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OT - removing mastic from floor?

P

PJH

Well-known Member
Going to install vinyl floor tile in an old house. There was sheet material in place, and the edges were stuck down with something asphaltic that reminds me of the stuff they used under floor tile years ago. It won't come up without tearing the plywood. Is there a product that will soften this material that can be used indoors (non-flammable)? I'm thinking I'll have to just add another layer of luan to cover it up - I don't think the tile will stick, and it's too rough to leave anyhow. There's only the one stripe across the entire floor - the rest of the floor is clean. Thanks for ANY advice.
 
And here's the pic that I forgot to post. . .
a171497.jpg
 
Any thing that will remove the mastic will be harmful to you, and be flammable. So with that in mind, I think lacquer thinner will remove the stuff. You night try mineral spirits if they still make the stuff. What ever you use just be careful. Stan
 
PJH,

It's nasty and it gobs up the sanding disks in little or no time, but I have used a circular sanding disk on mastic to remove it from floors that I was recovering.

It's not quick or simple, but if you have enough coarse sanding disks, you can pretty well get it off. You need to keep moving the sander so that it doesn't "melt" the mastic, but simply "scratches" it off.

Good luck,

Tom in TN
 
I wondered about one of those scrapers that fit in a sawzall. I've never used one. My arthritic wrist is starting to talk to me. Gonna have to use floor leveler on it anyway. . .
 
Unless you know for sure what was stuck down there, I wouldn't sand it.

A lot of old flooring materials contained asbestos. Sanding them is something you really don't want to do.
 
With safety in mind (ventilation, fire extinguisher etc. ) Gasoline soaked rags laid on top of that stuff will do the job. Be careful (small segments). HTH
 
(quoted from post at 16:44:14 10/13/14) stuck down with something asphaltic that reminds me of the stuff they used under floor tile years ago....... Is there a product that will soften this material that can be used indoors (non-flammable)?
Click to expand...
he contractors that did the carpet/vinyl tile work at the university used one of the citrus based removers. It smelled like oranges. There is also a soy based mastic remover. Just do a search for 'citrus mastic remover'.
 
I would forget about scraping it off.
Just nail a layer of 1/4" luan or birch underlayment down and start over.
I'll bet if you searched youtube you would find some good, helpful videos on doing it.
 

You said you would put a layer of luan down so why fight to remove the strip of mastic? Cut out the strip of plywood with the mastic, patch it in and cover with luan.
 
Heated paint scraper is an example. A heat gun ahead of a good pull type scraper (and a 300 grit silicon carbide paper to sharpen it)will tell you if a investment is worth it. Jim
One example
 
I appreciate all of you taking the time to reply. Gonna try the heat gun/scraper/sander approach to see if I can salvage what's there. I'm hoping to avoid the added thickness of another layer of luan, since there are already some floor level differences in the doorways. I'm nervous about using a flammable liquid, and women seem to have more sensitive sense of smell, and are pretty quick to tell you about it, ha. The citrus based remover would probably get their approval if I have to go to something like that.

Floors are NOT my specialty. I was told years ago, on a church bathroom project, that floor tile are not supposed to overlap.

Thanks for all of the tips!
 
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