Conc Floor Etching Question...

[Stump]

I've just etched my garage concrete floor. I'm finding tiny little fibres embedded in the concrete after washing the etching solution ( muratic acid / water ) away. Is this normal, it doesn't seem right to me, but this is the first time I've etched a floor so who knows.

The small hairs are only about a 1/4" long and they are anchored in the concrete. At first I thought it was my scrub brush coming apart on the etched rough surface, but it's a thick plastic bristled brush, it doesn't resemble the haris in the concrete at all. Plus, the hairs are definately anchored in the conrete.

Is maybe some kind of additive that was added to the concrete when poured ( poured over the winter )?


I took a piece of sandpaper, and I can get rid of the hairs with that, but that would be a lot sanding. I would need to rent a machine I would think.


Any comments or clues would be appreciated.

Thanks. Jeff

Edited to add:, Btw, I'm prepping for the Rustoleum Prof Epoxyshield stuff, so just need to know if these hars are normal and go ahead with the epoxy application, or rent a sander and get rid of the fibres.

 

[GearHead_1]

Sometimes contractors use cement that has a fiber in it. I've heard people talking about their "hairy" floors in the forum before.

 

[rickas]

Call the Rustoleum HELP line. The tech was very helpful to me, and he probably has dealt with your problem before. You may save yourself a lot of unnecessary work. I'd bet that the concrete is relatively new & its reinforced with fiberglas.

 

[Winmon]

I am sure it is fiber mesh you are seeing. I had them put it into my concrete mix to strengten it.

 

[Stump]

Thanks for the replies. It's not a the mesh stuff, I've seen that before, and it's usually deeper than just under the surface. These are tiny single strand fibers, they just caught me by surprise after etching. They didn't show on the concrete until after the etching, they were just barely under the surface I guess.


I actually did call the Rustoleum help line immediately after discovering the fibers. Unfortunately the message said to call back during regualr business M-F.

So, I decided I could either just wait till Monday and find out for sure, or go ahead and just do the paint now anyway, or rent a sander.......

I went ahead and rented the floor sander for the day and got the fibers taken care of now so I can paint first coat tomorrow. Still not sure if I had to or not, but I will contact Rustoleum just for future reference any how.

Thanks

 

[brownbagg]

just use a propane torch

 

[bmwpower]

I had the same problem. Sanding the floor before coating would not get rid of them completely. I ended up putting down one coat of epoxy, lightly sanding the hairs off, then putting down more epoxy. The epoxy seemed to make them stand up on end and, in turn, easier for the sander to cut them off.

 

[Stump]

Hmm, a propane torch, that would have been a good idea, wish I would have thought about that one


I just used one of those sanding screens ( 80 grit) on the floor buffer/sander machine and it worked like a gem on removing all the hairs.