emery290•3d agoProlific Poster

Wasted $150 on fancy release agent. Shoulda just used diesel and mineral oil mix.

Bought a gallon of that expensive bio-degradable stuff. Looked good on paper. First pour I did with it, the forms stuck like glue. Spent 4 hours chiseling off plywood. Old timer at the yard laughed and told me diesel and mineral oil works fine. Tried it on a small slab last week. Came off perfect. Wish I had that $150 back. Anyone else get burned by overpriced form oil?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.val3d ago

Those diesel and mineral oil mixes work great for basic pours, but I gotta ask - what kind of project were you doing with that expensive stuff? Some of those bio-release agents are supposed to help with getting a smoother finish for architectural concrete or something like that. I'm just wondering if maybe the old timer's trick would have left stains on the surface if it was a visible wall or something.

james_bell3d ago

That's the thing with @king.val, those stains are exactly why I switched. Did a countertop pour once where I thought I cleaned the form oil off good enough, but the diesel left these dark blotches that looked like grease marks no matter what I did. Had to grind the whole thing down and reseal it. Total nightmare for something you're gonna be eating off of or looking at up close. Ever run into that where the cheap stuff just ruins the look of a finished piece?

the_wendy3d ago

Yeah, ruined a countertop so bad it looked like modern art.

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