How To Remove Paint from Cement

Have you ever attempted to remove paint from cement or other solid surfaces? If you have, you know it is painstakingly tough.

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If you haven’t, and plan to, then consider yourself lucky. I have done the hard work of finding out what does and doesn’t work for you. Paint removal is by no means easy, but by using the technique I used, you are going to save yourself a lot of time and money.

My wife and I are in the process of replacing the liner for our pool and decided this was the perfect time to spruce up the area around the pool.

As you can see in the picture above the previous owner lived through the late 90’s and early 2000s and loved his green accents. We had hoped it would wear off but over the last 6 years, the paint has proven its superior durability.

So we set off to find a way of removing outdoor paint. If you search online, as I did, you’ll find most answers to either, not work, or are very expensive. This is where our journey begins…

What We Tried

First let’s look at a few things I attempted that may be ok for you, but I feel did more damage and didn’t give me the look I was going for.

The Power Washer

The first was using a gas-powered pressure washer with the red 0-degree nozzle. This was somewhat effective in getting the paint off but destroyed the concrete. If there are any imperfections in the concrete, this baby will find them and send pieces flying.

Something like this may work on newer concrete patios or perhaps the stamping of my patio made it more susceptible to breaking. My suggestion is it is best to use caution when using a high-powered pressure washer on your patio.

The Angle Grinder

The other option I tried was more effective at removing the paint but gave me a look I didn’t like. I used an angle grinder with multiple different attachments seen pictured below.

The wire brush did almost nothing and wasn’t effective on outdoor paint.

The braided wire brush did remove some paint but, in the areas where the paint was thicker, it didn’t work as well. It would just heat the paint and turn the paint black, making it even harder to remove.

Another option for the angle grinder is the diamond cup wheel attachment. These work very well for a small job that you plan to repaint. The main issues with using this tool are the safety risks as well as it leaving behind a fairly unfinished look.

Angle grinders with a diamond cup wheel can be pretty intimidating to use at first. They are extremely loud and make a ton of dust that isn’t healthy to breathe. If you plan on going this route look into a good set of ear protection and a respirator made to handle dust from demolition.

For me, the risks along with the unfinished look were enough for my wife and me to move on to another option.

Paint Stripper

After much trial and error, I finally came up with a system that effectively and efficiently got rid of the paint around my pool.

I’ll preface this that if my pool was open and I was concerned about my liner this may not be the option I went with, but because I was about to get a new liner this worked perfectly for me.

The first thing you are going to need is a few bottles of paint stripper. There are lots to choose from but I went with the cheapest I could find locally (pictures below) and am very happy with how it worked. There are environmentally friendly versions that could be more appropriate for your needs.

In my opinion, the type of stripper you use isn’t as important as the technique you use to extend the time the stripper can work. At first, I tried small areas with almost no success, by the time the stripper started working it would dry up in the hot sun leaving behind completely intact paint. What I found to work best for extending the time the stripper has to work on the paint, is parchment paper. It creates a barrier so that the stripper doesn’t evaporate in the hot sun.

How to Remove Paint from Concrete

1. Gather safety equipment. Rubber gloves and a mask for fumes are always a good idea. The paint stripper has a strong smell and could burn your hands if you aren’t careful.

2. Prepare the area by sweeping off any extra dirt and leaves. This is also a good time to wash any excess dirt from the area with a degreaser and water. Make sure to let it air dry before proceeding to the next step.

I use the power washer pictured below. I have had this Westinghouse power washer for a few years now, and have nothing but good things to say about it. I’ve borrowed and owned multiple power washers in the past, and this is by far the best performing power washer for the price I’ve seen. By clicking on the affiliate link below, I could earn a commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.

3. Next, precut the parchment paper to the size needed. For my project, I needed to cut it into long strips approx 9 inches across. I was able to do this easily by using a box cutter and using the breaks in the concrete as a straight edge.

4. Now to get the paint stripper onto the paint. To do so I used a gloved hand and a small piece of parchment paper to spread it out. It may be more effective to use an old paint brush or roller to spread out the paint stripper. Don’t spread it out too thinly as it won’t penetrate into the paint as well.

5. Use the pre-cut parchment paper to cover up the paint stripper. You may have to use some rocks to hold down the edge of the parchment paper. As you can see you don’t have to be perfect. It is unlikely you will be able to remove all the paint on the first try.

6. Now let the paint stripper sit for at least 8 hours. I had the most success with leaving it to sit overnight. Make sure you check the forecast to ensure there are no rain storms overnight, as you will have wasted your hard-earned money and time. Ask me how I know!

7. After leaving it overnight, pull off the parchment paper and hopefully, you will be left looking at beautifully bubbled-up paint ready to be blasted away with pressurized water! You may be tempted to brush or scrape the paint off, but I found that to not be as effective as going right to the pressure washer.

8. Using the 15-degree/yellow tip on your pressure washer move slowly across the paint. Hopefully, you will be able to get all of the paint off on the first pass, but likely you are going to need multiple rounds of paint stripper to get all of the paint off.

Below you can see that my first pass wasn’t as good as I had hoped. This was because I didn’t check the weather forecast and it rained overnight. I actually got off more than I thought I would!

9. Any sealant that was on the concrete before will now be gone. Once you have gotten all the paint off and are happy with the results it is suggested to use a protective sealant.

As you can see there the paint isn’t completely gone, but we felt that this was a look we liked. We could have done more but didn’t feel it was worth the time and effort!

I hope that these tips help save you some time and money. Did you have success removing paint from cement using these techniques or possibly a technique of your own? Hit me up in the comments and let me know!

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