concrete prep

[GoLakers]

Hello all,
I am new to the forum. I have enjoyed the reading so far. My garage has been a work in progress for some time now. The walls have been painted and my next step is to paint the floor. The house originally had a 2 car garage attached to it and the prior owner attached a third bay as well. I was given a Rust-oleum epoxy kit and clear coat kit as Christmas gifts. My experience with any type of painting is that preparation is extremely important so I want to do this project right the first time. This seems to be the place to ask!

The garage floor was painted by the previous owner. It is just a simple gray paint (not epoxy.) Some areas where the tire treads normally sit are starting to peel. The concrete has no cracks. What is the best way to prep the floor?

Should I just use the etcher that came in the kit?
Some type of acid?
I have seen recommendations for the Home Depot diamond grinder for the removal of epoxy. But as I mentioned before this is not epoxy.


I would appreciate any advice. I will post pictures of the work in progress once I get started.

 

[Shea]

You are 100% correct about good floor prep. The best way to remove the paint from your floor and prep it at the same time is to grind it. Yes, the Diamabrush rental works well for that.

You can't use acid on paint effectively, it will mostly just sit there and not do much. It needs to react with the lime in the concrete to etch. You can always strip the paint chemically and then acid etch, but that process would involve more work than grinding.

 

[GoLakers]

I will be starting he grinding process once I get the garage cleaned out. Is it necessary to use the acid wash after grinding?

How long should I wait for the base coat to dry before applying the clear?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Grinding should be plenty.
Make sure you vac and sweep several times.

 

[GoLakers]

I was able to finish the small third car garage. I was amazed at how easily the diamond brush took the old finish off. However the dust was completely unbarable and I could only run the grinder for about 30 seconds at a time. The worst part is that I live in a subdivision and my neighbor's cars were covered in dust. I had to power wash my house when I was finished.

Therefore I will not be grinding the 2 car garage. I bought some paint stripper from HD yesterday. The instructions say to let it sit for 15 minutes then scrape then rinse. I let it sit for 15 minutes, scraped, and no paint came up. All it did was just clean the surface. So i put on another very thick coat, let it sit for 30 minutes, still no paint coming up. If the existing paint is bonded so well that paint stripper will not remove it, is it safe to just thoroughly clean it and paint the new epoxy over it?

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

I was able to finish the small third car garage. I was amazed at how easily the diamond brush took the old finish off. However the dust was completely unbarable and I could only run the grinder for about 30 seconds at a time. The worst part is that I live in a subdivision and my neighbor's cars were covered in dust. I had to power wash my house when I was finished.

Therefore I will not be grinding the 2 car garage. I bought some paint stripper from HD yesterday. The instructions say to let it sit for 15 minutes then scrape then rinse. I let it sit for 15 minutes, scraped, and no paint came up. All it did was just clean the surface. So i put on another very thick coat, let it sit for 30 minutes, still no paint coming up. If the existing paint is bonded so well that paint stripper will not remove it, is it safe to just thoroughly clean it and paint the new epoxy over it?

The DiamaBrush can be run with the floor wet. Also, they usually have a port to attach a shop vac to them if you want to run it dry. The DiamaBrush is going to be a lot less work and hassle. You should plastic off the rest of the house from the garage or any space you're grinding in. Do it this way and you cry once.

As for the existing coating, I would not spend hundreds of dollars or more on a coating and install it unless the prep work was 100% right on. I wouldn't suggest leaving the coating. If you do and a problem arises, then you have wasted the coating and created a lot more work for yourself.

As for the dust, there is a reason why professionals charge a good amount for their services. Any kind of construction or remodeling work is just that WORK. Dusty, dirty, dangerous, nasty, foul, work.

 

[GoLakers]

Thanks for the tip. The water hose trick has helped a lot. I have been able to grind about 1/4 of the floor in only about 1.5 hours. It was a lot slower with all the dust flying. Thanks for the tip! This will also cut down on the time required for cleanup at the end.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

GoLakers - You're welcome. I'm sure everyone would love to see pics of your progress.


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[LegacyIndustrial]

The Home Depot units do not have the dust port.

It's a shame as its not an expensive option on the Clarke machines.


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