Acid wash vs. just water, I changed my mind after a job in Orlando

I used to swear by acid washing every brick job before pointing, thought it was the only way to get a clean face. Then last month on a commercial build in Orlando, the general contractor told me to skip it because the new brick was soft and acid would eat the color right out of it. I fought him on it for a bit, but I tried his way with just a stiff brush and water on a test patch, and honestly the mortar smears came off fine after waiting 20 minutes. Saved me a full day of hauling acid jugs and rinsing everything twice, plus no discolored corners on the finished facade. Now I only acid wash old salvaged brick covered in years of grime, but for fresh stock I stick to water and a decent scrub. Anyone else had a job where they stopped using acid and it worked out better than they expected?

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lee.lucas1mo ago

Heard this exact thing from my buddy who runs a crew down in Tampa. He had a big subdivision job where the builder made him switch to just water and a brush because the brick was some new low-fired stuff that got blotchy with any acid. He was pissed at first, said it was gonna look trash. But he ended up telling me it cut his cleanup time in half and the walls came out looking way more even, plus he didnt have to worry about killing the grass or staining the driveway with runoff. Now he only breaks out the acid for old nasty brick where water wont touch the stains, and even then he tests a spot first.