Today we had some pretty heavy mortar residue left after brick installation on the church. We thought we might have to use a wire brush and go over the entire surface to be able to get the brick in a good enough condition for the customer to paint. Fortunately, we had some tricks up our sleeve.
A company called F9 or “Front 9” has 4 great products that work wonders on removing all manner of stains. After contacting the owner Craig Harrison, we purchased a gallon of F9 Calcium and Efflorescence Remover. He assured us that by wetting the surface, applying a 4:1 (water:F9) mix, allowing to dwell for 10 minutes, and then rinsing, his product would get the job done.
We followed his instructions to the T, applying the mix with a 2 gallon pump up sprayer. Surprisingly it was able to reach the top peak of the brick wall from the ground. We worked in sections, never allowing the mix to dwell longer than 10 minutes. We then rinsed it down with one of our 8 gallon per minute machines with a white, 40-degree tip. This particular tip reduces the pressure of the water to help mitigate the risk of damage to the surface.
After soaking the wall, applying the mix, rinsing, applying the mix a second time, and rinsing again, we got the results we wanted. After drying out for 16 hours, the brick was ready to be painted. The final results can be seen below (the painting was not a service provided by Oklahoma ProWash.)
