I'm replacing vinyl tiles that were installed with black mastic adhesiveback in the early 1970's. What is the best and easiest way to remove the black mastic adhesive Right now I'm trying to use a product calledJASCO, Sealer and Adhesive remover. I have about 500 sq. ft. to remove. Just how clean does the floor have to be for the new mortor to stick the best? Can the surface be wire brushed after using the JASCO? Can it be sanded to rough up the surface? I'm planning on installing 16 X 16 cermaic tiles with 1/4" mortor and grout. Any suggestions would be greastly appreciacted. Thank you.

What is your sub floor made from, concrete?

Removal of mastic can be done with dry ice,spread evenly over the floor its cold will effect the petroleum base and make it brittle, scraping with a long handled scraper(like an ice chipper)

Be careful with removing black mastic. Black mastics are known for having asbestos in it. You should call someone qualified in removing hazardous materials, or just use new mastic over top of the old.

Hey step
Think this job was done 2 1/2 years ago

Chuck