Concrete cleaning, removes surface rust effectively.
Available in25 L
In stock: Windhoek & Walvis Bay
Acids for Construction in Namibia
Every Namibian handover has an acid stage: brick cleaning to strip mortar haze, concrete etching before coatings, rust conversion on steel that waited in the yard. Swachem sells the trade’s acid — Spirits of Salts by the 25-litre, packaged HD acid for the harder cases — with the dilution and safety guidance that keeps site staff whole and aluminium windows unpitted.
The local problems this range solves
- Cement haze and mortar snots on face brick at handover
- Coatings failing on unetched, laitance-covered floors
- Acid burns and splash incidents from untrained handling
- Efflorescence blooming through new brickwork after first rains
Compliance & documentation
Acid supply to sites includes SDS and dilution guidance; dangerous-goods documentation covers transport on mixed material loads.
Local tip
Acid-wash before the glazing and aluminium go in wherever the programme allows — masking costs an hour, but replacing an etched shopfront costs the margin on the job.
Recommended products
The lines construction buyers draw from this category most.
Strong acid cleaner for various surfaces.
Available in5 L750 ml25 L
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Acts as a reducing agent for metal oxides to remove tarnish as well as rust or ink stains.
Available in25 L
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Sugar Soap
Pre-paint washdown cleaner that degreases and etches painted surfaces.
Pack sizes on request
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Swachem 617 ES Cement Cleaner
Acid-based cleaner that removes cement residue from equipment and shutters.
Pack sizes on request
In stock: Windhoek & Walvis Bay
Acids for construction: asked and answered
What is the correct acid-wash procedure for face brick?
Pre-wet the wall (dry brick sucks acid deep and stains later), wash with roughly 1:10 Spirits of Salts in water, scrub, rinse thoroughly before it dries, and work top-down in shade if you can get it. Mask aluminium, glass and marble religiously — HCl pits them on contact. The pre-wet and the rinse are where handovers are won.
How do we prep a power-floated floor for epoxy or paint?
Acid-etch to open the surface: diluted HCl broadcast, kept moving until fizzing quiets, rinsed to neutral (verify with pH paper — coatings fail on acid residue as surely as on laitance), dried fully. On dense floats a second etch beats a stronger first one. Where mechanical prep is specified instead, do that; acid is the budget route, not the universal one.
What removes rust staining from concrete and paving?
Oxalic acid is the specialist — it reduces the iron oxides that HCl merely lightens, lifting rust and many tannin stains from concrete, paving and stone. Dissolve warm, apply, dwell, scrub and rinse. For general grime before repainting, sugar soap does the degrease-and-etch in one pass without the acid handling burden.
What acid-safety minimum should a building site enforce?
Goggles and gauntlets at the point of use, acid always added to water, a running hose before the first bucket is mixed, and no decanting into drink bottles — that last rule is written in casualty statistics. Our 25 L polycans pour controllably, and every site order includes the SDS your safety file and toolbox talk need.
Serving Construction from our Windhoek branch
Swachem Windhoek · 2-8 Walter Street, Southern Industrial Area, Windhoek · Tel 061 235 051 · Monday – Friday, 08:00 – 17:00
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Quote acids for your construction operation
Served primarily from Swachem Windhoek — 061 235 051. SDS, grades and delivery scheduling included in the quote.