Removal of alcohol based dye from concrete floor

[grbmds]

This might  belong here, but the right answer would certainly improve my workshop right now . . .

Does anyone have a suggestion on how to remove alcohol based dye from a concrete floor. Don't even ask how it got there, but it involves a lot of clumsiness on someone's part.

My Festool ETS150/5 and detail sander have remedied the problem on the wooden face of my end vise and my workbench but the floor . . . .? I could leave it to remind me to be careful.

 

[peter halle]

With the fact that it is alcohol based and that concrete is porous I would wonder if pouring denatured alcohol on it and placing dry paper towels or rags on top to help wick it up might help.  Otherwise the alcohol and a scrub brush following by rags.

Peter

PS:  Stuff happens.  Way back when I started in '83 I was on the rear deck of a house we had built and I was staining shoe molding.  because we only offered about 5 different colors we bought in gallon cans.  Guess what?  At $7 an hour it would have taken a bunch of hours to pay for the deck although I know my boss would not have done that to me.  I found a garden hose and turned on the water.  Oil floats on water.  I managed to get enough off that a month in the sun took care of the rest.

 

[mike_aa]

This stuff is supposed to remove permanent marker and has a lot of other uses around the house so it might be worth a try.  If it doesn't work, at least you still have a cleaner to use on other things.  I think it's available at the big box stores.

Mike A.

 

[Trosey]

I have had good luck with Clorox bleach.

 

[Stephen B]

This might  belong here . . . .? I could leave it to remind me to be careful.

[size=14pt]
Ah! Why bother?

The Patina of a floor in a well used and loved workshop can be marvellous. So many memories to look fwd to in future years as you look back?  [smile]
[size=12pt]
However, if you do want the fastidious look,  [eek]  consider oil based concrete paint. Then you could simply paint over this and future spills. Perhaps Festool green or Systainer Grey?

 

[downtheroad]

Chlorine bleach or hydrogen peroxide will generally work well on dyes. You may need to try industrial 35% hydrogen peroxide, but be careful if trying this as it is very caustic and will burn you.

 

[grbmds]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I managed to sand the dye (or enough so that it doesn't show) off my workbench, which was the important thing to me since I spent 2 years (off and on) of my spare time making it. That gave me a chance to use my ETS150/5 and detail sander. I don't like the splattered black dye look on natural unfinished maple. I should have finished the legs and frame. If I had, the dye probably wouldn't have been a problem on the bench. Maybe this was a sign.

I did try hydrogen peroxide, but it was the drug store variety. It sounds a little risky to try the strong stuff. I also tried alcohol but not soaking paper towels with it and laying them on it overnight. The Rust-Oleum cleaner sounds great, so I might try that.

When I now look at the floor now, I don't feel quite as bad and may just take the "Ah! Why bother?" suggestion. It will likely get lighter in color over time and it already dried gray instead of black.

Thanks again. I figured I'd get good suggestions and did. All this leads to a second question about alcohol versus water based dyes, though, which I will ask in another posting when I get a chance.

 

[tjbnwi]

Spill some concrete colored dye on the stain.

Tom

 

[grbmds]

I'll see if Woodcraft stocks that color the next time I'm there.

 

[downtheroad]

I did try hydrogen peroxide, but it was the drug store variety. It sounds a little risky to try the strong stuff. I also tried alcohol but not soaking paper towels with it and laying them on it overnight. The Rust-Oleum cleaner sounds great, so I might try that.

Actually, the 2-part wood bleach used in finishing is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda or lye) and 35% hydrogen peroxide (store bought is 3%). Yes, care/caution needs to be exercised when using. But, results can be dramatic when it works.

We had a client last year that ordered an Italian-made bed in European beech. When it arrived and after spending $10,000+ and waiting several months, the natural color was too orange for their liking. We stripped and sanded to bare wood and used the 2-part wood bleach to get to a bone-white with no trace of the orange natural color. We then added a mild very, very weak brown color to warm it up just a bit  and top-coated with clear coats. The client was very happy with the transformation. Interestingly, this was a contemporary 4-poster and used Festool dominos to index all the parts together.

 

[JSlovic]

A stone refinisher recommended 40% hydrogen peroxide to get stains out of a marble top. You can get it at beauty supply stores like Sally for $7 a quart
His process was wet a cotton pad over the stain for a couple of days

 

[grbmds]

I did try hydrogen peroxide, but it was the drug store variety. It sounds a little risky to try the strong stuff. I also tried alcohol but not soaking paper towels with it and laying them on it overnight. The Rust-Oleum cleaner sounds great, so I might try that.

Actually, the 2-part wood bleach used in finishing is sodium hydroxide (caustic soda or lye) and 35% hydrogen peroxide (store bought is 3%). Yes, care/caution needs to be exercised when using. But, results can be dramatic when it works.

We had a client last year that ordered an Italian-made bed in European beech. When it arrived and after spending $10,000+ and waiting several months, the natural color was too orange for their liking. We stripped and sanded to bare wood and used the 2-part wood bleach to get to a bone-white with no trace of the orange natural color. We then added a mild very, very weak brown color to warm it up just a bit  and top-coated with clear coats. The client was very happy with the transformation. Interestingly, this was a contemporary 4-poster and used Festool dominos to index all the parts together.

Thanks, but my goal is to remove the color, if possible, without potentially risky chemical; a tall order I know. There is no real ventilation in my basement shop and I always am careful what I do in there when it comes to staining and finishing. The ventilation is something I would like to remedy but there is no real direct access to the outside that isn't blocked by a deck in back. I just live with it and think that what you suggested could work but at some risk. Right now, I'm just living with it and, as I said, it much lighter than yesterday. I don't know why but, when it dried it got lighter and I was able to soak up some of it with a "Sham-Wow" and water (Sham-Wow is a super absorbent synthetic in case the product isn't familiar. It is actually as absorbent as its ads always said.)