Colin Len
Well-known member
I have a painted concrete front porch which is about 100sqft (plus another 40sqft or so of vertical surface) but would like to remove the paint and apply a clear sealer or coating. Tonight I tried a couple different methods but I'm still a little unsure of what would be the best course of action and was hoping to get some advice from the knowledgeable group here at GJ. There are at least 4 coats of paint on it, the first coats are likely oil based and could be as old as 1942. In order of cost:
1) HF Angle Grinder & Diamond Cup - I have these tools already and tested it out on about 4 sqft of patio. It went pretty smoothly and I estimate around 8-10 hours of grinding should take care of the whole thing. Doable over a weekend, free, but dusty and probably not much fun.
2) Rent a Concrete Grinder - This might be overkill and I've never used one so I have no idea if there's much of a learning curve or potential to screw something up. I'm guessing it'd work pretty darn quickly and the cost is $62 for 4hr or $88 for the whole day.
3) Buy a nice angle grinder + dust collection attachment - same as #1 except I get a nice new tool when I'm done
4) Rent a Floor Polisher + "Concrete Prep Tool" or "Coating Removal Tool" - My understanding is that this is a more appropriate tool for stripping paint when compared to the grinder above. But the same perils - I've never used one. Cost is more as well since the polisher and tool are separate rentals. Cost is $99 for 4hr or $112 for the whole day.
5) Sandblasting - I received 2 quotes and they were both $500. Expensive, but little work from me. Well, except that I'd still want to give the whole thing a once over with my diamond cup to attain the finish I want prior to coating.
Any help is greatly appreciated. (oh, and any tips on a good sealer or coating for my situation is also welcome )
And because threads without pics ****...
1) HF Angle Grinder & Diamond Cup - I have these tools already and tested it out on about 4 sqft of patio. It went pretty smoothly and I estimate around 8-10 hours of grinding should take care of the whole thing. Doable over a weekend, free, but dusty and probably not much fun.
2) Rent a Concrete Grinder - This might be overkill and I've never used one so I have no idea if there's much of a learning curve or potential to screw something up. I'm guessing it'd work pretty darn quickly and the cost is $62 for 4hr or $88 for the whole day.
3) Buy a nice angle grinder + dust collection attachment - same as #1 except I get a nice new tool when I'm done
4) Rent a Floor Polisher + "Concrete Prep Tool" or "Coating Removal Tool" - My understanding is that this is a more appropriate tool for stripping paint when compared to the grinder above. But the same perils - I've never used one. Cost is more as well since the polisher and tool are separate rentals. Cost is $99 for 4hr or $112 for the whole day.
5) Sandblasting - I received 2 quotes and they were both $500. Expensive, but little work from me. Well, except that I'd still want to give the whole thing a once over with my diamond cup to attain the finish I want prior to coating.
Any help is greatly appreciated. (oh, and any tips on a good sealer or coating for my situation is also welcome
)And because threads without pics ****...
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