How to get concrete off a trucks paint

[Valleyone]

Any suggestions on how to get concrete off of my company truck without ruining the paint?

Valley One Maintenance Unlimited -

valleyoneunlimited.com

 

[neddles]

Paging @WXman as I believe he had this problem. Can't remember how he solved it.

 

[WXman]

I splattered concrete onto my tailgate as I was mixing it by hand in a wheel barrow behind the truck. Stupid moment on my part.

I tried EVERYTHING imaginable and nothing seemed to dissolve it. My mother suggested that I try vinegar. The vinegar and a little elbow grease did the trick. Then I went over the entire tailgate with a very mild buffing compound. It looks 99% new again. There's only one spot about the size of a pencil eraser that is permanently messed up.

Somebody commented on my YouTube video review of the truck recently that WD-40 will remove concrete from paint. I can't confirm that.

 

[ElkoNV]

I would try wheel acid diluted. It is what some pros use to remove water spots. Should attack the lime in the concrete, think vinegar on steroids.

 

[Techna]

This is going to sound horrible, but I used muriatic acid for swimming pools right out of the bottle to get pool plaster (which is white portland cement mixed with marble dust and a calcium cure agent) off one of my company truck’s paint years ago. I also used it to get a rust stain off of my white 4th gen Ram several times. I applied it to a rag rather than pouring directly onto the paint, and then rinsed very well afterwards. Neither truck sustained any paint damage that I could find.

 

[Mountain Whiskey]

This is going to sound horrible, but I used muriatic acid for swimming pools right out of the bottle to get pool plaster (which is white portland cement mixed with marble dust and a calcium cure agent) off one of my company truck’s paint years ago. I also used it to get a rust stain off of my white 4th gen Ram several times. I applied it to a rag rather than pouring directly onto the paint, and then rinsed very well afterwards. Neither truck sustained any paint damage that I could find.

That is what was used years ago to clean mortar off of masonry. Now they use SureClean as it is environmentally friendly. Doesn't work as well as muratic though.

I am surprised it doesn't hurt the paint as the masonry wash down guys usually cleared the street when they did it.

 

[Techna]

Even just the fumes absolutely will oxidize unfinished steel or aluminum rapidly and will discolor stainless steel and chrome. Automotive paint seems to tolerate at least short term exposure pretty well. I’d rather not dwell on what it does to an expensive pair of quality leather work boots...

 

[marin]

I have used this on powder coat finish with no issue but have never tried on regular paint.

https://www.amazon.com/Super-Concrete-Dissolver-22oz-Spray/dp/B073XTVGCK

Quick update: read the Q&A on Amazon and they state it is safe for paint on a car just don't wipe spray or blow it off.

 

[baf3472]

If it hasnt been on there for a long time, put some vinegar on it and let it sit on the concrete. It'll soften it up enough to carefully scrub it away.

 

[IsabellaGreen]

Any suggestions on how to get concrete off of my company truck without ruining the paint?

Valley One Maintenance Unlimited -

valleyoneunlimited.com

I’ve run into the same issue on one of our company trucks while working on concrete construction estimating jobs. What worked for me was letting the concrete soften first don’t try to scrape it dry. I soaked the spots with a concrete dissolver (something like Sakrete or CLR made for masonry). After letting it sit, the material softened enough to gently remove it with a plastic scraper. Avoid metal tools they’ll scratch the paint. Once it was off, I washed the area and applied a quick coat of wax to protect the finish. This method got the concrete off cleanly without damaging the paint.