Basic steps before / during / after concrete grinding in prep for epoxy

[R-mm]

Hi all

I've read hundreds of threads here in preparation for my epoxy prime n prep. I'm going to rent a HD diamondbrush. Just ordered Legacy's WB primer and 100% solids epoxy.

Have some really basic questions on sequence and methods.

1. Presuming it makes sense to do a quick clean/degrease/power wash before grinding?
2. Grinding with a bit of water seems to make sense to keep dust down Anything to keep in mind? Is it harder to tell how much you're removing with water down?
3. Presume a good power wash / brooming / drying is in order after grinding

Other tips for a first time concrete grinder?

thanks

 

[Shea]

1. You only need to degrease if the floor is real dirty and has grease spots. If not, no need.

2. If you grind wet, keep it wet and do not let it dry out. Grind in sections and rinse with a high pressure nozzle as you go. A wet shop vac and then rinsing works better to collect the slurry. Run your fingers over the concrete as you go and compare it to a section you didn't do. It should feel rougher.

3. Cleaning out the slurry as you go is the best way get the floor clean. if the slurry settles back into the pores and dries, you will have to clean that much harder to get it out.

Make sure the concrete is bone dry before preceding with the epoxy. Moisture escaping as water vapor can cause your first coat to get bubbles if you don't. The primer you are using is a good choice and will help reduce that issue greatly.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Agree with Shea, wet grinding can be problematic. 95% of our customers dry grind as it's easier to get the dust off by vacuuming or power washing. Wet grinding slurry is normally picked by a slurry vac which is not a common tool people have.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If you use the pressure washer to clean allow a few days for the slab to dry properly. Air movement will help with this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[R-mm]

Thanks guys I really appreciate the responses. I'm going to grind tomorrow and leaning to dry based on what you have said.

I have a pressure washer and a so-so low HP wet vac. Is it safer to pressure wash / dry for a few days than to presume I'll get all the dust up by vacuuming?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Blowing and brooming takes care of the dust better than the vac.

 

[youwish2bme]

I purchased the UCOATIT product and ground the floor with a diamond grinder and did it dry. No dust in the air but plenty on the floor. My shop vac vacuumed it up no problem. Washed it down and scrubbed it. Then squeegeed it to get anything left. Next was to take the 4" angle grinder with a 36 grit disc on it to get close to the walls. Next was to acid wash the floor and wash it down to neutralize it.

UCOATIT wants the floor wet when you put down the bond coat. Then wait 4-6 hours and apply the color coat. Wait another 4-6 hours to lay the clear...


Grinding

Ground

Acid wash

Bond coat

Color / Flake coat

Clear...... and done!!!

 

[ddewey78]

I just did my 425 sq.ft garage with legacy's HD kit. I ground dry with a 7" grinder dry. With a good dust shroud, dust deputy and drywall bags the dust wasn't horrible, but I did vaccum, sweep, blow and repeat for 3-4 hours. I read of the mess water can cause and decided against it, plus with the drought in California, I figured a water nazi would turn me in!!

A few things I learned

1. TAKE YOUR TIME GRINDING!! If you have questions about if its ground well enough, go back over it.

2. I stopped every 15-20 minutes and vaccumed behind myself, I think this really helped keep things from getting out of hand dust wise.

3. Let the grinder do the work, don't get carried away with pressure.

When it comes time to put the coatings down

1. Mix well!!

2. When priming it will look horrible at first, with roller marks and different shades, it dries very consistent, don't stress out.

3. Legacy is very accurate with their coverage estimates, don't skimp, or you will be left with extra you wish you could put on in the far corner where you started thin.

4. Mix the epoxy well!!

5. A squeegee would have been a good investment

6. The epoxy covers well, don't go too thick and back roll in rows.

7. Spiked shoes are great, but the spikes are set in a bit, lift your feet up straight and don't lean sideways, they try to roll your ankles.

8. Clear coat, it goes a LONG way!! I had 1/2 gallon left over, don't put it on thick though.

9. Like the primer, it looks like hell going on ( I used California safe 2 part, goes on inconsistent and make lky white) dries amazingly uniform. Floor still looks wet a month later.

10. Spiked shoes, and apply flake after, start in an inconspicuous area to get your broadcasting method down.

Hope this helps. Here's my post http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=304089&referrerid=206895

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Excellent tips!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[R-mm]

Thanks very much for the tips guys! I rented the Diamabrush from HD and ground dry. Wet was looking aweful and it became clear my garage does not slope to the door. So things were dusty but not terrible. Had a buddy vacuuming behind me.

Since then I've brushed, broomed, brushed, to the best of my ability. Still I was not getting all the dust up. So I tried a well-wrung mop. After letting one pass dry well my finger is still coming up with dust. What's my best step from here?

My painter is coming around this week with a much better wet-dry vac than mine (which is now more or less dead after the grinding). What do you guys think?

 

[ddewey78]

Use a leaf blower. You'll be amazed how much sweeping and vacuuming leaves behind. Also dust and clean the entire garage before starting your floor. If you ground with the door open, close the door and wash it, you don't want dust falling off into still tacky flooring when you close it.

 

[R-mm]

Will borrow a blower thanks for the tip.

Can someone clarify what the purpose of the squeegee is ? Are we talking big 24" floor squeegee to work the HD epoxy on the floor or a little shower type one to get it out of the bucket?

I've not used a "pour out" type coating before and can't tell if its mostly self leveling and distributed with a squeegee or more or less rolls out like paint.

 

[Armorpoxy]

A squeegee, which we include in all of our Armorclad Kits (10 inch), is helpful to move the epoxy around and to get it close to edges without a lot of cutting in. Since no floor is perfectly level, we don't recommend using it alone for coating the floor as it can lead to unevenness. Always backroll if using a squeegee to get the floor even and to reduce squeegee lines from the edges.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Will borrow a blower thanks for the tip.

Can someone clarify what the purpose of the squeegee is ? Are we talking big 24" floor squeegee to work the HD epoxy on the floor or a little shower type one to get it out of the bucket?

I've not used a "pour out" type coating before and can't tell if its mostly self leveling and distributed with a squeegee or more or less rolls out like paint.

If you are using a 100% Solids Epoxy, a 1/8" notched squeegee is great.
If you are using a less than 100% solids, a flat squeegee is great.
If you get one, get a real coatings squeegee, 18" long minimum.

The notched squeegee helps to meter out the thick coating. A back-roll using a 3/8" non-shed roller is required afterward.

It is not a requirement to have these squeegees but they are great if you find you have dumped out too much coating in one area and wish to distribute it .

 

[ddewey78]

Will borrow a blower thanks for the tip.

Can someone clarify what the purpose of the squeegee is ? Are we talking big 24" floor squeegee to work the HD epoxy on the floor or a little shower type one to get it out of the bucket?

I've not used a "pour out" type coating before and can't tell if its mostly self leveling and distributed with a squeegee or more or less rolls out like paint.

I too was unsure of what use a squeegee was, so I did without one. It's not horrible, but it quickly became apparent how it would be helpful. I'll try the best I can to explain.

When you pour the epoxy, you have ribons, or in my case puddles of epoxy. Trying to spread it with a roller more smears it around than really rolling it. It's doable, but you wind up going over the area 3-4 times to get it consistent. With a squeegee I can see how it would be quite simple to distribute the epoxy more effectively, then simply back roll it.

I know it all sounds complicated, but once you start, it all really makes sense and is quite simple. I was a nervous wreck and worried I was going to royally screw it up, but it was really pretty simple, just follow the mfg mixing instructions to the letter and it will go smoothly. Hope this helps. I linked my write up in an earlier post, take a look. I had zero experience with concrete or epoxy before hand, and I think it came out exceptionally well

 

[R-mm]

Thanks again everyone - I got a 24in squeegee. The primer is down and curing and I have a friend coming to help with the epoxy tonight.

Do you still use a paint brush to cut in around the edges or do you squeegee/roller everything?

For a ~600sf garage am I going to be up against the 30min cure clock? Temps here in CT will be in the high 50's when I'm applying, i'll probably bring them up slightly with the Hot Dawg

 

[Shea]

A 3" chip brush works well. Just make sure there aren't any loose bristles before you begin as the brushes are not expensive. About $1.50 each at HD.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

We use the whizz rollers for the edging and only use the chip brushes for the tight spots.
Saves time and keeps the coatings more even.

 

[R-mm]

Thanks everyone - the epoxying went well and looks fantastic.

Only "hitch" which isn't really one is that it looks like the epoxy occasionally pulled naps from the roller and embedded them in the surface. I don't mind since I didn't use a friction modifier and this will give it a bit of tooth.

One question for the pros - I have no burning urgency to pull the cars inside and want it to cure as much as it will. Its been 4 days in CT which is high 60's by day, 40's by night. I read a lot about "hot tire pickup". Is this an issue when the tires are literally hot from driving or anytime there is a car parked on the coating? If the former, I'll roll the Porsche in right now (its been 4 days). But if 3 or more days will buy me some insurance, I'm happy to wait.

 

[clean92lx]

Thanks everyone - the epoxying went well and looks fantastic.

Only "hitch" which isn't really one is that it looks like the epoxy occasionally pulled naps from the roller and embedded them in the surface. I don't mind since I didn't use a friction modifier and this will give it a bit of tooth.

One question for the pros - I have no burning urgency to pull the cars inside and want it to cure as much as it will. Its been 4 days in CT which is high 60's by day, 40's by night. I read a lot about "hot tire pickup". Is this an issue when the tires are literally hot from driving or anytime there is a car parked on the coating? If the former, I'll roll the Porsche in right now (its been 4 days). But if 3 or more days will buy me some insurance, I'm happy to wait.

Subscribed for answer to this question, would also like to know about cure time before driving a car or rolling heavy tool box back into garage


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Always wait 5-7 days for epoxy/urethane systems.

2-3 days for polyurea/polyaspartic systems.

 

[R-mm]

Okay it's pull-in day and its raining here in CT, which makes me wonder what happens to all the water that will presumable just sit on the surface of my shiny epoxy floors. Do you guys who have these floors do anything to dry them, presuming you actually have wet and or snowy cars pulling in and out? I have a heater and dehumidifier but don't run either all the time.

 

[Shea]

The water will evaporate. It can leave a mild dirt ring around the edges of small puddles or create little water spots. These can easily be cleaned up however with a mild solution of water and vinegar and a damp mop.