Any tips/help on grinding

[Ryan M]

I am most likely getting ready to rent an Edco floor grinder w/ diamond cutters. I degreased the floor yesterday. Originally I was going to acid etch and then grind to smooth it out. I had a couple of bad patch jobs.

After doing a little bit of reading, it sounds like I can skip the acid and just grind the floor. Anything I should look out for before grinding. I will get the safety gear, but don't want to end up taking off too much concrete or screwing it up somehow.

Thanks
Ryan

 

[sjsfire]

I just used one of those about a month ago to prep my floor. The only difference was the unit I rented had 3 carbide steel blocks on the rotating wheel, not diamond blades. It worked fine, you won't really get a smoth surface though. Mine ended up like about the same as 100-120 grit sandpaper feel. Which is fine if your going to use a epoxy style paint, thats what they recommend anyway. The unit I used, you would have to work real had to screw it up and take too much off. Just don't let it sit in the same spot....keep it moving. I'm 6ft 5in so the handle on mine was a little short. I had a old chair that had castor wheels so, I pulled it up and sat down behind the machine and it worked great. Just wheeled around the garage fine. Believe me when I tell you the little paper dust masks with the metal strip to seal around your nose won't work. Get a decent mask that seals good, I blew gray dust out of my nose for 2 or 3 days and it scewed up my sinuses (sp?) big time. What are you going to apply to the floor? I used a colored sealer, never was sold on "garage floor paint" of any kind. Good luck and take some pictures to share. Here's a few of mine, I just wished I had taken some of the grinding progress.