Floor Preparation Resources

[LegacyIndustrial]

I stumbled into The Home Depot recently and wanted to share what I found in the rentals department... I found that all the tools, required for a great epoxy/urethane or polyaspartic coating installation, formerly not available or not easily sourced, for the DIY, are very available! From basic grinding with a Diamabrush tool, to heavier removal equipment like an Edco Grinder and Sanding Screens for recoats. It's all there, making your coating experience that much easier to accomplish. Take a look!

• Clarke Floor Buffers and Sanders
• Sanding Screens, various grits for recoats
• Edco 10" Diamond Grinders
• Diamabrush Concrete Prep Tools
• Diamabrush Mastic Removal Tools

Lastly, and most important... you may not find folks experienced in every aspect of the prep-process at these home centers, rental houses or some web-sites. Bring those questions to this forum, there are many of us who have used this equipment extensively and can speak from real-world experience.

 

[keperkey]

Scotty,

How about walking through a few scenarios that a typical customer might find and describe the right tools and process for the prep.

Kevin

 

[BigNuge]

I'm interested in knowing the total cost (from someone who has don't it DIY style) for a coating project start to finish, including prep.

I priced up the tile options (racedeck)...$$$$yikes$$$$


Sent from Taptalk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Scotty,

How about walking through a few scenarios that a typical customer might find and describe the right tools and process for the prep.

Kevin

Kevin:
A standard garage with no coatings present? Diamabrush Concrete Prep Tool or Prep Plus, mounted to a Clarke sander. Should take 4-5 hours to go over the floor depending on size.

Light Coatings present? Diamabrush Mastic Removal Tool, may take a little longer but does a good job.

Heavy Coatings present? GO for the Edco 10" Will make better time.

Coatings present that are down tight?? Sand with a sanding screen mounted to a buffer. Solvent wipe when complete and coat. In many cases no primer is required for this situation.

Hope this helps!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I'm interested in knowing the total cost (from someone who has don't it DIY style) for a coating project start to finish, including prep.

I priced up the tile options (racedeck)...$$$$yikes$$$$


Sent from Taptalk

BigNuge:
Rental of equip: $100-120.00
Epoxy Coatings with Tools: 1.30- 1.40 psqft (option dependent)
Locally supplied extras: $30-40.00

This is realistic for a Tri-Coat epoxy system (primer, base, urethane clear) w/flakes.

 

[packpride85]

If doing a wet grind, what's the preferred method for cleaning up the wet slurry?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

You want to keep a flat shovel and street broom handy. Slurry needs to be dealt with while still wet.

Professionals never do this wet. It makes a mess and slows the process down as you need to wait days for the floor to dry. Better off using the correct dust capturing equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shea]

10-4 to what Scotty said above. If you have to do it wet however, keep the floor wet and do not let the slurry dry out. The best bet is to do a 4'x4' square at a time and then use a wet vac to **** up the majority of the slurry. Then you can hose out the remainder.

 

[bjl95mustang]

The home depot by my house recommended the floor polisher for the dimabrush. He said it's too hard on the floor maintainer. He also said the floor polisher is cheaper.

 

[packpride85]

You want to keep a flat shovel and street broom handy. Slurry needs to be dealt with while still wet.

Professionals never do this wet. It makes a mess and slows the process down as you need to wait days for the floor to dry. Better off using the correct dust capturing equipment.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did any of the HD rentals have the vac attachment?

 

[Garage Flooring]

I'm interested in knowing the total cost (from someone who has don't it DIY style) for a coating project start to finish, including prep.

I priced up the tile options (racedeck)...$$$$yikes$$$$


Sent from Taptalk

A decent interlocking tile should be about $2.39 to $2.99 / Sq. Ft. We have a couple really good ones on sale for $2.39. We have a great coating system with lots of info on the forum, our BLOG and all over the web that is about .84/ Sq. Ft and no real prep work in most cases. Epoxy systems are all over the board, really depends on what you want and how big the job.

If I were doing a true Epoxy, I would grind, prime, high solids base, flake and a good top coat -- which will vary depending on where you are.

I wanted to take a closer look at these numbers for you.


Equipment Rental $200-300
Sundries: $50 - $100

I found a low-end epoxy on Home Depot starting at .50 / Sq. Ft.
Epoxy Coat with Clear Coat is running between $1.00 - $1.13 / Sq. Ft.
TrueLock Primer, 93% solids base coat, flake & aliphatic top coat $1.10 - $1.50 / Sq. Ft

What gets goofy about the pres per square foot is when you need 500 Sq. Ft and its a 400 Sq. Ft kit etc. Obviously you could get that price up much higher if you start adding full broadcast, multiple coats, etc.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Thanks for the advertisement.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Did any of the HD rentals have the vac attachment?

Yes, they had the Clarke Sander, RS16dc. Very good machine. If you hook up to a shop vac be sure to use a liner bag or a dust deputy. Makes a world of difference.

Your ordinary filter will be clogged in 5 minutes without it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

The home depot by my house recommended the floor polisher for the dimabrush. He said it's too hard on the floor maintainer. He also said the floor polisher is cheaper.

Any buffer should do the job pretty well.
The dust capturing model is best.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rburke65]

What is a liner bag or a dust deputy? Thanks.

 

[tncatadjuster]

Dust Deputy is a mid hose dust separator and works like a charm.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/...&KPID=19913726&kpid=19913726&pla=pla_19913726

The liner bags go in shop backs and catch the dust before it gets to the filter in a convent bag for disposal, very expensive and worth twice the price.

.

 

[tracer55]

So wanting to start the prep on my garage floor that was poured last Oct. and will probably go thru HD for the equipment. Needs some suggestion
My floor was hand troweled by a two man team and one was better at it than the other. So 1 side of may garage seems real nice while the other side finish is much rougher. Can see ridges where the trowel marks are and the finish on the one side is quite porous looking and rough What can I rent from HD that will smooth out the ridges and level out the side that is rough?
Planning on putting down Rust Bullet so I did not want a power trowel fininsh but would have liked a smother finish than what I now have.
Thanks

 

[davidlee]

You will definitely need some type of dust separator. I just finished prepping my floor for Rust Bullet and I ground off about a yard of concrete. I did have a cold joint ridge which took a lot of work but you generate a LOT of dust. I started with a new shop vac and it lasted less than 5 minutes before the filter was plugged up. A friend had a cyclone separator on a 55 gal drum that I borrowed. I could have not done the job without it. I know that sounds like a lot of dust but I have a 2/3 yd loader on my tractor and I dumped it more than once.
I rented the Edco grinder from HD. It cost about $200. for 24 hours. I did the trim work with a 7" Dimabrush on my angle grinder with a vacuum shroud. The shop is prox 1300 sq ft.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

David I get it. Using moisture-cured urethane as a 3 coat system only gives you 5-6 mils of thickness. It hides little and so it's important that you grind until the cows come home, and grind some more.

100% solids epoxy hides a millions sins, even a so-so grinding job will look awesome. In the end your topcoat is still a moisture cured urethane offering excellent protection to the build coats.

 

[tracer55]

I have thought about putting down some of the color chips after the 2 coats of Rust Bullet thinking it might hide some of the concrete imperfections. How many pounds would I need to do a light to med broadcast on 900sq feet?
What would be a relatively inexpensive clear that can be used over the rust bullet and how many coats do I need to apply?
Thans

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Tracer:

You would have to contact the mfg. on the topcoat and be sure to sand/solvent wipe any moisture cured urethane requiring a topcoat after the chemical-bond window has closed. 100 sq ft per pound is great for hiding some imperfections, 9-10 pounds total.

 

[JJcantdrive55]

Hello All,

I have been visiting the site/blog for awhile now and decided it was time to join. I'm currently planning on finishing 2 two car garages and 1100 Sq.ft of basement. I want to go with epoxy and if I do is the recoat prep just screening the floor for texture wipe down and put more product down?

Thanks

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

JJ:
Yes, sand and a solvent wipe. Topcoat with urethane and you won't need to do that re-coat, maybe ever.

 

[davidlee]

Aside form the cold joint issue another reason I had to do so much grinding was an existing area 12'x 48' that had been painted about 20 years ago. I wanted to be sure to remove all traces of the old paint.
I don't think you can do too much prep.
I am going to use five coats, three base and two clear with 220lbs flake

 

[Garage Flooring]

You will definitely need some type of dust separator. I just finished prepping my floor for Rust Bullet and I ground off about a yard of concrete. I did have a cold joint ridge which took a lot of work but you generate a LOT of dust. I started with a new shop vac and it lasted less than 5 minutes before the filter was plugged up. A friend had a cyclone separator on a 55 gal drum that I borrowed. I could have not done the job without it. I know that sounds like a lot of dust but I have a 2/3 yd loader on my tractor and I dumped it more than once.
I rented the Edco grinder from HD. It cost about $200. for 24 hours. I did the trim work with a 7" Dimabrush on my angle grinder with a vacuum shroud. The shop is prox 1300 sq ft.

David,

In speaking with you and working with you I have no doubt that you have done an unbelievable job prepping your floor. The filtration issue is something a lot of folks don't realize and dust control is a definite must.

No one around here will ever accuse anyone of over prepping a floor

 

[Garage Flooring]

I have thought about putting down some of the color chips after the 2 coats of Rust Bullet thinking it might hide some of the concrete imperfections. How many pounds would I need to do a light to med broadcast on 900sq feet?
What would be a relatively inexpensive clear that can be used over the rust bullet and how many coats do I need to apply?
Thans

I would 10# per 400 square feet, so 20 - 25 pounds should be good for medium. If you want than go 10# total

 

[TooMuchHair]

I've been reading everything I can on GJ for months trying to decide which treatment or densifier to do to my 3400 sq. ft. fab shop floor. (Yeah welding, cutting, and the occasioal sliding type of abuse) I sunk my money in ICF walls and lots of rebar, super nice 16'w x 13'-6" door, vaulted trusses for a 16' ceiling and so much more.... so money is tight too. I was just about ready to ask Scotty and Justin their thoughts on using the HD40 with a burnish and noticed the post on HD rentals. My HD shows (I haven't called yet) a Pearl Abrasives Hexpin Surface prep tool. So now my question is, what do you guys think about a DIY polish job? My floor is very flat and power troweled pretty smooth, but I did it myself (Sept 2014) and it varies a little bit, but overall quite smooth. I don't really want it to look like a dance floor, but just a little slicker/uniform than I might get with the HD40 and a burnisher pass or two. For looks and enhanced stain protection Recommendations please. Thanks in advance, GJ is awesome!

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Yes, if you follow our instructions, you cant go wrong.
Call me today if you need more info.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Garage Flooring]

I've been reading everything I can on GJ for months trying to decide which treatment or densifier to do to my 3400 sq. ft. fab shop floor. (Yeah welding, cutting, and the occasioal sliding type of abuse) I sunk my money in ICF walls and lots of rebar, super nice 16'w x 13'-6" door, vaulted trusses for a 16' ceiling and so much more.... so money is tight too. I was just about ready to ask Scotty and Justin their thoughts on using the HD40 with a burnish and noticed the post on HD rentals. My HD shows (I haven't called yet) a Pearl Abrasives Hexpin Surface prep tool. So now my question is, what do you guys think about a DIY polish job? My floor is very flat and power troweled pretty smooth, but I did it myself (Sept 2014) and it varies a little bit, but overall quite smooth. I don't really want it to look like a dance floor, but just a little slicker/uniform than I might get with the HD40 and a burnisher pass or two. For looks and enhanced stain protection Recommendations please. Thanks in advance, GJ is awesome!

Great question. I have deleted two answers so far, because a question similar to this has caused some disagreement in the past. Please understand that two professionals can have different opinions about product application. Honestly, if you had not mentioned me by name, I probably would not post a reply. I have the utmost respect for this forum and other users both professional and DIY. Sometimes our opinions vary

TL40 which falls under densifiers in the manufacturers catalog is a great product. The manufacturer would suggest that it is not a true densifier and should be used in combination with a densifier like TL37. We are sticking with that suggestion. The 40 series product contains silane an and other products which are ideal to apply just before the final step in grind and polish. The TL37 does the densification anthe TL40 provides a great deal of stain protection and water repellency

If you are looking for the polished concrete look, we would suggest going with either (a) a true grind and polish application or (b) the use of a wet look acrylic sealer such as TL8400. We do not believe that an acrylic sealer is your best option, but its there. While some success can be used in buffing TL40, that is just not the way we would go.

If you want to go the full grind and polish route, have a look at some of the articles that are out there

• http://www.concretesherpa.com/pdf/polish-floors
• http://www.werkmaster.com/concrete/

As a side note, on our website, in the concrete densifier page, we have made the manufacturer's original technical documents available. The only change we have made is for branding purposes. Regardless of what you decide to do, these documents provide essential information that will help you to make an informed decision.

Best of luck on your project.

 

[TooMuchHair]

Thanks so much to both of your prompt replies. I had noticed on your WS Justin the firm recommendation of using TL37 first, while Legacy had not mentioned that step. Hence the continued research. Depending what HD says about the availability of various grits/types of abrasives for there Pearl Abrasives Prep tool I might have to accept a simpler application finished with just the burnish pad. I'll be back on after I get that info. Thanks again, and please if anybody else has any experience please jump in. My number one concern is dusting, but like most everybody else want it to look nice and part of that is some level of stain protection.
I searched (for several hours) for previous comments that may have addressed most of this, but could not find it. Maybe it was removed ?

 

[Garage Flooring]

Thanks so much to both of your prompt replies. I had noticed on your WS Justin the firm recommendation of using TL37 first, while Legacy had not mentioned that step. Hence the continued research. Depending what HD says about the availability of various grits/types of abrasives for there Pearl Abrasives Prep tool I might have to accept a simpler application finished with just the burnish pad. I'll be back on after I get that info. Thanks again, and please if anybody else has any experience please jump in. My number one concern is dusting, but like most everybody else want it to look nice and part of that is some level of stain protection.
I searched (for several hours) for previous comments that may have addressed most of this, but could not find it. Maybe it was removed ?

Sending a PM

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Thanks so much to both of your prompt replies. I had noticed on your WS Justin the firm recommendation of using TL37 first, while Legacy had not mentioned that step. Hence the continued research. Depending what HD says about the availability of various grits/types of abrasives for there Pearl Abrasives Prep tool I might have to accept a simpler application finished with just the burnish pad. I'll be back on after I get that info. Thanks again, and please if anybody else has any experience please jump in. My number one concern is dusting, but like most everybody else want it to look nice and part of that is some level of stain protection.
I searched (for several hours) for previous comments that may have addressed most of this, but could not find it. Maybe it was removed ?

TooMuchHair:
You are confusing our products. Our products, manufactured by Legacy Industrial and on the market for many years, have nothing to do with the other vendor you mentioned.

Although there is a very striking resemblance in model numbers and the vendor's descriptions, they are very different products. I can see how one would be confused.

Hope this helps.

 

[TooMuchHair]

Update after checking Home Depot's Hexpin Floor Prep tool

Well, I went to my Home Depot yesterday, HD does NOT have the diamond tips for polishing, they only have the carbide cutters for aggressive removal. HD's website just pasted info from Pearl Abrasive, which indicates all of the options. NOT AVAILABLE at HD.
So the polish fantasy has ended. Ha

 

[PipeLayaz]

Update after checking Home Depot's Hexpin Floor Prep tool

Well, I went to my Home Depot yesterday, HD does NOT have the diamond tips for polishing, they only have the carbide cutters for aggressive removal. HD's website just pasted info from Pearl Abrasive, which indicates all of the options. NOT AVAILABLE at HD.
So the polish fantasy has ended. Ha

Have you checked a local Lowes or perhaps other hardware shops that rent out equipment?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Conventional concrete polishing equipment is very large and very expensive. Most of it requires 3 phase power to boot. Diamabrush has a unique and manageable polishing system but the tooling is still out of reach for the DIY user, unless he has in enough square footage to make sense of it.

Proper polishing involves many steps with ascending levels of diamond tooling, densification and burnishing post polish for protection.

 

[TooMuchHair]

Conventional concrete polishing equipment is very large and very expensive. Most of it requires 3 phase power to boot. Diamabrush has a unique and manageable polishing system but the tooling is still out of reach for the DIY user, unless he has in enough square footage to make sense of it.

Proper polishing involves many steps with ascending levels of diamond tooling, densification and burnishing post polish for protection.

Yeah, I get it ! Polishing WAS a fantasy, it's over now. Now back to reality, no dusting and durability are back in the spotlight, with cost close behind. Still studying.... Thanks !

 

[Edward Ramirez]

Scotty,

We just moved into a newly built home with an attached garage so the cement is new. Out of all things I wanted to avoid was spilling something on the garage floor. Well, that’s what happened. A gallon size container of WD-40 was left with the cap half screwed on and spilled through a box it was boxed in. It made a 2’x3’ spill/stain on the floor. I would say a large portion evaporated but I would like to clean the surface in order to prep the concrete.

Below are the steps I was going to do in order to prep the floor:

1. Degrease the area
2. Polish the whole floor (what grit)
3. Clean/prep with Muriatic Acid
4. Primer
5. Epoxy

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Degrease, grind with 25 grit Diamabrush prep tool, prime, epoxy. No etching required when you grind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Edward Ramirez]

Thanks!