Removing Sadolin Wood Stain from brickwork

[JBaz]

The decorator has spilt some Sadolin Classic wood stain on the facing brickwork of our house.

He wiped it off immediately with white spirit, but it can still be seen.

We have tried pressure washing but it hasn't moved. We have also tried acetone and paint remover (on some test bricks I have spare) but that didn't work either.

The decorator is insured so I'm looking for either a method that is known to work or a specialist who who does this sort of work.

Any ideas?

 

[Corset]

maybe some brick cleaner acid might take it off with minimal pain

 

[JBaz]

maybe some brick cleaner acid might take it off with minimal pain

We tried Brick Acid, but it didn't have any effect on the Sadolin.

I understand that it is primarily for mortar stains, which it removes by killing the lime in the mortar.

 

[recipio]

Sadolins is oil based. It might be worth trying a blowtorch on a small area. ?

 

[mwinfrance]

If it was horizontal you could cover it with crushed cat litter, ( a lot of it is "fullers earth' which is wonderfull for absorbing oils out of things like brick surfaces ) maybe rig up a box ( or plastic cover with the stuff sealed against the brickwork behind it ) to do so vertically.If it was stonework or statuary that is what I'd do. Sealing it from rains while it works is the tricky part.

 

[deema]

White spirit, and if that fails I’ve found that Tetrosyl Gun Wash GUN025 shifts just about anything! Not a nice substance but cleans cellulose and 2K as oil based products.

 

[JBaz]

I ha

If it was horizontal you could cover it with crushed cat litter, ( a lot of it is "fullers earth' which is wonderfull for absorbing oils out of things like brick surfaces ) maybe rig up a box ( or plastic cover with the stuff sealed against the brickwork behind it ) to do so vertically.If it was stonework or statuary that is what I'd do. Sealing it from rains while it works is the tricky part.

I have some spare bricks that I could try this on. If the cat litter removes the stain (now that it has dried) I will bear it in mind, but as you say, keeping it against the vertical wall and dry could be a challenge.

 

[mwinfrance]

Could always make a stencil and do your own "banksy"..or paint ot etch a design or small mural ..'swhat I'd do if it were my wall.
Then again on a public facing wall it might attract gawkers.

 

[JBaz]

White spirit, and if that fails I’ve found that Tetrosyl Gun Wash GUN025 shifts just about anything! Not a nice substance but cleans cellulose and 2K as oil based products.

Could work. I have cellulose thinners so I'll try that on a test piece first.

My concern is that some chemicals may themselves discolour the brick so I end up having to treat the whole face.

 

[okeydokey]

Ask Sadolin

 

[BucksDad]

Pot with a plant / small tree in front

 

[MikeJhn]

I suggest trying a bleach solution on an old brick, then rub the brick with another bit of brick to bring back the colour.

 

[MikeJhn]

This chap had the same problem back in 2020 perhaps get in touch and see if he found a solution (pun): Removing large Sadolin stain from slabs?

 

[deema]

Get the guy who spilled it to clean it?

 

[ChaiLatte]

The product is likely to have a Material Safety Data sheet on the manufacturer's website. That will allow you to see what chemicals are in it. That could guide you in the choice of a chemical to treat it.

When the product is applied to wood, how does it degrade over time? If it fades in sunlight, then some UV lights shining on the wall might artificially speed up that process. UV light is not good for you so proceed with caution.

The difficulty is that if the only practical method is to replace the bricks, that will be more obvious than the current problem.

 

[Yojevol]

The problem here is that the initial attempt to remove it probably made matters worse. The bricks and mortar are absorbant, so the solution just seeped in deeper.
I had a similar problem years ago. I wanted to built a new fireplace with old bricks. I wanted the brickwork to be a feature but many were stained with soot. My solution was to paint over the stains using brick dust and PVA. I varied the colouring by taking dust from differing bricks. The dust was obtained by boring with a masonry drill.
Here is the result:-

The bricks behind the stove are completely faux. They are just 'paint' on concrete blocks.
Brian

 

[okeydokey]

Did you ask Sadolin, what did they suggest?