Taking old thick carpet glue from concrete internal stairs?

Question

I am trying to get rid of thick, old glue ( not sure shat type ) which had been used by previous owners to glue carpet down to the interior concrete stairs leading up to a friend's flat.
I have tried using paint thinner and also using a chisel/mallet but to no avail.
Even if I manage to chip off the very thick lumps I would like to be able to remove it all so I can paint the steps for my friend as that is what they'd like doing. Some of it is really thin so just chipping away at it will take forever and still wouldn't really be a brilliant result.
Someone has suggested I buy a heat-gun but I wondered if there was a product available (at a reasonable price) in the Uk which I could just put onto the steps and it would dissolve the glue so it could be easily removed. The least physical effort for me the better as I have health issues which mean I can't exert myself too much (and my friend is even worse than me).
many thanks for reading this
K

cyoung35 · Accepted Answer

I worked in the flooring business for years and the best thing with the least effort is to use a floor/wall scraper that has a long handle to give you more leverage. It has a thick razor blade on the end as shown here: http://www.chihtai.com/901L.jpg and you can rent them at some home improvement stores. It still takes a little bit of muscle but there is no magic solution to getting this up cleanly. Once it's scraped off you can take some fine grit sand paper to smooth it out then paint. I hope this helps.

Joseph A · Answer

I would try using lacquer thinner. It will dissolve most petroleum based products. I still see this as a very labor intensive job. Have you considered gluing treads of some inexpensive wood on the concrete, then paint the wood?

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Taking old thick carpet glue from concrete internal stairs?

2 Answers