acid in a plastic bucket. Muratic acid is typically packaged at a 30 dilution be sure.

Mix 1 part cleaning solution to 4 parts water. What is acid etching. Acid etching is the procedure of using buffered or hydrochloric muriatic phosphoric acid to a piece then washing it off with water. Acid etching is the process of neutralizing a concrete surface through the use of muriatic or phosphoric acid.

When you acid etch concrete wear long sleeves gloves eye protection and a face mask to protect yourself from stray acid. Keep the acid etch solution on until it stops foaming. It also reduces the surface alkalinity of the concrete that can cause some paints to adhere poorly. You roughen such a floor by etching it with muriatic acid.

If your concrete oil grease on the floor use a cleaner degreaser a few times and then follow the etching directions. You can do this by first mixing a small solution in your watering can starting at a 5 1 ratio. Mix 1 part acid to 3 parts water for sufficient strength. Muriatic acid acts like liquid sandpaper by roughening the surface of the concrete.

Test with a 5 1 ratio in your water can. Mix 3 to 4 parts water with 1 part acid or follow label instructions for a 10 concentration 15 for hard smooth concrete. Oil or grease stained floors. Acid is generally mixed at a ratio of 3 parts water to 1 part acid for sufficient strength to etch properly.

Apply it to a small area of wet concrete. If you re just removing mineral deposits efflorescence use a much weaker mix 10 1 or 16 1 for muriatic acid. This has been the standard method for preparing the concrete slab for a coating or overlay. For many years it was a standard method of concrete preparation used by nearly all industrial commercial and institutional floor coating installers depending on the floor size and system to be installed.

Apply the mixture to a small area of concrete.