is concrete grinding enough to prep for epoxy?

[drsifu]

I started on my Wolverine flooring project this weekend by hand grinding my 400 sq ft garage.

After about 15 hrs or so spread over 3 days, I am 75% done

After reading the DIY instructions provided by Wolverine, it appears hand grinding may not be sufficient to rough up the concrete.

I am hand grinding with a Bosch 1773AK with DC510 diamond cup wheel. It does a great job removing the sealer on the concrete, but I cannot honestly say that the surface it creates is rough to the touch. i want to avoid using muriatic acid.

I am thinking about renting a gas-powered pressure washer to clean out the garage after grinding. Will the pressure washer make the concrete a little rougher than it is now?

for those who have prepped with hand grinding, have you done any additional prep work prior to laying down the epoxy?

thank you

 

[lincolnxing]

I started on my Wolverine flooring project this weekend by hand grinding my 400 sq ft garage.

After about 15 hrs or so spread over 3 days, I am 75% done

After reading the DIY instructions provided by Wolverine, it appears hand grinding may not be sufficient to rough up the concrete.

I am hand grinding with a Bosch 1773AK with DC510 diamond cup wheel. It does a great job removing the sealer on the concrete, but I cannot honestly say that the surface it creates is rough to the touch. i want to avoid using muriatic acid.

I am thinking about renting a gas-powered pressure washer to clean out the garage after grinding. Will the pressure washer make the concrete a little rougher than it is now?

for those who have prepped with hand grinding, have you done any additional prep work prior to laying down the epoxy?

thank you

Prior to doing hand grinding we used a 3000 psi pressure washer on the entire garage floor and it cleaned pretty well but didnt visually make the concrete rougher. Will let you know what impact the pressure washer will have after grinding.

 

[AlphaGarage]

Our instruction do note that the surface should feel like 80 grit sandpaper, but some concrete is just a lot tougher to get to that profile.

If you're doing a good job with a diamond cup, then it should be sufficient for BondTite to adhere to. Keep in mind that at least two of the members here have posted about how BT1101 had to be chiseled off of concrete that had not even been cleaned, much less prepped, although, of course, we would not endorse that practice.

Finish up that 25%, and if you're grinding off the top and exposing fresh concrete, pressure wash it and coat away. You do not need to wait until the substrate is "bone dry," you want to sweep or squeegee out all standing water, and let it dry to the point where lighter dry spots start to appear, then coat.

Double check your ratios, mix carefully, follow directions, and have at it.

 

[thegarageguy]

Grinding should be enough. Now the trick is too remove all the concrete dust off your slab. This can cause your epoxies not to properly penetrate and give you a greater chance of future failure.

Vac it up and run a damp mop to ensure all dust is gone.

Good luck

 

[drsifu]

thanks for the advice.

i'm glad i don't have to wait for the slab to be bone dry.

i finished up another 12.5% and plan to finish up tomorrow.

Than I'll vaccum, pressure wash, squeegee and pressure wash and squeegee again. Hope to start applying the bondtite and integraflex in the expansion joints on friday and continue to the rest of the bondtite later that evening.

should have a picture by Sunday night.

thanks again for the advice.

 

[drsifu]

before and after pics of grinding

BEFORE

AFTER

CLOSE-UP

 

[AlphaGarage]

Looks like you are good to coat!

That's more than dry enough for BondTite 1101. Try coat later in the day as the slab is cooling, measure carefully, mix thoroughly, do not let the mix sit in the can, back roll it evenly, take your time, and follow the directions. Life, and your floor, will be excellent.

 

[drsifu]

sounds good.

i decided to not do the concrete on the side of the garage. might just paint it.

i also bought a 5 mil for the bondtite and a 20 mil for the liquatile notched squeegee. i have read that it helps, especially with the liquatile.

have several 18" rollers and some spiked shoes. i'll be ready this weekend and will make a new post when I am done.

 

[drsifu]

Finally DONE!!!

 

[jmh21586]

CLOSE-UP

I got pretty much the same result using 15 gallons of muratic on my 1000 sqft.

Simple and not nearly as time consuming or physical.
50/50 ratio and then just pour it out, wait ten minutes, rinse. No brushing. Tried brushing it on but it did nothing. Pouring it out did a great job.
Waited for floor to dry then pressure washed. Pressure washing didn't etch it any more than it already was from acid. But it cleaned it out well. Waited for that to dry then got it damp and shook out lots 8 of the large boxes of baking soda out on floor then broomed around. Let that dry overnight. Caulked the expansion joints yesterday.

Today a final rinse to get all the baking soda residue out.


I realize some don't like acid, but I use it very often at my job washing entire buildings, so I was right at home with it. God knows how long it would've took to grind the whole floor, even though I have all the grinders, vacums and cup grinders at my disposal from work.






I hope to be doing my coatings next weekend.

 

[awakeinAZ]

Good luck - should work fine!