W H AT ’ S N E W
Clean Those Tools
s much as we love concrete, we
A don’t want our trucks, tools, and
other equipment to wear it like a
trophy. Hardened, unwanted concrete
adds weight, lessens life of the equip-
ment, and is downright dirty and un-
pleasant. So you might be interested
to learn about an innovation that will
allow you to wipe old concrete away.
RoMix Chemical and Brush Co.,
Euless, Texas, has developed a molec-
ular cement dissolver called Back-Set

New product dissolves
concrete the old way.
as an alternative to acid for removing
hardened concrete from tools, trucks,
and other equipment. It uses an ac-
tive ingredient found in sugar cane
syrup. The product is not hazardous
to equipment or workers, does not
harm paint or produce fumes, and is
biodegradable.
The effects of sugar on concrete
have been known for many years. In
some parts of the world, it is still com-
monly used to retard the set of mor-
tar and other cementitious products.
Hardened concrete
had accumulated
over the years on
the hood of this
truck used in the
RoMix yard. After
soaking with Back-
Set, a pressure
washer removed
the dissolved con-
crete with no dam-
age to the truck.
Publication #J04C020, Copyright © 2004 Hanley Wood, LLC. All rights reserved
An article in the December 1957 issue
of CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION said,
“Sugar affects both fresh and hardened
concrete ... Dry sugar has no effect on
hardened concrete, but sugar solutions
can be very corrosive.”
The article goes on to describe
how hardened surfaces can help guard
against these effects in candy facto-
ries and other susceptible areas. Now,
several years later, a creative and per-
severant chemist has turned this vul-
nerability into an opportunity to safely
remove hardened concrete from a va-
riety of surfaces that are otherwise dif-
ficult to clean.
Craig Anderson, vice president
of RoMix and one of the chemists who
developed Back-Set, says it works by
breaking down the ionic bond in port-
land cement, releasing the cement
from any surface to which it has ad-
hered. It essentially converts the pos-
itive ions in the hardened matrix into
negative ions and dissolves the cement
into a mud that can be rinsed off.
How it works
It’s easy to use. First, you satu-
rate the hardened concrete with Back-
Set with either a brush or by spray-
ing. After allowing it to penetrate for
about 15 minutes, you saturate the
same area again with the chemical.
The concrete typically begins to soften
in 20 to 30 minutes, at which point
you should rinse it off with water. You
can use repeat applications to remove
thicker buildups.
Anderson says it has been a bit
tricky perfecting the formulation, which
the company has been working on for
about a year. Now that the product is
commercially available, he emphasizes
it is very important to use it undiluted.
Because it works chemically rather
than mechanically, Back-Set may be
used to safely remove cured cement,
concrete, mortar, grout, and stucco
from virtually any surface.
As with the RoMix’s other prod-
ucts, Back-Set comes in 55-gallon
drums and 275-gallon tote tanks. It
also is available in bulk. For more in-
formation, telephone 800-331-2243,
or visit the company’s Web site at
www.romixchem.com.
— TOM KLEMENS
Built up concrete
paste on this fin-
ishing tool dis-
solved away after
soaking a short
time in a tub of
Back-Set. Notice
the change in color
of the liquid caused
ROMIX CHEMICAL AND BRUSH CO.
by the concrete
residue.