For reasons we sometimes don’t understand and situations beyond our control, we find ourselves with concrete splatter on our windows, walls, sidings, and other painted surfaces and we have no idea of what to do.
If you are in that situation right now, this article is for you. We’ll be looking at different methods of removing concrete splatter from painted surfaces in a way that will cause little or no damage to the paint.
Our focus will be on painted metals and walls, but these methods also work on other painted surfaces.
How to Remove Wet Concrete Splatter from a Painted Surface?
This is very easy as the concrete hasn’t cured yet. Whether you are dealing with metal or wall, soap and sponge works great.
STEP 1- Hose down the concrete. Most of it will mix with water, get watery and fall off since it hasn’t cured. If you are lucky you may not need to do anything extra.
STEP 2- If some concrete splatter is still left on the surface, get a dish soap. Put some dish soap into the water and use a sponge to apply it to the painted surface. Rub the sponge soaked in soapy water gently on the surface dislodging the concrete and wiping away residues. With this method, white films won’t appear on your car on the wall after it dries.
STEP 3- Hose the painted surface down again thoroughly until the soap is gone. You don’t need to do anything extra.
STEP 4- If the concrete hasn’t dried but has cured a bit so it’s difficult to remove, then it’s time to up your game. You need Liquid Hammer. Liquid Hammer is a concrete dissolved and works well on painted surfaces. It causes no damage.
STEP 5- Spray some liquid hammer on the concrete splatter and leave it for like 10 minutes.
STEP 6- Hose the painted surface down until all the dissolved concrete falls off. It should be easy and not take time at all.
Removing Dry Concrete Splatter from Painted Metal
Method 1: Concrete Dissolver and Wd-40
Concrete dissolvers are easy to get and there are so many to choose from. WD 40 is a popular product but if you don’t know what that is, it’s no problem. You can get them easily online or in stores around you.
YOU’LL NEED
1- Concrete dissolver
2- Pressure washer/ Garden hose
3- Water
4- Sponge
5- Microfiber cloth
STEPS
STEP 1- Spray a concrete dissolver of your choice on the painted metal. You can use Saskrete or Super concrete dissolver if you have no idea what to buy but anyone is fine. Spray it generously on the concrete splatter until it is fully saturated.
STEP 2- Allow it to sit on then painted metal for like 30 minutes. You can let it sit longer if the concrete splatter is extensive. The concrete dissolver should not dry on the painted surface. If you notice it’s drying up, apply more.
STEP 3- When the time is up, pressure wash the metal or hose it down. The concrete will come off easily as it would have loosened up.
STEP 4- For tough spots, apply more concrete dissolver and use a soft sponge to wipe it off gently. This will remove the hardened concrete.
STEP 5- When all this is done, scuff marks or concrete films may be left on the painted metal. You can get rid of this with WD-40.
STEP 6- Spray WD- 40 on areas with scuff marks or concrete films and let it sit for like 5 minutes. It will not hurt the metal or damage the paint.
STEP 7- Wipe it off with a non-abrasive sponge until you have a clear and clean coat. Your car or any other painted metal you cleaned would look like new.
STEP 8- Polish the painted metal with your favorite polish and a microfiber cloth and wax it if you want.
Method 2: Muriatic Acid & Degreaser
This method is very effective but it requires extreme caution. When diluting, pour water into the bowl first, then add the acid to it, not the other way round. If you add water to acid, it would react violently and may spill on you. You should also ensure the solution doesn’t get on your skin.
YOU’LL NEED
1- Gloves
2- Goggles
3- Pressure washer
4- Water
5- Nose mask
6- Spray bottle
7- Brush
8- Degreaser
STEPS
STEP 1- Pressure wash your vehicle or whatever painted metal you want to remove concrete splatter from. This is to remove loose concrete from the surface so that areas with thick layers of concrete can be exposed. It also reduces the time you spend cleaning the metal.
Do this for a few minutes, depending on how extensive the concrete splatter is.
STEP 2- Wear your long rubber gloves, safety goggles, and a nose mask to protect yourself before the next step.
STEP 3- Get a bowl and mix 1 part muriatic acid with 3 parts of water. This is for caked-on concrete splatter.
If the concrete splatter is light then you can mix 1 part muriatic acid with 5 parts water. Use your discretion. Be careful when doing this as the acid isn’t nice on the skin.
STEP 4- Pour the solution into a spray bottle and spray the concrete splatter on your painted metal. Spray the splatter generously and let it sit for like 2minutes. Longer than this and it could cause damage to the paint.
STEP 5- After 2 minutes, spray the concrete again and use a brush to gently scrub it down. Spray as you scrub until the concrete fully dissolves. Don’t press too hard so you don’t damage the paint on the metal.
STEP 6- After scrubbing and getting rid of all the concrete splatter, rinse the painted metal with water thoroughly.
STEP 7- Your metal will be all clean and shiny but your work isn’t done. The muriatic acid residue, if left on the metal can cause some damage. You need to get rid of it.
You can do this by spraying the painted metal with a degreaser solution. Get a degreaser of your choice and mix it with water. 1 part degreaser and 1 part water is good enough.
Spray this solution on all the areas the muriatic acid touched on the metal.
STEP 8- Rinse with water thoroughly after doing this. You can then polish and was the metal if necessary.
Method 3: Steel Wool & Sugar
You want to be as careful as possible with the steel wool. You should also avoid coarse grades of steel wool. #0000 or #000 are perfect choices for this method. And remember, the steel wool should be used on the concrete and not on the painted metal.
Use your index finger when sanding down with steel wool so the wool doesn’t stray to areas without concrete and damage the paint or metal.
YOU’LL NEED
1- Steel wool
2- Sugar
3- Water
4- Wooden spoon
5- Garden hose
STEPS
STEP 1- Hose down the concrete splatter on the painted metal for a few seconds. Do this generously to ensure the concrete is well saturated.
STEP 2- Use fine-grade steel wool to sand down the concrete splatter in caked areas. Don’t use the steel wool on areas with minimal concrete as this can damage the paint or even the metal. Just sand down the caked-on areas until it becomes light. Stop sanding at this point and put the steel wool aside.
STEP 3- Make a sugar paste with sugar and some water. It shouldn’t be watery. Use a wooden spoon to scoop the sugar solution onto the remaining concrete splatter on the painted metal.
STEP 4- Let this sit for like 2 minutes. This helps the solution break the concrete down and dissolve it. Don’t let the solution sit for longer than this unless you didn’t sand it off with steel wool first.
STEP 5- Use a soft brush to scrub the concrete splatter gently and you will see it come off the painted metal easily. Spray the metal with water as you scrub until it looks clean.
STEP 6- Wash the areas you just cleaned with soap and a sponge to get the sugar residue off the metal and rinse thoroughly.
How to Remove Concrete Splatter from Painted Wall?
Method 1: Vinegar & Phosphoric Acid
STEP 1- Get a bowl and mix 1 part distilled white vinegar with 1 part water. Pour this into a spray bottle and spray the concrete splatter on the painted wall until it is very wet. If the concrete splatter has been there for very long or it is in large amounts, you can use undiluted vinegar. Spray the wall with 100% vinegar until saturated.
STEP 2- Allow the solution to sit on the wall for like 10 minutes. The vinegar will begin to eat into the concrete and break it down making it dissolve.
STEP 3- If the painted wall is outdoors, hose the area with concrete splatter down. Large chips of concrete will begin to fall as you hose. After hosing it down, use your fingers to remove those that didn’t fall off.
STEP 4- Now, all that will be left is some stubborn light coatings of concrete and whitish films. You need a weak acid to loosen these stains so you can wipe them off. Phosphoric acid is a good example. So get it ready.
Use gloves, and goggles, and wear long-sleeved clothes to protect yourself. If the acid is not in a spray bottle, get one and pour the acid inside.
STEP 5- Spray the undiluted phosphoric acid on the concrete splatter residue and light coatings. Let it sit for like 1 minute.
STEP 6- Wipe the wall gently with a paper towel. You want to be as gentle as possible so you don’t cause too much damage to the paint on the wall. Spray more acid if necessary. Be generous with it so the concrete can loosen faster and you won’t need to press the paper towel too hard to get it off.
STEP 7- Rinse the wall with water thoroughly to get rid of phosphoric acid residue and you are done cleaning.
Method 2: Putty Knife, Magic Eraser, and Toothpaste
YOU’LL NEED
1- Knife
2- Magic eraser
3- Toothpaste
4- Cloths
5- Water
6- Dish soap
7- Spray bottle
STEPS
STEP 1- Make a soapy solution with dish soap and water. Pour it on the painted wall until it is well saturated. You can use a spray bottle like that would be easier. The concrete splatter should soak up the solution before you stop spraying.
STEP 2- Let this sit for like 5 minutes, then use a putty knife to gently scrape large chunks of concrete off the painted wall. Ensure you don’t damage the wall with the knife.
STEP 3- When this is done, get a magic eraser. It’s very easy to get and not expensive. You need this to get rid of the light coatings of concrete splatter that is left and the white residue marks left by the concrete.
Wet the magic eraser and use it to gently rub the areas with concrete splatter residue. Magic erasers work efficiently and can get rid of almost any mark on the wall. It is a good option if you’re dealing with a small area.
STEP 4- After removing the concrete splatter on your painted wall completely with the magic eraser, you want to buff off the wall. This gets rid of scuff marks that may be left by the magic eraser or knife. You can use baking soda or toothpaste to do this.
STEP 5- If you’re going with toothpaste, you need a white one that is non-gel. Put some on cotton wool and rub it on the area you just cleaned. Rub it in well.
STEP 6- Use a wet cloth to wipe the toothpaste off the painted wall, and use another cloth to dry it off.
Final Thoughts!
Several methods have been explained in detail with the materials necessary listed here that getting rid of concrete splatter from painted surfaces shouldn’t be daunting anymore.
You have seen how easy it is and some of the materials used are probably in your kitchen. So go ahead and get rid of that mess.
And remember, concrete splatter is easier to clean when it is still wet and hasn’t cured. Just some water with a little bit of soap and you are done. Don’t wait till the concrete dries before looking for a solution.
