If you are a metal worker or an experienced welder, you would know that welding drops are inevitable when welding. Leaving welding burns on your ceramic floors or tiles make them look awful. When this happens, no worries because here I will show you how to clean welding drops from ceramic floors.
There are different methods you can use to eliminate the welding drop from your garage, home, or workshop. This leaves your ceramic floors looking flawless like they were before welding.
What Causes Welding Drops?
Before we get into the methods of removing welding spatter, it is good to understand what causes the welding drops and the formation of weld spatter. The spatter comes from the weld slag which makes your floor look like it has small metal specs.
With time, the metal specs become brown because of rusting and this leaves stains on your ceramic floors. If you burned your ceramic tiles with welding drops, it is good to remove the weld right away using the following methods.
Methods To Remove Welding Drops From Ceramic Floor Or Tiles
Different welding processes can leave welding drops on your ceramic floors. Follow these tips to remove marks from welding spatter on your tiles.
Baking Soda
This is a good method to remove mild weld spatter on your tiles. Pour a tablespoon of baking soda on the welding marks and scrub before using other abrasive methods. If the marks are larger, you can add more baking soda.
Next, prepare a mixture of a tablespoon of cool water and mix it with baking soda until you get a peanut butter-like consistency. Use a soft brush or a dish scrubbing brush to rub the paste in circular motions. You can also use an old toothbrush or a scrub brush but avoid abrasive brushes. This will help you get a smooth surface on any type of tile.
After scrubbing, get a soft cloth and wipe the paste from the ceramic tile. If you still see some weld marks, repeat the same process. If you don’t see any difference after repeating it several times, try a different method to remove the marks from tiles.
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Sanding
If the baking soda scrub method doesn’t work, sanding is another effective method you can use to remove welding burn marks. If you are not good at sanding, you can always hire a professional tile restoration company to remove the welding soils on your porcelain or stone tiles. This method can work well for commercial tiles, custom tile showers, wall tile, kitchen tile, or accent tile.
For this method, use a fine-grit sandpaper. Get 200-grit sandpaper and rub it in circular motions on the weld burns while applying light pressure. When the sandpaper grits wear out, turn the other side to get a fresh section. Do not use electric sanders or you will end up damaging your tiles.
Repeat the process using 400-grit sandpaper or 600-grit sandpaper. After sanding, apply ceramic tile polish with a soft cloth and cover the whole area.
Anti-Spatter Spray
This is another quick way you can use to remove welding drops on tiles. Apply the anti-spatter spray on the weld burns and the burns will come off easily. You can find a wide range of anti-spatter sprays at relatively affordable prices. Apart from spraying the surface, you can also use the anti-spatter spray on the welder nozzle to remove spatter buildup and avoid restricting the gas flow.
Chisel and Chipping Hammer
Welding spatter has a weak connection on the surface base because it doesn’t penetrate well. Therefore, you can use a chisel and chipping hammer to knock the burns off. Coil spring chipping hammers are recommended because they absorb hammering shock, and you can pay more attention to knocking off the splatter.
Use more force if the welding burn is harder. You need to be careful with this method because it can leave some scars on the spatter area. Therefore, you can grind or sand the area to give your tiles the best look.
Conclusion
If you damaged your ceramic tiles with welding drops, you can rely on the above methods to get rid of welding spatter. Choose any of the above methods depending on whether the welding burns are minor or serious. If you try any of the above methods and none seems to works on the damaged tiles, you can consider replacing the burned tile with another durable tile.
