Clive 2000

Hi Guys Whats the best way to clean the face of bricks up, I know not strictly correct but I had a go at wire brushing one by hand (not using an electric drill), that was a joke, it didn't even look at it. The master plan is to drop the slabs down slightly but as you will see from the photos there is a line were the slabs came up to on the bricks, hopefully someone can suggest the best method of cleaning them, also on the same subject, whats the best way of removing paint off them, as elsewhere there are splashes of paint on them, not put there by me but sometime in the past someone must have been painting and got it everywhere.

Hi everyone Can someone out there put me straight, Iv'e been looking at some videos on the internet about making a mortar mix, all with conflicting answers, ie. ratio mix of 1 cement to 3 parts sand right up, 1 of cement to 6 parts sand. What I'm having to do is take some bricks out which are just below the damp proof course as the face of the brick has perished, turning them around so they are still a resonable match to the others. Iv'e also noticed some of the mortar joints above the damp proof course, the mortar can more or less be raked out with my finger nails ie very sandy, whats the most likely cause of this and whats the best mortar mix for pointing up above the damp course. Thanks to anyone who can help