|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
New Construction
NMD80 is a revolutionary idea in new masonry detergents. One product is appropriate to use on all masonry substrates including brick, stone, synthetic stone, precast, designer and colored block. This product is capable of extremely effective clean without brushing or scrubbing and will leave the cream on the mortar joints. Those who learn to use it properly experience great reductions in clean up times and labor expenditure for clean up. Combine those cost reductions with heightened safety, excellent final appearance, and our “end efflorescence guarantee” and we think you have tomorrow's' chemistry today. Calcite Presoak : MSDS : Specification This product is designed as a pre-soak softener to facilitate quick removal of heavy calcite deposits on block, brick or concrete. It must be followed by NMD 80 and/or Effortless. Ef-fortless: MSDS : Specification Effortless is a soap solution that melts efflorescence and helps to control its return. The user does not normally have to use a pressure washer to get the job done. This product is mildly acidic and safe for virtually all surfaces it will encounter while being applied. Removal is a simple rinse off process. When after repeated applications, the Effortless stops foaming, the efflorescence is gone. The amount of coverage will vary with the thickness of the efflorescence, with the most common powder type probably getting 75 square feet to the gallon.
NMD80 is a detergent-based solution designed for safe clean-up of new masonry structures. The detergent allows fewer applications and can be used comfortably around people. When used as directed, there should be no impact on soils near the site. Recommended dilutions start at 4:1. For sandface brick: Apply the product from the bottom up using either a low-pressure sprayer on a high volume downstream capable of 4:1. Repeat before rinsing with low pressure from the top down to prevent drying. For S-Type Mortar: Apply NMD80 using a 3:1 dilution. Repeat application at least twice before rinsing. Block Ground face, burnished or any block, including integrally waterproofed colored masonry units, can be cleaned effectively with NMD80 at a 4:1 dilution. Follow with a pressure washer rinse. Concrete Tilt-up: On the job site, NMD80 can be used to clean tilt-up concrete very effectively. The dilution range will vary according to the desired surface finish and should be between 15:1 to 30:1. If the goal is to etch the tilt-up at the plant, a stronger concentration should be used, although the actual dilution rate will be determined by the desired degree of etch. A high volume downstream nozzle capable of 4:1 may be appropriate for application. Follow with an application of NMD80 which will ensure an even, finished appearance without streaks. Very tall structures should be cleaned one entire section at a time, working from the top down. Splatter from masonry: Repeated applications of NMD 80 will remove splatter from masonry. Using a masonry stone or scraper in between will speed the process. Precast Stone See "Concrete".
This is the most difficult type of efflorescence to deal with easily. In every situation I have personally been involved with we were able to remove all of this. This type of efflorescence is characterized by a hard and dirty white appearance. Most commonly on brick it starts in the mortar joints and washes down over the face of the brick. This and lime run was the reason I first made EF-fortless. This product has the capability of being used on the surface repeatedly without harm to any masonry or cementitious surfaces. This was a necessary characteristic of any product that was to be used to remove Calcite as it was often very thick and seemed to come off in thin layers one application at a time. If the chemical was not safe for the surface the damage from repeated applications would have been more harmful that the original problem. This is the reason that raw hydrochloric acid is not generally a good solution for this problem. Since the reformulation of GS Restoration (GSR) a few years ago we have found in numerous situations that a couple undiluted applications of the GSR opens the pores of the very heavy calcite and some lime runs allowing fewer applications of the undiluted EF-fortless to totally clean the surface. I have done these type of removal jobs with and without a pressure washer and have had success both ways. Unfortunately I don't get involved in enough big jobs like this to do a really good study of the difference in effectiveness in the removal process with a pressure washer. I will tell you this, in the hundreds of cleaning jobs I have done or been involved with I believe that almost never have I seen efflorescence caused by the amount of water that is put into the wall from a pressure washer. This type of job does not tend to be inexpensive to accomplish. As an inventor of the chemistry when I was involved in these jobs I did not focus on the cost of removal, just on the effectiveness. We are now generally experiencing a situation with the combination of the GSR and the EF-fortless that these jobs seem to be more cost effective. This is the area that I would most like to experiment in so any one with a serious problem in western PA that can allow time to test, feel free to call and we will show up. This offer because of the nature of the testing program is not available in other areas of the country. I mentioned earlier one of my tricks to solve nightmare situations, that is to seal a very calcited block wall before attempting the removal. This seems to isolate the melting chemistry on the surface and allow it to react just with the calcite.. In the past a have used a solvent based siloxane as the sealer. I will not use this system on brick in general as the two chemical system usually is reasonably effective. One of the secrets to any calcite removal is that you should spray on the remover and allow it to sit on there while you spray other areas. Scrubbing the chemical on is not cost effective. Tests should be run when using GSR to determine color fastness of the surface. If it appears to mark either rinse it quickly or just use the EF-fortless. If the calcite is on concrete walls or exposed aggregate panels the above techniques may be employed or you can try NMD80 at 4-1. Efflorescence This is the area of our greatest success so let's begin here. Much of the concrete block industry is using integrally water proofed colored masonry units. These units based on our experience are having real difficulty on cleaning with this calcium salt showing up all over the surface. That is until you apply NMD 80. The NMD 80 applied at a 4-1 dilution does not create this problem and will remove it if some other product caused it. There is a very simple reason for this, the NMD 80 hydrochloric acid component is so thoroughly bound up with the additives that it is not free to bond with the calcium of the colored masonry units. This combination of integral waterproofing and NMD 80 will result in stunning color clarity and ease of cleaning. Blocks without the integral waterproofing still seem to have greater problems with color fastness and a hazy appearance though the clean will be just as easy with the NMD 80. Later on I will discuss one of the secrets to dealing with the calcite on this type of block. Occasionally some pockets of residual construction moisture will allow a very light efflorescence to occur after cleaning. Our Ef-Fortless is a safe product to spray on and allow to dry on the surface and will retard the redeposition of calcium chloride on the surface for a considerable period of time and possibly solve it forever. When we refer to an end to cleanup efflorescence we are referring to the use of NMD 80 to clean the integrally waterproofed c.m.u.'s. Our experience over the last couple of years is that we have had no failures to clean or solve efflorescence in this situation. Lime Run Generally lime run is treated just like the calcite though it can be easier to deal with and usually does not need an application of GSR first. Lime Run caught early enough can be dealt with in the normal washing process with NMD 80 at 4-1 dilution. While NMD80 is the height of safety in new construction cleanup, because of it tremendous release characteristics and buffered structure, it is 80% HCL and many repeated applications to a masonry surface will begin to etch. This is usually not an issue because the NMD 80 cleans so efficiently at 4-1 dilution it does not have to be used repeated times on the surface. Mortar Smears Can be removed with NMD80. See product Specificaion for more details. White Scum This also appears to be the result of a new masonry detergent reacting with brick but the salt formed is different. At Fort Bragg in NC a set of 8 barracks all built of the same brick by the same masons and cleaned by the same contractor had a dramatically different result when cleaned with a different detergent. Four of the barracks cleaned with NMD 80 turned out fine with no problems, four cleaned with Brand X's no. 1 product all developed white scum. It became obvious that Brand X has a white scum remover in their line because their product creates white scum. The contractor was able to remove this with our Glazed Surface Restoration. This product was developed to clean glazed brick without burning the finish so it is very safe to use but it can burn in extreme circumstances and is often used as a concrete brightener in parking structures so be sure to test color fastness or bleaching before using the product. |