I have removed tile from a cement floor. On the surface of the floor is the cement mastic that held the tile. How do I remove it? I really don't want to spend the next three weeks chiseling it off. Is there another way that is not so time consuming? The mastic is really bonded directly to the cement.

I'm sorry to say that you would have probably been better off to do a new floor over the tiles.

I think at this point your best bet is to get as much of it up as possible, then use a leveling compound.

I think others might have other suggestions, though... so work on getting as much of it up as you can and check back here.

What kind of floor do you want to put in afterwards?

I wanted to do a faux finish on the cement. Then I was going to glue glass tiles down over the finish by the fireplace so I really need to get the mastic up.

I see. Yuck. You've got quite a chore ahead of you.

I find a couple suggestions:

Here a torch and razor are suggested, but mention is also made of a stripper made by Jasco.

Here's a good link, too:
http://www.concretenetwork.com/concr...e_staining.htm

There we read
"Bob Harris, president of the Decorative Concrete Institute and author of Bob Harris' Guide to Stained Concrete Interior Floors, says caulking compound and mastic are two of the most difficult substances to remove. He scrapes off as much material as possible using a putty knife or floor scrapper and then applies a poultice to remove the remainder. For a poultice, he recommends mixing an inert fine powder, such as fly ash or hydrated lime, with denatured alcohol to make a smooth paste. Once the poultice dries, the caulk or mastic residue usually is brittle enough to remove with a stiff-bristle brush."

... Grinding is the "last resort" optioned there.

Wow! What an amazing site you sent me. Thank-you so much. I think I've found my answer. They are suggesting a soy bean based cement mastic solvent that removes the worst case scenario. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you.
Danna:D

Hopefully that will work for you!
Come back soon! And keep your eye on your email for a notification if anyone adds to this.
Good luck with the project!

Did the soy bean based cement mastic solvent work? I am doing the same thing and am having a hard time getting the cement mastic up in front of the fireplace. Thanks!