Cleaning site equipment - concrete, laitance, bitumen

Concrete that has set on a paddle, a mould or the side of a tipper stops being a question of appearance the moment it starts changing the geometry of the tool. A growing layer reduces drum capacity, jams mould catches and speeds up corrosion underneath - and chipping it off with a hammer does the rest.

Preparations for this work fall into two groups that cannot be swapped: those that remove what is already there, and those that stop it sticking. Most of the saving is in the second.

Four different soils, four different preparations

Hardened concrete and mortar residue.
A hard, set layer. Manufacturers make concrete and cement residue removers for it.
Cement laitance.
A thin, cloudy deposit. A different preparation from set concrete, and usually milder.
Bitumen and asphalt.
Entirely different chemistry. Concrete removers will not touch it.
Corrosion and sticking.
Prevention rather than cleaning - applied before the work, not after.

What for what - the catalogue

Guard Industry runs four cleaners here with clearly separated uses: GTR Premium for concrete and cement residue, GTN for concrete deposits on equipment, GTL for cement laitance and GBR for bitumen and asphalt.

The fifth is GT VG MAX, an anti-corrosion preparation its manufacturer describes as intended for raw and worked metals and for equipment in storage or transit. That is the second group: it works before, not after.

Quick match

What is on the equipment	Where to look	Note
Set concrete, thick build-up	Concrete and cement residue removers	The older the layer, the longer the dwell time in the sheet
Fresh concrete deposit after a shift	Concrete deposit removers	Cheapest to deal with on the same day
Cloudy film, cement laitance	Cement laitance removers	A different preparation from set concrete
Black, greasy marks from road work	Bitumen and asphalt removers	Concrete removers will not touch it
Rust, equipment standing idle	Anti-corrosion preparations	Applied before storage, not after

Preparations for site equipment

Five Guard Industry products, each with the scope of use its manufacturer states.

Before you use it: two things from the sheet

The substrate. The data sheet lists the materials a preparation may be used on. Aluminium, painted metal and galvanised surfaces are sometimes excluded - if your material is not on the list, do not assume it is covered.

Dilution and time. Both are stated by the manufacturer and both differ with the thickness of the layer. On every product those figures are in the technical data tab, under the name of the manufacturer they came from.

For businesses

Equipment is cleaned on a cycle rather than once, which makes this a shelf where the price per litre in a larger pack and a shared order history actually matter. A company account brings wholesale prices once approved, a shared order history for the whole crew, and reordering in one click.

Applying creates the account immediately; if wholesale terms do not go ahead, the account stays and you buy at list prices. See the terms.

Common questions

Will hydrochloric acid not do the same job?

It is sometimes effective on concrete and it is cheap, but it is hard to control: the concentration is arbitrary, the fumes are aggressive, and on metal it can do more harm than good. Catalogue preparations come with a dilution, a dwell time and a list of permitted substrates stated by the manufacturer - that is the difference.

How do I remove concrete that has been setting on equipment for months?

Data sheets give longer dwell times for thicker layers and usually allow the treatment to be repeated. On very old build-up, taking it off in stages rather than in one go is often the realistic approach.

How does a laitance remover differ from a concrete remover?

In scope and strength - laitance is a thin deposit, set concrete a hard layer, and manufacturers make separate products for them. The scope of use for each is in its data sheet.

Does an anti-corrosion preparation replace cleaning?

No - it is a different role. The manufacturer describes it as protection for equipment in storage or transit, that is something applied to clean equipment before it is put away. On dirty equipment it will not work.

Cleaning site equipment: mixers, moulds, tools