packpride85
Well-known member
Just finished grinding off an old coating on my 2-car garage using the HD Clarke RS-16DC and Diamabrush coating removal tool. Figured I would throw some tips out here for others thinking about trying this as I've never used a floor polisher before.
First tip: If you've never used a floor polisher before, start in the middle of your room. Despite everything you'll probably read about how to control it, its a whole different story when you turn it on.....it WILL shoot out of control but thats ok. The handle should be adjusted so that it is right in your hip crease nearly touching it. A SLIGHT press down on the handle (towards the floor) will move it left, SLIGHT pull up (towards the ceiling) will make it go right. Push or pull slightly on the handle (away or towards you) and it will move forward/back. BE PATIENT. This will take you a few hours so don't rush it.
Second tip: If you're using a shop vac with dust bags make sure you get a few of them. You'll only be able to fill about half the bag before the weight of the dust rips it from the collar (change it before . By the time I was on my last bag (3rd one) my regular filter had to be sacrificed since the bag collar was torn.
Third tip: Even if you use the vac attachment there will me some dust. It won't create a cloud but will settle on the floor under the polisher. Every once in a while I would stop and vacuum the loose dust since it seemed to hamper the cutting ability of the blades if I didn't.
Fourth tip: So if you watch the Diamabrush tutorial video, it says to always use water. I tested it completely dry and using a very light mist and didn't really notice a difference in cutting ability. The light mist sections seem to produce more caking debris though.
The total time from starting the grind to finishing cleanup for me was 6 hours. It was about 3.5 hours of grinding with a few snack/beer breaks and 2.5 hours of cleanup/vacuuming. I went over the ENTIRE floor with my hose to make sure I got rid of that residual dust layer.
Next step: Will probably be picking up an HF 4.5" angle grinder, diamond turbo cup wheel, and shroud to do the edges/corners.
First tip: If you've never used a floor polisher before, start in the middle of your room. Despite everything you'll probably read about how to control it, its a whole different story when you turn it on.....it WILL shoot out of control but thats ok. The handle should be adjusted so that it is right in your hip crease nearly touching it. A SLIGHT press down on the handle (towards the floor) will move it left, SLIGHT pull up (towards the ceiling) will make it go right. Push or pull slightly on the handle (away or towards you) and it will move forward/back. BE PATIENT. This will take you a few hours so don't rush it.
Second tip: If you're using a shop vac with dust bags make sure you get a few of them. You'll only be able to fill about half the bag before the weight of the dust rips it from the collar (change it before . By the time I was on my last bag (3rd one) my regular filter had to be sacrificed since the bag collar was torn.
Third tip: Even if you use the vac attachment there will me some dust. It won't create a cloud but will settle on the floor under the polisher. Every once in a while I would stop and vacuum the loose dust since it seemed to hamper the cutting ability of the blades if I didn't.
Fourth tip: So if you watch the Diamabrush tutorial video, it says to always use water. I tested it completely dry and using a very light mist and didn't really notice a difference in cutting ability. The light mist sections seem to produce more caking debris though.
The total time from starting the grind to finishing cleanup for me was 6 hours. It was about 3.5 hours of grinding with a few snack/beer breaks and 2.5 hours of cleanup/vacuuming. I went over the ENTIRE floor with my hose to make sure I got rid of that residual dust layer.
Next step: Will probably be picking up an HF 4.5" angle grinder, diamond turbo cup wheel, and shroud to do the edges/corners.
