Grind your floor DIY with HD Diamabrush rental

Denwood · Feb 14, 2015

Posted this is my build thread as I found very few before/after pics of a garage floor before/after using the Home Depot rental Diamabrush. The setup is just a floor polisher with a diamond paddle floor attachment : HD video on the setup is here: http://howto.homedepot.com/videos/w...Rental-Center-Concrete-Floor-Preparation.html

The flooring debate is a lively one here on GJ. The more I read though, the more convinced I've become that porcelain or bare concrete is the best choice. My neighbor had a bad finish on his new garage slab. He borrowed a very heavy 220V grinder with dust management system from a local granite outfit which had his concrete floor looking pretty amazing in less than 2 hrs of work.

I really liked that finish so wondered if a few hours with a home depot floor polisher and Diamabrush would work. It's much smaller and lighter than the floor grinder my neighbor used.It works, but would be more accurate to describe the result as "aggressive sanding" rather than deep cut/grinding. That said, if you're patient, the results are good. The floor polisher has zero dust management and the process is very dusty. I cut a notch out of a plastic bin, flipped it over the floor polisher and taped my vacuum hose to it as pictured. Make sure you use a fine filter bag inside your shop vac if you're doing this! The end result cut down the dust factor by 95%. Because I'm not so patient, I also added a few boxes of nails to the plastic tub which noticeably increases the grind rate. Once done, I'm sealing it with a clear sealer and we'll see how that goes.

TonkaJoe · Feb 15, 2015

Wow, that makes quite the noticeable difference!. I'm still on the fence as to weather I should grind and epoxy, or grind and clear coat.. and possibly just toss down some racedeck afterword's since I do have a decent size crack across the floor which needs some permanent repairing before I do anything. I don't have any heavy oil stains or anything like that to contend with, just the normal wear and tare so I think this would definitely do a nice job. How close are you able to get to walls? what do you do with the space that it isn't able to grind?.

Denwood · Feb 15, 2015

T, everything is on wheels in the shop, so I'll just move the collection into the center, then finish the edges. The floor unit gets 3-4" from the walls, so depending on your needs, you can use a smaller diamond wheel on a hand held grinder.

I figure I have another 2 hours of work there.

1/2 Cup · Feb 15, 2015

Wow , What a huge difference, my floors are on the bucket list one day..

Regards

225 · Feb 15, 2015

Looks good. How long did it take to figure out how to use it?

For those using one for the first time, if you push down on the handle,it goes one way, lift up, and it goes the other. After about 15 minutes, you'll be doing it with one hand.

TheEquineFencer · Feb 15, 2015

Great post! Whenever I get everything in here finished, no pun intended, I think I'll check into grinding/polishing and see how that works on the burned/stained floor here.

LegacyIndustrial · Feb 15, 2015

Great post. Some of the Home Depot stores have the pro-version with a built-in dust shroud. I don't know why they wouldn't have them from the start. The mastic removal tool will do a more aggressive grind but it will be a little slower.

Adding the fines bag to your shop vac is a must!
Link to a video showing the pro version in action: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=318211138303007

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Caman · Feb 15, 2015

I highly recommend doing a final wet grinding with a densifier. It will fill the pores and make it much less susceptible to staining and also give it a slight polished look.

LegacyIndustrial · Feb 15, 2015

Caman makes a good point. You will have a dusty mess if you don't Densify or seal your finished product. Not to mention it will quickly return to filthy with those open pores filling with dirt.

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Shea · Feb 15, 2015

Great post about using the DiamaBrush. I just helped a neighbor down the way grind his floor this way using the methods we published in our article. We did a wet grind however since the local home depot he rented from didn't have the pro version. We weren't as innovative with the homemade dust shroud though. That was clever! We used one of my 7" grinders with a dust shroud to get the edges and corners first.

The floor was 30 years old and darker in color with a somewhat polished surface from use that did not absorb water. It may have had a cure and seal used on it initially. I should have taken pictures because as Denwood the OP said, the garage brightened up significantly from reflecting light due to the much lighter color.

Total time to grind was just over 2 hours.

Denwood · Feb 15, 2015

Thanks all for posting

. I just took the gear back and have a few comments. I tried both heads. One has 5 diamond crusted paddles, the other has maybe 30 paddles which are more flexible.

Scotty's comments were spot on. The five paddle disc works better to level, however if have pits more than 1/16" in an old slab, it will take a very long time to grind them out. The 30ish paddle disc conforms to the floor and sands it quicker. The difference is comparable to using sandpaper with a wood backer block vs sandpaper with a soft rubber backed block.

If your slab has a good finish, the grinding will go quickly. If doing epoxy, it's obvious why grinding might be preferable as it really smooths the floor. Any reflective epoxy would really benefit from this treatment if you're looking for that glass/mirror look.

If your slab is old and pitted (say more than 1/16") you will spend a lot of time trying to get them out with the HD Diamabrush. Having seen how quickly an industrial grinder works in 2 hrs to smooth out a bad finish, I might consider going that way next time...or hiring the rough grind out.

The rental was only $85 for a day, and the guys let me grab the 2nd (5 paddle disc) at no charge. Based on how worn both were after my 16x24, they weren't the best tool for my slab which was pretty badly pitted on places.

I grabbed some concrete sealer (Behr concrete waterproofer) from the store but will take it back as I wrongly concluded it was silicate based. It is silicon based...so pretty much junk. One of my friends here runs a concrete specialty coatings business here so I'll hit him up for some decent product. Suddenly I'm thinking white epoxy....

Scotty, if he doesn't have decent product on hand locally I'll be hitting you up for product. The CAD $$ right now is at .80 so anything ordered from US has a 24% exchange hit as of this month :-(

Shea, that article on floor Grinding is great...just wish I had read it first! The dust deputy looks like a great product as the Rigid brand fine particulate bags are expensive, and seem to perforate way to easy. I went through four bags at $8 each! I don't mind $8 ... if the bags actually stay intact. I kept the cartridge filter in place at all times as well, so the bags would not rip on the vacuum's intake cage.

LegacyIndustrial · Feb 15, 2015

Dennis. sounds good. Many of our Canadian customers pick it up at the border or have a courier bring it up. The Alaskans ship to Seattle and hitch a ride on a boat, once on a crab boat!

Denwood · Feb 17, 2015

My local (Kam Industrial) suggested going with a stain-sealer vs epoxy as my shop regularly sees temps below zero. It's only heated when in use.

So we're giving this stuff (in white pigment) a try to seal the floor for now. It's Increte stain-sealer which will give me a floor that is bright, resistant to brake fluid, gasoline, oil, salt etc, but a penetrating finish that won't be affected by large temperature swings above and below freezing.

http://www.increte.com/professional-products/stains-and-dyes/concrete-stain-sealer/

Denwood · Feb 22, 2015

Loving the white floor. One more coat to go...sneak peek:

Denwood · Feb 24, 2015

All done...

Shea · Feb 24, 2015

Great Job! Love the good light reflection.

vekster · Feb 24, 2015

very nice

Denwood · Feb 24, 2015

Shea, Vek, thanks for the comments. It is wonderfully bright..at least for now while it's nice and clean.

Edger · Apr 8, 2015

Way to go Denwood. Dark floors cause glare and gloom from bright downlights and no reflection depending on whether you look up or down. Bright floors reflect light every way for more comfortable visibility. Medium grey floors can reflect about 50% light.
I am not an expert, just had to do the sums one time on a job. I love white.

dougsey · Apr 8, 2015

Looks great Denwood! So because that's a penetrating stain, do you think that hot tire pick up will not be a problem?

Denwood · Apr 8, 2015

Edge, thanks

White certainly carries more work if you want to keep it clean..but so does every floor if it's finished nicely.

Doug, I'd be shocked and amazed if there was any tire pickup. The first coat was laid on thin, and the stain/sealer really got sucked into the concrete. It's nearly two months now of use on the floor and no complaints. It's taken some pretty good hits, and a fair bit of abuse with oil, brake fluid, trans fluid and even a bit of diesel fuel. No complaints.

mrvm · Apr 8, 2015

Great diy job and fantastic color choice with emphasis on lung/eye protection. Brightens up things, easy to clean and find missing parts. Tough choice for me now is between tough epoxy or plain tough whitish sealer because both look great.

Denwood · Apr 11, 2015

Thanks MRV...I'm really liking white. Epoxy would be the better choice if your floor will see solvents like lacquer thinner, paint reducer etc.

At some point down the line (in summer this time!) I'll likely do the epoxy route, or tile the floor.

Cobra Steve · Apr 21, 2015

Legacy,

Is it possible to rent the HD head to get to a certain point (nobody has said if the HD head is 50 or 100 grit) and then purchase the polishing head (200, 400, densifier & 1000) to do a polish job on a garage floor?

Thanks,
Steve

LegacyIndustrial · Apr 21, 2015

Yes, every polish job starts with a grind.
Densify at 400.

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Cobra Steve · Apr 22, 2015

So just to clarify, by using the HD rental concrete prep tool, I can skip the 50 and 100 grit polishing heads and go straight to 200?

LegacyIndustrial · Apr 22, 2015

Negative. Sent you pm.

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cdnc · Apr 22, 2015

Dennis - I've been following your build very closely - amazing! I have a very similar style structure and similar conditions (slab will cool below freezing, heat with Propane as needed) - southern Ontario. How many coats did you put down?

Cheers Hugh

Denwood · Apr 22, 2015

Hugh, thanks for the kind words

My 16x24 required about 4 gallons to do 3 coats. If your floor will see solvents, consider epoxy. Yes, the white is very easy to recoat, but because it is not a catalyzed finish, solvents will affect it. I just did some painting (2K urethane) and cleaning overspray off the white floor is difficult as the 2K paint is itself catalyzed.

It's hard to find examples of epoxy performance in freeze/thaw situations..perhaps Scotty can cite some examples??

Another thing I've noticed now after some hard use is that the sealer did not fill deeper pits in my old, rather abused slab, so a mop for example will leave some dirt behind. A 100% solids epoxy would fill these same holes though. In exchange for a slicker (when wet) floor, you get easier cleanup.

This is not a huge deal for me as it's a working shop. If you're looking for that spotless white show finish, you'll definitely want a very smooth floor to facilitate cleaning.

LegacyIndustrial · Apr 22, 2015

Den:
We supply product to Trident SeaFoods (Deadliest Catch) regularly and from what I hear it's pretty cold in Alaska. :scared:

You would be pleased to hear they also buy our acrylic product too. They like our new HD6600-MMA. It does not require the prep epoxy does and the breathable quality allows it to exist in damp environments.

cdnc · Apr 24, 2015

Denwood said:
Hugh, thanks for the kind words My 16x24 required about 4 gallons to do 3 coats. If your floor will see solvents, consider epoxy. Yes, the white is very easy to recoat, but because it is not a catalyzed finish, solvents will affect it. I just did some painting (2K urethane) and cleaning overspray off the white floor is difficult as the 2K paint is itself catalyzed.
...

Good to know. Mine is also an old slab, but will mostly see oil, dirt, snow, etc (it usually has a tractor parked in there most of the time). Did you consider a 'tile' (e.g., Racedeck, Proslat) at all? That is the other path I'm considering.

Cheers Hugh

Onewolf · Apr 24, 2015

I'm starting to put together my plan/schedule for applying epoxy coating to our new detached garage floor. The slab is 4000PSI, fiber mesh, machine troweled, and was poured about 5 months ago.

The area I plan to apply epoxy (primer, epoxy, random flake, topcoat) is about 1200 sq ft. I plan to rent the Home Depot floor finisher and Diamabrush. I plan to use a 7" Diamabrush to handle the edges/corners.

I was curious what's a reasonable amount of time that I should plan to take to prep the floor? One full day? Two days? etc

Thanks

Shea · Apr 24, 2015

Assuming you aren't needing to make crack repairs or want to fill your contraction joints, with the set up you have, you should be able to do 1200 sq ft in less than a day.

Denwood · Apr 24, 2015

Hugh, I actually am sorting out a wash/drain parking pad. There is no solution out there for a drainage tile that actually contains and manages water, instead of just letting it drain through. My garage has no drain, and a wierd slope so it needs a combination of parking mat and drainage tile. I have some Racedeck samples here so am pondering a slick solution.

NY98M3 · Aug 2, 2015

Home Depot is telling me to use water while grinding...whats the consensus on this?

they only have the 12 blade Diamabrush unit

90sparty · Aug 2, 2015

HD told me the same thing and were pretty adamant about it. I decided against it as it sounds like if you let it dry it is an even bigger mess. I was concerned about a giant dust cloud doing it dry but that didn't happen (at least not when grinding) as the wheel turns at low RPM with a Clarke floor polisher. Now I did experience a big dust cloud afterwards as I used a backpack blower as a first step in clearing out the dust but there are other ways to handle it.
Don

LegacyIndustrial · Aug 2, 2015

Wet makes a slurry that cannot be allowed to dry on the surface. It's a mess. Try to go dry. Keep a fan going behind you and where a dust mask.

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NY98M3 · Aug 2, 2015

ok, so no good to use wet.

What about vacuuming and powerwashing afterwards? Do I need to etch it after grinding?

I just want to make sure I get ALL the dust up and/or off.

LegacyIndustrial · Aug 2, 2015

Pressure wash is ok. However, leave plenty of dry time as moisture lingers in cracks and joints for a while. No etch required.

We sweep, power-blow, sweep, power-blow and then wipe with denatured alcohol.
No water, no issues, faster return to service.

Good luck.

INTMD8 · Aug 3, 2015

How do the diamabrush wheels look that you guys are renting? I plan to do this on Saturday but the two local stores that have this, the edges of the wheel look pretty beat. As in, folded over a bit and rounded off.

Grind your floor DIY with HD Diamabrush rental

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