Old Paint Chipping Garage floor

[HunterDan]

Well first off, Im new here. My names Dan, and I am just about to purchase my first house, were closing on May 19th. The thing im most excited about is the 2 1/2 car garage that comes with it. Its 28'x23', and just over 8' cielings.

First and foremost, I wanted to lay a floor down before I move all of my stuff over. Im thinking gray epoxy-coat w/blue flake mixture. Now heres where Im stuck. The floor has old paint on it thats mostly chipped up. How can i get rid of all that so my new floor wont have any problems?

Thanks in advance!

Dan

 

[rugerlady]

Hi Dan,
Your best bet would be to rent a diamond grinder. This will work two-fold for you. it will remove the existing paint and profile the concrete for the epoxy application. You can rent these machines from your local tool rental company or from HD. Please let me know if I can help with anything else.

 

[HunterDan]

Thank you very much! SO diamond grind, then acid wash? then the floor will be prepped and ready?

 

[knedgr]

I have to do this also in the near future, keeping an eye out on this thread. Thanks

 

[Cruzin90]

I'm sure rugerlady will chime in, but if you grind, you do not have to acid etch.

 

[Flooring For Garage]

Agreed, just be sure to keep the surface clean in the meantime...

 

[Cal Concrete Restoration]

I'm sure rugerlady will chime in, but if you grind, you do not have to acid etch.

Cruzin90,

You are right. The objective of preparing the floor for new epoxy is to remove old bond-breakers and to provide a porous surface for the epoxy to sink into. Grinding the old surface will accomplish that goal nicely.

Test the surface after grinding and cleaning by spilling a few ounces of water on several areas of the slab. They should turn dark immediately from the water indicating that they are porous. If any areas bead up from the water, they need to be ground off again.

Look at our free report on epoxy floor prep at www.squidoo.com/epoxyfloorprep.

Patrick

 

[rugerlady]

I'm sure rugerlady will chime in, but if you grind, you do not have to acid etch.

Sorry, fell asleep at the wheel on that one. True if you grind, no acid etching is necessary.

 

[Edger]

For more info on coatings and preparation go to http://www.situp.com.au/Concrete garage floor coating.html

 

[mekons]

Hello Hunter Dan,

Want to let you know there is a pretty steep learning curve in renting a diamond grinder to grind-off 650 sq.ft. of peeling paint. If you wet grind you'll create a nice, gooey slurry that will need to be contained. Have a friend with a squeegee and shop vac ready.If dry grinding, be sure your supplied with a good dust collection system and you should find out how old is the paint. (lead). With the help you'll receive from this forum, the chipfloor can be a fun project. Grinding the floor ? You should consider a pros help or advice. Best luck

 

[Edger]

Hello Hunter Dan,

Want to let you know there is a pretty steep learning curve in renting a diamond grinder to grind-off 650 sq.ft. of peeling paint. If you wet grind you'll create a nice, gooey slurry that will need to be contained. Have a friend with a squeegee and shop vac ready.If dry grinding, be sure your supplied with a good dust collection system and you should find out how old is the paint. (lead). With the help you'll receive from this forum, the chipfloor can be a fun project. Grinding the floor ? You should consider a pros help or advice. Best luck

Even contractors get it wrong. Sometimes the paint is sticky, sometimes it is peeling, but impossible to remove where it has stuck, sometimes the concrete is too hard for the diamonds, sometimes .....

I would definitely suggest you hire a contractor for the prep because then it is his problem. You may be lucky and find that the hire gear works brilliantly! Or you could try that Soy based coating remover.