How To Remove Dried Liquid Nails

What is the best way to remove old, dried Liquid Nails from floor tiles?

Check the Liquid Nails Landscape specification

Selleys' product page and its dated technical sheet disagree on Landscape's chemistry, colour, paintability and pack size. Landscape figures below from the November 2020 technical sheet describe that document, not a confirmed specification for every current cartridge. Confirm the matching instructions before painting, choosing a colour, or relying on cure and loading times. See the source comparison and dated documents.

There is no easy chemical answer to this one, and it is better to know that before you spend an afternoon on solvents. Once dried, Selleys adhesives become very difficult to remove. Liquid Nails in particular becomes quite resistant to solvents and has a fairly high temperature resistance, which makes it harder again.

Your best approach is to scrape and grind away residual product mechanically. You can try mineral turps to help soften it, but expect only a very limited impact on cured adhesive.

Why solvents do so little

Most Liquid Nails products cure rather than simply dry. Liquid Nails Landscape and Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal, for example, are neutral cure silicone based; the material changes chemically as it sets, so there is nothing left for a solvent to re-dissolve. That is precisely the property that makes them good construction adhesives, and it is the same property that defeats a rag and a bottle of turps afterwards. For Landscape, confirm the specification for your cartridge: the manufacturer sources disagree.

The published clean-up instructions all say the same thing in different words:

• Liquid Nails Landscape — uncured product may be removed with mineral turpentine; cured product can be removed with the help of Selleys Sealant Remover or by mechanical action.
• Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal — uncured product with mineral turps; cured product with Selleys Sealant Remover or by mechanical action.
• Liquid Nails Fast Grab — this one is water-based, so uncured product comes off with water; cured product must be scraped or sanded.

Notice that every one of them puts the solvent option in the uncured column.

Working on floor tiles specifically

Tiles give you a hard, flat, glazed surface, which is about the best case for mechanical removal — but the glaze is also the thing you can ruin in seconds.

1. Take off the bulk first with a stiff scraper held at a shallow angle. Most old adhesive comes away in lumps if you get under an edge.
2. Work in small sections rather than trying to clear a whole floor in one pass.
3. Try mineral turps on the residue. It may soften the surface slightly and make the next pass of scraping more productive. Do not expect it to dissolve the adhesive.
4. Grind or abrade what is left. Start with the least aggressive abrasive that makes progress and work up only if you need to.
5. Check as you go. Glaze damage is not reversible, and heavy grinding on a glazed tile will dull it well before the adhesive gives up.

For the silicone-based products, Selleys Sealant Remover is worth a try on the residue. It is designed for sealants including silicone, acrylic, SMP/hybrid and polyurethane, and is listed as suitable for use on ceramic tiles, porcelain, glass and grout. Cut and scrape off as much as possible first to leave a very thin layer under 5 mm, spread at least a 5 mm thick layer of the remover evenly over it, leave it at least 10 minutes — a second application is sometimes needed — then scrape the softened material away and clean the residue and tools with mineral turpentine.

Its own limitations matter here: it is not suitable for rubber, EPDM or polycarbonate, it may affect some surfaces so compatibility should be tested first, and it should not be left on porous materials or acrylic-painted surfaces for extended periods. It will also not remove staining caused by old penetrated silicone oils.

Safety

• Wear protective gloves and eye protection. Scraping and grinding cured adhesive throws fragments.
• Mineral turps and Sealant Remover both call for good ventilation and gloves. Keep them away from heat and ignition sources.
• Grinding produces dust. Use appropriate respiratory protection.

Common questions

Will mineral turps dissolve dried Liquid Nails?

No. It may help soften it, but this is likely to have only a very limited impact. Turps is intended for cleaning up uncured product.

Will heat work, the way it does on Araldite?

Liquid Nails has a fairly high temperature resistance, which is part of why it is difficult to remove. Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal, for instance, is rated from −60 °C to 150 °C. Do not expect the softening you get with epoxy — see how to remove dried Araldite for the contrast.

Is Selleys Sealant Remover worth trying?

On silicone-based residue on ceramic tile, yes. Test compatibility on an inconspicuous area first, and follow the 5 mm layer and 10 minute dwell instructions on the pack.

What if the adhesive is water-based Fast Grab?

Then you are still scraping or sanding once it has cured — but if you catch it uncured, water alone removes it.

Will I damage the tiles?

You can. Glaze is thin. Work in stages, use the least aggressive method that makes progress, and accept that on badly contaminated tiles, replacement may be less work than removal.

How do I avoid this next time?

Clean up while the product is uncured. Liquid Nails Landscape's own advice goes further: do not wipe excess squeeze-out at all — wait until the product cures and trim it with a sharp blade, avoiding cutting into the bond. Wiping wet adhesive spreads it into grout and porous surfaces where it is far harder to remove. For Landscape, confirm the specification for your cartridge: the manufacturer sources disagree.

Where else can I read about this?

See how to remove Liquid Nails, and for contact adhesive residue, how to remove Kwik Grip once dry.