Tar removal from brick

You guys are my last hope, I'm going crazy with this one!!

I am in the process of renovating and moving into an older house from the 70s. The front porch has settled a good amount and separated from the house about an inch (gap all the way around). It looks like this happened decades ago, and an attempt to fix it was made by covering the gap and sides with tar. A lot of tar!! The goopy black tar looks like crap along the brick so I am attempting to remove it. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. Even though it is decades old, its still like removing thick molasses - molasses that stains everything it touches. Gunks up the tools and is impossible to work with. Ive tried several different solvents - goo gone - goof off - degreaser - tar removers - nothing wants to work. It is especially a pain since the brick is so porous. Any ideas as to the best way of removing this? I'm half tempted to grab my torch and burn it off.

Submitted August 12, 2016 at 07:48PM by new2reddithere http://ift.tt/2aOK2lT