Just used HD's Flior Maintainer w Diamabrush

[miken123]

Just wanted to make my remarks on the Hone D's rental Floor maintainer with the Diamabrush disc.

My concrete was only a few years old and was level so I just needed something to scuff it up in preparation for epoxy coat. I had heard here that the HD rented this out and that it was good for creating a profile.

It was heap to rent. About 110 for 24 hrs. Cheaper for 4.


I've never used a floor maintainer for anything in my life. The home D people really isn't give me any verbal instructions on how to hold the machine. The printed instructions said to hold the machine at arms length. DO NOT DO THIS!

After trying it twice and having he machine go out of control immediately I regrouped for the night and looked up the owners manual:
http://www.clarkeus.com/~/media/Pro...shers/ClarkeUS/PDF/FM/OperatorsManual-FM.ashx

Behold! It tells you to have your arms low and hands at your waist. Machine handle is shown by your belly button or lower.

Home D people are probably used to renting it out as a simple floor buffer which likely won't make the reactive torque with the floor to throw you for a ride. But on concrete you have to able to react a lot more torque!

After trying it the right way it was easy to get the hang of.
Did a good job scuffing the surface.
I'm going to vacuum it up and sweep and consider it ready for epoxy!

 

[hardhat]

Did it create alot of dust?

 

[Familyof8kids]

Pearl Abrasion Company w/ Hexpin

We used the HD floor maintainer with the above tool. They did not have the diamond brush heads in my local area at any HD or Lowes. This was great to pull off my previous water based stain and clear coats. It pulled them off like butter but took some time. Have to keep tool close to stomach or you will get you a$$ kicked. It was easy to handle but took a long time. Had to strap a sand bag to the top of the floor machine so it had enough weight to push against the floor or it would slide around alot. You can tilt the machine to the side and it will DIG a hole if you so want.

I wished I had the diamond tips for my application but no such luck. Mine did start to generate dust and sure the diamond tips would make a lot of dust. We even sprinkled sand on the surace to help control dust but with the tool I had it did not work that well.

 

[miken123]

Did it create alot of dust?

Not sure what counts as a lot of dust. I'd say yes but it isn't the cloud of dust leaving your garage thing. It just leaves a good layer of dust 1/8 or 1/4 inch on the floor.

I bought a breather (not just a little cup breather but one of those gas mask looking things). It was $30 but it stays put and your lungs are worth it!

You could do it with water as well but I chose not to.


As for post dust cleanup I shop vacuumed the floor but I only have the wide plastic nozzle attachment and although it picked up a lot of it it also pushed some into the ground. Booming now and it seems never ending.
I'm considering getting either an attachment with bristles or mopping.
Ideas welcome.

 

[miken123]

I'll also add that h depot has two diamabrush wheels you can rent. The Prep tool and the Coating removal tool.

I used the prep tool as I had no existing coating and had heard it was good from other posts here.

 

[Familyof8kids]

I'll also add that h depot has two diamabrush wheels you can rent. The Prep tool and the Coating removal tool.

I used the prep tool as I had no existing coating and had heard it was good from other posts here.

We was told the same about both for rental but both of our HD's in our area 25 minutes from Nashville TN did not have both. The said some larger markets have both? I thought Nashville was a large enough market but I must be wrong. The HD tool rep did refund 75% of the rental cost since it was not the one we wanted or needed so it made up for any bad comments about the performance.

 

[miken123]

On a related note -- I want to wipe down my floor (post grinding) to remove all the dust.

I already vacuumed it several times with my shop vac so there's only a minimal amount of dust that comes up if you say , rub your finger on the floor.

Is denatured alcohol good for this? Xylene? I don't want to leave any residues!

Maybe just a damp (not dripping) mop or sponge passed over a few times? I won't be putting down epoxy until the weekend after this one coming up so I'm not worried about it not drying in time from a simple damp mopping.. Just want ideas on the best chemical (if not water) to use!

 

[Familyof8kids]

After I did grinding I used my gas blower and did walls, bench, door frames, floor etc as good as possible. I also used acid over the grind then baking soda/TSP tight after to neutral the area just because I wanted to see what it would do. Did nothing since no lime was left.

I suggest good old water since you have time for it to dry out. Much less $$ and you do not have to run to the store.

 

[miken123]

Thx for the reply FamOf8!

Good info. I figured the water was a good recommendation. On the other hand I already have some denatured alcohol in the house! I was just going to dampen my mop / sponge and go to town with it. Does anyone know for sure that denatured alcohol is 'safe' to use as epoxy prep and won't leave a residue?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

We use it when recoating and for cleaning tools.

 

[Edger]

When you want to remove the dust properly I suggest you use a small amount of detergent in buckets of water and spread them while walking around with a fine bristle broom. Then rinse out with a hose. Fine bristles get into the pores, stiff just ride over the top.

What you want to do is gently agitate the dust into the detergent solution, keep it wet and wash it away. I tend to think anything wiped over the surface will not pick up much dust, just push it into the hollows, cracks and small holes.

 

[benchracer1]

Old thread I know. I will be renting the home depot diamabrush grinder this weekend. For Joe average guy how many feet do you guys think is realistic for a day rental? I have a 1200 sf. Shop....steve

 

[Shea]

You can do a 400sf garage floor in 2-3 hours. You should be able to do 1200sf in a day.

 

[benchracer1]

Perfect. See how I feel the next day

 

[packman21]

Benchracer, how did the HD Diamabrush prep tool work for you? I use this tool almost every weekend since I do epoxy floors for a living. I don't recommend using the concrete prep tool for prepping your floor but actually prefer the mastic removal tool. It is more aggressive and will accomplish the same goal but quicker. Let me know if you have any questions and how it turned out.

 

[benchracer1]

Haven't done it yet. Still scrubbing oil spots. I'm glad you pointed out the difference in tools. I was wondering which I would be better with. Would the mystic tool be to aggressive for a novice?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Concrete prep 25 grit is good.

Mastic tool is for mastics, coatings, etc... Much slower to prep.


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