I've got a new 30x40 shop that will be getting a floor treatment before I move too many things into.
With this being a brand new build and having no traffic or debris or oil on the floor, I opted to etch the concrete versus grinding.
Talking with the floor rep, I had a good game plan in that I would etch the floor to a 120 grit sandpaper surface. Pretty easy. I mixed up a muriatic acid solution of 4 gallons of water to 2 quarts of acid and brushed the solution on, working in sections, let it set for 5-10 minutes and flooded the floor to rinse away the acid. I then swept off the excess water and poured/brushed on more solution, let it stand 10 minutes and flooded the floor again. It was evident that we were going on the positive direction as the surface had become rough - about 120 grit rough, and small pebbles were making themselves known in the concrete mix.
To make sure I had neutralized and cleaned the surface, I powerwashed the floor and swept it out one last time. So far, so good.
Trying to insure the cleanest surface possible - because everyone knows proper prep and cleanliness is key to a good final product, I decided to mop the floor..........,with a brand new cotton mop head.........I took to the floor and realized halfway through that cotton = lint.
So now I have a floor that was close to being ready for color, except for the fact that I now need to delint my floor. Such is life.
So far, I've only got about 8 hours of work invested into the floor so I'm pretty pleased with my progress.
With this being a brand new build and having no traffic or debris or oil on the floor, I opted to etch the concrete versus grinding.
Talking with the floor rep, I had a good game plan in that I would etch the floor to a 120 grit sandpaper surface. Pretty easy. I mixed up a muriatic acid solution of 4 gallons of water to 2 quarts of acid and brushed the solution on, working in sections, let it set for 5-10 minutes and flooded the floor to rinse away the acid. I then swept off the excess water and poured/brushed on more solution, let it stand 10 minutes and flooded the floor again. It was evident that we were going on the positive direction as the surface had become rough - about 120 grit rough, and small pebbles were making themselves known in the concrete mix.
To make sure I had neutralized and cleaned the surface, I powerwashed the floor and swept it out one last time. So far, so good.
Trying to insure the cleanest surface possible - because everyone knows proper prep and cleanliness is key to a good final product, I decided to mop the floor..........,with a brand new cotton mop head.........I took to the floor and realized halfway through that cotton = lint.
So now I have a floor that was close to being ready for color, except for the fact that I now need to delint my floor. Such is life.
So far, I've only got about 8 hours of work invested into the floor so I'm pretty pleased with my progress.