Eco Solutions X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover
Value For Money
Eco Solutions X-Tex Textured Coatings Remover
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's how it works.
User Reviews
Value For Money
Messy And Expensive
Let me say from the outset that this product does remove artex, but, for me, at an unwelcome cost in time, mess and money.
The tub is ludicrously overpriced and only covers a limited area.
It was advised by the company who were very helpful when I rang them that I would do best to cover what I had painted with polythene and leave overnight. Sticking the polythene on proved to be a task in itself. Might be better with walls rather then ceilings?
The scrapings are messy and rather like chewing gum!
On balance, I achieved similar results with elbow grease and a sharp scraper. My third star is rather flattering to the product but at least it wasn't useless at removing artex. If you're strong a determined and your space involved isn't to large, avoid it!
really sorry to hear you have had issues whilst using X-Tex. What it sounds like is you had vinyl silk emulsion paint on the surface which is not easy but also not impossible to remove.
Scoring the surface after applying X-Tex usually helps lift the vinyl silk from the surface making life a lot easier.I would also advise to do a ceiling in smaller sections rather than trying to do the whole thing at once which can be difficult.
X-Tex is expensive but used properly is good value for money.
Rubbish Product
We purchased this product after watching videos which made it appear quite easy. We painted it on and covered with cling film left overnight and guess what it hardly moved any artex. £50 gone on what, back to square one. We bought a steamer which did the job.
I am very sorry to hear you are having problems using X-Tex.
We have thousands of happy customers using this product successfully to remove Artex and I can assure you if it didn’t work then we would not be selling the product.
£50 sounds like you purchased two tubs, but if the product had not worked then you would have returned the second tub? This also suggests that you did not try a small test area as stated in bold on the label?
Every job is different and never an exact science so we always stress to try a small area first to establish the dwell time before tackling the whole job.
The Artex you are trying to remove will be covered in emulsion paint so this has to be removed prior to removing the Artex. I am surprised to hear that it has had no reaction at all? If X-Tex has has no reaction at all then it cannot be emulsion or Artex.
The worst type of paint you can have covering the Artex is vinyl silk emulsion which is a tough finish, but X-Tex will still soften it.
Using a steamer can work but is very hazardous especially if the artex contains asbestos fibres.
Value For Money
Buying More!
Ordered some x-tex and missed the first delivery due to the amazingly efficient service.
A bit Sceptical about this product but, toxic free, water soluble, no smell or irritants and does a great job , requires two coats as the Artex was a heavy texture.
What's not to like. Will be ordering more.
Value For Money
X Tex A Very Last Resort
Bought this as it looked like an easy solution instead of boarding over hallway textured ceiling (boarding not an option as coving & spotlights in place etc). Covered wooden floor with plastic sheeting. X Tex went on ok, and waited about an hour. Started scraping off and it was hard work. Debris fell off scraper onto me, step ladder and floor. Worked in about 2ft square at a time. Moved ladder and slipped on the mess it was creating. Sheeting tore, debris ended up underneath it. Tried cloth sheets and this was just as bad. Trainer soles got coated....Carried on..... Come to clean up and this is as bad as Nitromors but luckily it's not caustic. Ended up scraping stuff off of the floor then plenty of hot soapy water, elbow grease and on hands and knees. And it fell everywhere, walls and doors needed cleaning but back to the floor... I'll now have to sand and re-varnish as the damp stuff started stripping the varnish off. If you've got carpet, then be prepared to buy a new one.
It creates a real mess and doesn't really work as well as is advertised. 2.5ltrs covered 4' x15' just! So quite dear for what it is.
Now, I'm a blooming good DIYer so would I recommend it? only if you're out of other options or you're a decorator who likes hard work and a lot of cleaning up...find another option. On a positive note, I've cleaned out the tub and will use it as a paint kettle in the future.....
I am sorry to some negative things about this product. Of course using a product that removes a coating will in fact remove any type of coating it falls onto! so covering these things would be common sense?
The best way is to cover with plastic sheeting, then cover with lots of layers of newspaper. Then as the softened artex falls to the floor wrap the newspaper up and then keep putting more newspaper down.
X-Tex encapsulates Artex (which in pre 1985 coatings contains asbestos fibres) so it keeps the coating damp at all times which prevent any asbestos fibres from becoming airborne, so it will be sticky and messy.
The coverage is an approximation based on two coats of artex, and we cannot give exacts as every coating is different. You will also find emulsion.
Value For Money
Does Not Work.
Purchased on the back of favorable reviews but it simply does not work. I have tried scoring the artex but it simply will not budge. I spent over £100 on this product and feel totally ripped off.
Very sorry to hear you were no happy with X-Tex, but if this was normal Artex it would have come off very easily. I think the problem you were having was trying to remove the paint that has been applied over the top.
The worst type of paint you can have is vinyl silk, and can prove to be a real pain. Did you call the technical helpline, or even try a small test area first as stated on the label?
I am sorry to think that you have been "ripped off" but I can assure you we are in the business of coatings removal, and if our products didn't work we would not be in business anymore.
Removing Artex® using Eco Solutions X-Tex® WORKING WET SYSTEM
One of the quickest and easiest ways that we have found to remove artex® is with this amazing product. Simply paint over the artex®, on a horizontal or vertical surface, and scrape off when softened. Called a working wet system – this means that the artex® is kept wet at all times which results in no asbestos fibres becoming airborne, and when scraped will fall directly to the floor (we recommend to cover the floor with lots of old newspapers and just wrap the artex® up in the paper, bag and dispose of at your local council recycling centre. Most refuse sites now take asbestos waste).
Most artex® has been painted over the years with various coats of emulsions and this does need to be removed before you can start removing the artex®. The most difficult of these is vinyl silk which contains plastic polymers, and once softened by any type of paint remover can turn it into a gooey mess!
The answer to this problem is to remove with a long handled blade scraper which helps to lift it from the surface rather than spreading it around the wall, which usually happens when using a standard steel scraper. If you suspect the emulsion to be vinyl silk then a very light scoring with a Stanley knife prior to applying X-Tex® will enable the product to penetrate below the surface and lift it from the substrate and make removal much easier. (Only a light scoring of the surface is required- as you do not want to disturb the artex® coating underneath)
Another great tip is to apply X-Tex® and cover with foil or plastic film and leave overnight. The foil prevents the X-Tex® from drying out and also forces the product down and in most cases softens both the emulsion and the artex® in one application. This is highly recommended to obtain the best results and to save you product.
Value For Money
I Went With Reviews On Here With Over 60% Recommen
I went with reviews on here with over 60% recommending to a friend. Are these all employees or owners of the company? The artex on my bathroom isn't thick and I had got some of it off already with the X-Tex. I am sure that applying this stuff made it worse to get off. After applying I left overnight fully expecting it peel off just like it did in the video. I'm afreaid it just didn't work. Spent about 6 hours trying to get the artex off and acheived patchy removal of an area around 4 foot by 2 foot. I tried further applications but just seemed to soak the paint without touching the artex. I advise you not to waste your time, effort and money and just go straight for replastering as I am doing now.
Really sorry to hear you are not happy with X-Tex and that you think that we waste our time placing reviews on websites to get business. We simply wouldn't be in business if our products weren't effective!
I think you have to look at what you are trying to take off as the problem and not the product trying to remove it (this is always the case sadly). It sounds like the paint you are trying to remove (which is over the top of the artex) could have possible been a vinyl silk (kitchens & bathroom paint) which is particularly difficult to remove as they can turn glory or rubbery when a paint remover is applied (that is the same for all paint removers)
Also the artex could have been a bonded type textured coating which has adhesives in it making it even harder again to remove. Original artex (BPB UK Ltd) will soften very quickly if not covered with emulsion, so once you have got through the paint the artex will come away quickly and this is not the case in your situation.
Not one job is the same and removing anything that has been designed not to be removed is one of the hardest jobs you can undertake in DIY.
You are always going to get poor reviews on even the best products on the market, and ours is one of the best selling and safest products on the market today to remove artex.
Again I am sorry to hear you are not happy, and hope you finally remove the coating.
Value For Money
Used On 25 Year Old Very Thick Artex
Having decided to remove all our artex from our hallways I thought I would give X-tex a go. To be perfectly honest I am astonished at the results. If applied in the correct manner (As recommended on tub) and sufficient time left after application the artex comes off a treat. I use both a 4" razor tipped and a double handed 6" razor tipped scraper to do the work and providing you keep the blade at a shallow angle the stuff flies off. Put it this way, I managed to get about 250 ft sq done in about four to five hours, including application and soaking time . Our artex was a very heavy bark effect and after a bit of trial and error found that a soak time of about 90 minutes was ideal. As easy as stripping some wallpapers .The hallway will be replastered afterwards so a wash down will be done to eliminate any residue . If users have had bad experiences I can only guess they may not have used sufficient gel or possibly not given it enough time so soak in. Anywhoo, it certainly works for me. Just a pity it is not available in 10 litre tubs :)
Hi
So pleased you liked X-Tex and had great results with it. I am assuming that you purchased this product in 2.5 litre containers?
We do actually have it in a 15 litre tub if you need larger quantities in the future. We have a list of stockists on our website that carry the larger tubs.
Thank you very much
Value For Money
It Works - Just Not Very Well!!
Bought some of this to do a bathroom ceiling. Getting in on was an absolute nightmare with the stuff going every where except on the ceiling (thank god for dust sheets). Finally managed to cover a 1 metre by 2 metre area and left it for and hour and a half to work. Removing it was even worse than putting it on, yes it does remove the artex, but it requires arm muscles like the Hulk and leaves lots of semi liquid spotches all over the floor and I had to scrap the dust sheets as trying to clean the gunk of them proved near impossible. I will be hiring a plasterer and I suggest you do too.
Sorry to hear you experienced problems using X-Tex and our product is thick enough that it shouldn't drip and can cling to ceilings.
Leaving for the length of time you mentioned would not have been long enough to penetrate through both the emulsion and artex in one application.
Also we do say on the instructions to cover the area prior to removal. When you are scraping softened artex from a ceiling it is bound to fall to the floor, and is a messy job like all types of removal.
We do recommend using a long handled blade scraper which does make removal easier but if you had applied and covered with plastic film and left overnight it would have softened through the entire substrate and made removal much easier.
Value For Money
Happy Artex Removal
Bought this product after getting a few quotes to skim over the two rooms I have covered in awful artex, and the cost was too expensive. I searched the internet and came across X-Tex on Twitter @homestrip and saw an interesting article on the safest way to remove this lovely stuff!
I did a test area first and covered it with foil and left overnight. I then removed the foil and the surface was soft. I was not convinced until I scraped the surface and it came away quite easily and left what looked like a thin coating of artex, or thicker areas of artex (this was a swirl pattern) I re-applied and left for two hours and it came off leaving the original plaster surface.
This was a big removal job so I set to remove the artex from a wall at a time. I pasted two walls and covered them with whatever I could get my hands on really. Foil, plastic bags and cling film all seem to work well. The next day I set to remove the covering on one wall and remove. One thing I would say is once you have done a test area you know how this product works for you, and how this product works on that particular surface. Both rooms were different and I guess that was down to the type of paint that was applied over the artex.
Essential tools: Long handled blade scraper, foil, plastic bags, cling film, latex gloves, disposable paper suit, lots of newspaper to put down on the floor (I put four layers of newspaper and as I scraped the artex off it dropped onto the newspaper. I then wrapped the top layer of newspaper up and bagged it, putting a fresh layer down afterwards) large paint brush (4inch) and wet sponge and water(this I used to clean the walls after removal) Most important make sure you cover areas that are painted, as it can remove paint from your skirting boards or window sills.
I noticed quite a few negative reviews on here but was not put off, as there are more positive ones and after looking at the replies from the manufacturers it is clear these customers weren’t using it properly, as I am far from the best DIYer and it worked for me.
Both rooms now clear of artex at a fraction of the cost to re-skim. However, this does take work, and it does not fall off in front of your eyes!
Value For Money
Hopeless
Persuaded by the video and a series of good reviews I bought this. It is ok to apply but does not work! Left it 2 hours...nothing, overnight...nothing, reapplied another coat....nothing. Have resorted to using a steamer. I feel like I have wasted 25 pounds and made a whole load of mess too. Im half way through and losing the will. Wish I'd just had it skimmed over. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!
Really sorry to hear you have had problems using X-Tex, but after reading your comments are you really sure it was artex, or of course the coating that was over the top of artex (all artex has been painted over the years usually with emulsion, but the worst one is vinyl silks)
It was not the artex you were having problems with, it would have been the paint. X-Tex will remove the paint but its not designed for this. DID YOU DO A SMALL TEST AREA FIRST! as is stated on the label?
It also states on the label to cover the area with plastic film if leaving overnight as the product can dry out and stop working. You have not mentioned this.
The other important item on our label is our technical helpline telephone number. Did you call?
Q&A
Our property has artex throughout which contains asbestos. We are having these ceilings over boarded but will be having spot lights fitted. As this requires drilling through the artex and therefore disturbing the asbestos, I am considering using X-Tex around the areas where spot lights will be fitted. The theory being that I will be able remove the artex/asbestos from the area and therefore no risk to my family.
Can anyone confirm if this product is 100% safe to use with asbestos artex?
Really appreciate some help.
I have a listed house where Artex has been applied over the original wattle and daub. Can I use Ex-Tex without damaging the wattle and daub and can I get to a position where lime wash can then be applied rather than an emulsion?
Thanks
Could I use roller to apply X-Tex?
Hi I used it and did it with a large brush while I wore eye protection due to splashes.
As I said it removed paint off the door etc when I did it so I recommend no due to splashes etc it goes on easy by brush and no waste as it's expensive.
If all walls floors etc bare give it a go but wear protection.
Regards Craig.