Cleaning Brick--Angle Grinder Vs Wire Brush 

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You took the words out of my mouth.

Best way to become a COPD patient later in life.

🤣 Wicked, you killed me with laughter.

x'D

This doesn't make sense to me. People sandblast bricks all the time for years. Are you saying people have been doing it wrong all these decades?

@@dgilroy20 blasting removes the dirt, if done with the right grade material. I’m considering blasting to clean my brickwork. This video shows grinding the face off the brick. It’s not really cleaning. I don’t clean my hands by removing the skin.

Okay, maybe it was a bit to abrasive against the brick, but it will make everything look good, as long as everything looks uniform. You can also apply a sealer to protect the bricks from moisture. I personally would use a mechanical wire brush.

If you took his advice you will be spending a lot more on hospital bills

Every time!!!!

shocking as it may seem, I am still alive :)

lol true

Do you have any wire cups you would recommend for an angle grinder?

hahahaha!! Best comment so far! I appreciate that you made it to the end of the video before casting a final judgement ;)

Very reassuring that what I just did instinctively is the best practice. ;)

@Heloise O'Byrne paint over brick can fail over time if proper primer or chalk paint wasn’t used. Some ppl actually like the peeling paint look for aesthetic purposes they try and emulate it or do a German wash I believe they call it. usually the easiest way is to just paint over painted brick because once it’s painted it’s really difficult to get off. plaster doesn’t stick to brick the way paint does. you wanna go from painted brick to plain red brick find out if it’s oil based n use a solvent. I doubt it’s latex idk but if it’s an exterior wall do not damage the brick face or you’ll end up with the brick Spaulding I think it’s called where water gets in and cracks the whole brick then your fucked your wall will slowly crumble

@Heloise O'Byrne I’m gonna warm you right now because I have exposed brick in all my houses n I did it all by hand myself… if you’re going this rout you’ll be spitting black. Everything in the entire house will be coated with a thin layer of red brick dust. There’s no way to contain it.

@Heloise O'Byrne oh I thought u meant grind with carbide cup grinder wheel THATS what make a lot of dust through out the house… if u get the knotted wire brush wheel it doesn’t polute the air like that but little wires can fly off make sure to use glasses n even with the wire brush wheel water is your friend

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Ever heard 'don't judge a book by its cover'?

Would you spray the brick with a spray bottle first?

Wouldn't wetting it clog it all it?

Yes yes and yes.Water.

Lol

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has information on how to clean historic brick. This is not one of their recommended methods.

It definitely did make it super smooth. If I pushed too hard it would leave little circular cut marks in the brick though, so it was a pain to get it looking flat without those cup marks

I guess Thats a great benefit you can only get with the grinder... I wouldn't worry too much about the structural integrity...but I think I'd pick n choose which bricks I'd smooth... try one or two n see if I like the look... might make a video too n shout you out...

Linzi Johnson a lot of time with a shop vac :(

What's this fire coat? I have a new house and like to clean the mortar some of the brick work. Is that okay. would it damage the brick? A wire brush better?

If this were an exterior wall then yes, I would avoid this method for cleaning because it could leave a gouge in the brick that would allow water to collect and could eventually lead to spalling. With an interior wall it doesn't seem to be a big deal. You are right that older bricks are much softer than newer ones. They are also made of a different material--more lasting, from what I've read.

@@SpiritofaHandyman you mean that the newer or older ones last longer. Ps I guess that a wire brush on an angle grinder would be ok

@@vinceking7878 Older bricks

and open a window and put a pedestal fan blowinf fresh air towards you, which pushes dust away, so less dust concentration.

It made a HUGE mess! Took days to clean everything

@@SpiritofaHandyman try using a grinder....with a suction attatchment

Frankly, ANYTHING would have been better.

I appreciate that you made it to the end!

I don't know what to get from Wally-World, but post your results back here to share with the rest of us!

Daniel Read i bought an acid wash brush at home depot since wallyworld doesnt have it.

whys that?

Micheal I think he said he wasn't a pro. None of us are. I am looking to DIY to save money and because I love doing my own work. If you have something to add or that is helpful that would be nice.

Making a mess, for sure.

@nasser d Thanks so much @Nasser d !

Most helpful comment ever! You just caused me to google this article: www.bobvila.com/articles/muriatic-acid/ Man, that would have been helpful

@@SpiritofaHandyman Nice but this stuff sounds dangerous.

It would seem you didn't watch to the end of the video

Spirit of a Handyman look up the recommended use of a paper dust mask and then Silicosis. According to the level of dust in the air you would need an air fed hood to do that job. Don’t kill yourself for RU-vid. Kindly offering advice... cheers

Still kickin!

I think if I would have had an extra set of hands to hold the shop vac hose right next to the angle grinder we probably would have caught at least 50% of the dust. Which totally would have been worth it!

you can attach it to the grinder and make a diy hood around the blade then you would catch most of it

Great idea! I like where you're headed with that. This particular wire brush wouldn't have worked that way because it wouldn't have seated in the grinder, but perhaps there is a wire brush attachment that could be bought for a grinder. That would keep from gouging the brick as much. Man, that would be great if that exists!

Spirit of a Handyman not sure if it's in US buy I have seen it here in my country. it's like a slightly bigger cup with different gauge of wires for different application. and instead of a pin sticking out to attach it to the drill, there's a hole with a nut welded to it so it cab be tightened onto the grinder directly.

@@SpiritofaHandyman They are out there, just google them, loads on Amazon for 115 mm Grinder

You are SO RIGHT!!!!! Get a mask from the being and use it!!! Your lungs are really harder than the brick wall to redo.

Here you go! goo.gl/photos/XrGZzQcDVwDPWSJh8

Sheepdog Tank has

According to what I've read it takes about 20 years of repeated exposure to brick dust to contract silicosis. This was a one-time job and I wore a mask to catch most of the brick dust. With that said, I also hope I don't develop it!

3:59 in the video !

"Fire skin" is a new term that I haven't heard before. Can you send a link with what that is and how to properly sand a wall to keep it intact?

@@SpiritofaHandyman you can't sand brick that's the point, its fire baked and you delaminated it but it's your wall and it's indoors so

This comment aged very well. 😷😢

I pulled the plaster down to expose the brick, so that wasn't the end goal for my project, but yes, you could do that

I opened all the windows. Dust started floating down the street and it looked like the house was on fire. Brick dust is still stuck in the screens.

good job

^Best comment so far!!^

haha, my fault. Should've watched the whole video before I commented. And you had a N95 respirator on too, kudos!

If you watch all the way to 3:57 in the video you will see that I put a mask on