I am renovating a house and need to remove some cement/plaster. I do not want to break it off or saw it away. I have tried vinegar, hot water, olive oil. Is there any way to soften cement/plaster that has set?
No such luck. The only way to remove it is to dig it up, smash it, cut it off. It's component uses water to create it. It is used to make foundations so it is made to withstand anything on the planet.
once it has set you will have to either break it or maybe try some corrosive chemicals such as hydrochloric acid im sorry that im currently under a mind blank so thats all i can think of but there are commercial liquids that work as long as it hasnt been there for more than 2-3 days
Nope!....'Sorry. I don't know what the surface is the cement is on and you don't indicate whether it's plaster or cement so it's hard to really advise you what to do. Contractors (and me) use something called muriatic acid which is really industrial grade hydrochloric acid. The thing is, Amanda, cement is really a form of limestone, and acid, any acid, will react with limestone to turn it into calcium chloride, water, and carbon dioxide. In fact, if you pour acid on cement (or marble) you will see it fizz; that's the carbon dioxide being formed from the reaction. You can buy muriatic acid in hardware stores, but it might damage the surface the cement is stuck to. If it's tile, it will work fine, just wear gloves and rinse the surface, of course. I wish you had told us what the surface is; it would have helped us give better advice.
