I am considering grinding my floor to prep it.

[Sledgehammer]

I am considering grinding my floor to prep it. Due to its size and having to do it in sections since it is in-use and leaving my tools, racecar and parts outside is not an option.

What needs to be done after grinding? What is the best way to prepare? Shop-Vac, mop, pressure wash?

I am still trying to decide if I am going to do flakes or not since this is a working shop.

 

[rsanter]

if you are going to grind the floor, why dont you just grind it, polish it, put down an emulsifier (will seal/fill in all the concrete pores) and then throw down a little wax
the floor will look like it was done as terrazo

bob

 

[99E36M]

I'm assuming you are thinking about an epoxy floor paint? If so I've read that grinding it is the best way to get a lasting floor.

One question I'm having trouble with...Where do you rent a grinder??
________
condos in Jomtien

 

[afx]

I'm assuming you are thinking about an epoxy floor paint? If so I've read that grinding it is the best way to get a lasting floor.

One question I'm having trouble with...Where do you rent a grinder??

I rent my tools from sunbelt tools.

 

[tojan19]

I think it all depends on your local rental places. I was unable to find a place with a reasonable price on a grinder with diamond wheel. I decided to buy a hand grinder, diamond wheel, and dust hood and do it by hand. One of the guys here bought a specific bosch model for concrete grinding but it's kind of expensive. I got a hitachi 7" grinder for $85 off amazon, a 7" diamond wheel for $40 off ebay, and a dust hood for the grinder for $30 from dustlesstools off amazon. I'm just waiting on the dust hood to come in and hopefully I'll start grinding this weekend. Total cost of $155 and I can work at my own pace.
The guy with the bosch claimed it only takes a few hours to do the floor in a 2 car garage. That's with a 5" wheel. I've got a 7". I'll let everyone know how it goes. I will probably sell everything when I'm done. I don't really see a need to keep the stuff. Hopefully this will help out someone else on the board in the future.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

I'm assuming you are thinking about an epoxy floor paint? If so I've read that grinding it is the best way to get a lasting floor.

One question I'm having trouble with...Where do you rent a grinder??

here's one example: www.ur.com . Click on "download catalog PDF" and then "rental equipment". Look at page 106 of the catalog.

 

[99E36M]

I found a grinder to rent but it wasn't easy. Sunbelt and Taylor rental didn't have one in my area for rent.

So what is the best technique? I'm hoping I can get my 26x26 grinded Friday night into Saturday morning and get it back Saturday afternoon. Then maybe start the epoxy Sat night and finish Sunday.

Should I grind AND wash with acid or what?
________
Wiki Vaporizer

 

[Timm129]

I found that stone grinding worked fine for me. I was able to rent one locally. shop vac was of no use. I pressure washed after the grinding and mopped once with a cleaner and then mopped two more times and allowed to dry. make sure to use a top clear sealer after the expoy dries. I also did my shop in sections. make sure to fills all the cracks before doing any grinding.

 

[thegarageguy]

Stone grinding isnt aggresive enough. Diamond grinding will leave you a good profile. Shot blasting may be a bit too aggresive for a residential garage, but some swear by it. When you do grind or shot balst, you will want to ensure that all the dust is vacuumed up. No need to power wash or acid etch after grinding. It defeats the purpose.

I have found that if the dust from grinding isnt completely removed from the slab that it can possibly or eventually lead to failures. Just imagine a freshly grinded floor. The pores are now exposed. The concrete dust is just sitting on top or fall back into its pores. When priming, the chemical will naturally penetrate and will cause the dust particle to sit back on top. Therefore leaving a good potential for loss of adhesion. You'll know this was a dust particle failure when it does peel and you have little crystals attached to the sheet of epoxies backside.

Good Luck!

 

[99E36M]

So just grind and vac huh? Any need to clean small (quarter size) oil and or coolant stains prior to grinding? In the two months our cars has been in the garage I'm sure we have a couple small spots.

This is the weekend! Hopefully it works out!
________
hairy Cam

 

['the epoxy floor guy']

GRINDING is the Best choice for DIY.

Grinding the floor will remove the efflorescence (surface 'film') giving the floor both a 'groove' for a mechanical bond and exposed aggregate for a chemical bond.

I would GRIND and Sweep, then COAT. DO NOT POWERWASH, you 'could' acid etch but there is NO REASON. the grinding accomplishes the task that the acid does.

YES, without a coating you can grind your floor in 1-3 hours. a 5" machine will generally grind just as good and just as fast. Most 5" grinders spin at 11,000 rpm while 7"/9" Grinders usually 6000. So you will generally get the same work done.

If you have a 4-1/2" surface grinder already you can use that. Go to dustmuzzle.com and order the 5" dust muzzle for YOUR grinder $25.

You can purchase CHEAP wheels that will get you by on YOUR garage off EBAY for less than $20 in some cases.

I would use a shop vac to reduce the dust. You WILL need to clean the filter probably 10 times before the job is done but will really cut down the dust.

Hope this helps

 

[WolverineCoatings]

ALWAYS ask the manufacturer of the product/s you intend to use about thier recommendations!!!