Muriatic Acid Concrete Floor Etching

It also works at emulsifying oils something that muriatic acid will not do.

Muriatic acid concrete floor etching.

You roughen such a floor by etching it with muriatic acid. Phosphoric acid which is a mineral acid works almost as well and isn t as dangerous to work with but it is harder to find and more expensive. Use muriatic acid or another acid etching material such as klean strip green muriatic acid a safer muriatic acid or hydro etch 1000 which is a modified phosphoric acid which is not as harmful as traditional muriatic acids. If you don t like the idea of working with acid you can read about some safer alternatives to acid etching here.

A smooth concrete floor must be roughened before paint will stick to it. Muriatic hydrochloric acid is typically used for concrete etching. It also reduces the surface alkalinity of the concrete that can cause some paints to adhere poorly. These solutions are for etching the concrete.

Muriatic acid is basically hydrochloric acid which is hydrogen gas dissolved in water. Specifications called for a smooth steel trowel finish of concrete in the gym lockers. Mix 3 to 4 parts water with 1 part acid or follow label instructions for a 10 concentration 15 for hard smooth concrete. Some homeowners shy away from acid etching of their concrete floors for fear of the harmful effects of using and handling muriatic acid the main component of acid etch flooring.

This is the same type of acid found in your stomach. Using muriatic acid to etch concrete 2004. Muriatic acid is the strongest acid based cleaner available to the public and it must be handled with care. 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.

Both will remove rust from your concrete. Many acid etching projects are carried out to prepare a concrete floor for the application of a synthetic epoxy or sealant. If you re just removing mineral deposits efflorescence use a much weaker mix 10 1 or 16 1 for muriatic acid. Acid etching is the process of applying hydrochloric muriatic or buffered phosphoric acid to a slab then rinsing it off with water.

The good thing is that there are safer alternatives that are just as effective available in the market today. Muriatic acid acts like liquid sandpaper by roughening the surface of the concrete. These sorts of products give the concrete a professional looking sheen and also resist water grease oil and other common spills making the floor easy to maintain.