How can I remove adhesive/glue from bricks?
Home Improvement Asked by eladsim on December 17, 2020
My wife and I bought our home 2 years ago and we recently had water damage in our basement. After getting a sump pump and drain installed, we decided to redo the basement which includes a fireplace. The previous owners of our property decided that it would be cool to cover their fireplace with mirrors (I don’t recommend doing this). I was able to remove the mirrors but the bricks are left with adhesive/glue residue.
What is the best way to remove adhesive from bricks? I tried a few different chemical solutions that yielded no results.
I was able to scrape off some of the glue with a putty knife but the brick is left with ‘light’ spots and the wall would look like a dalmatian (light spots at random intervals). Is it better to sand down the entire fireplace so that the color is consistent? What’s the best way to sand brick?
2 Answers
Yeah, that's a tough one. You don't want to damage the brick, but the adhesive has already done that.
What I would suggest would be an angle grinder to flatten the adhesive, and then painting the bricks. If painting them all isn't ideal (i.e. you want bricks, not a painted wall), pick some brick-like colors and paint the ones that are damaged. As long as the paint is matte, it shouldn't be terribly noticeable in the room. People will chalk the color variations up to the brick schema.
Correct answer by Machavity on December 17, 2020
Tile.
https://www.thespruce.com/fireplaces-with-beautiful-tile-4153599
Your bricks have been uglified. And even if you clean them up they are just bricks. But this is an opportunity to put a rocking tile face over this fireplace. There are some really beautiful ideas for tile in this sort of application. It will be easier to clean them too.
And if you are dead set it should look like bricks, then use brick tile. You will not hurt the feelings of these poor stained bricks you have. They will still have a job, and sweet new duds!
Answered by Willk on December 17, 2020
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