I am going to paint or epoxy the 20ft long x 3ft parking curb and step the in back of my garage and was wondering if I should etch the concrete with muriatic acid first or grind it with a diamond grinder. I was all set on using the acid etch, but after reading a lot of posts it looks like some people are going to the diamond grinding. My biggest thing with grinding is that (1) I would have to go to HD and rent the grinder & (2) the mess it would create. The ceiling and top half of my walls are already painted, and it sounds like grinding creates a huge mess. I also have a little bit of paint and glue on the floor if I acid etch will this clean up those spots, or would I still have to go over them with a grinder? Is there any other way of grinding without renting the 7" grinder from HD? Anything I could hook up to a drill? The finish is only going to have foot traffic, so I don't know how thorough of a job I need to do.
Acid Etch or Grind before finishing floor???
- Thread starter VIPER13
- Start date
Garage Flooring
ALLIANCE MEMBER
PLEASE GRIND. There are tons of successful acid etched floors that worked. There are also tons that didn't.
Shea
Well-known member
Acid etching most likely will not remove this. Acid works by reacting with the free lime in concrete and does not do well breaking down paint and glue.
If I grind, is there an easier way than renting a grinder and buying a wheel? If I was doing my whole garage floor that would be one thing, but for 60 square ft, I don't think it's worth the time or money. Has anyone used one of those black cleaning brushes with a drill, or do I really need to take off the top layer of the cement?
Garage Flooring
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Diamabrush hand tool and an angle grinder. Resist the urge to put to much pressure on it. Let the wheel do the work
benwah
Well-known member
You need to create a profile. A wire wheel will not do that. Ask around locally, maybe one of your buddies has a small grinder and another one has a diamond wheel.