prepping garage floor

[mmurfitt]

i am in the middle of redoing my garage floor. The previous owners used basement floor paint on top of the sealant, so it it peeling up everywhere. i started using a 4.5" angle grinder with a 4" Omega Double Row Diamond Cup Wheel. It looks like this is going to take a while to finish like this. I also cant keep the grinder from wobbling on me so the floor is uneven in spots.

Will Muriatic Acid be enough to take up the sealant and the paint or do I need to continue to with the grinder? i looked into renting a walk behind grinder but the cheapest i found was a couple hundred dollars per day. I am trying to keep this project going on a smaller budget, time isnt an issue though.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Grind, etching is only for bare concrete.

 

[bRIZZAd]

If time isn't an issue - then you can continue with the handheld. Your knees & back will pay for it if your wallet won't pay for the walk-behind though!

I did my 22'x24' with a 7" grinder, trading off/on w/ my father-in-law. Originally I had planned to do it on my own, but I'm quite thankful I was able to have assistance. This was on bare concrete w/ no coatings too!

If I were in your shoes, I would measure your progress by time vs. sqft cleared & see if you are willing to continue w/ the handheld with the known results & calculated end-time, or if it is worth the $ to rent a walk-behind.

 

[dcs Inc]

If the grinder is wobbling a lot, the cup could be unbalanced. After a while that will kill ya. It should ride smooth on the floor laying flat. Do not tilt the grinder to "hurry up" the process. It should ride flat with the floor. gene

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Murf:

Gene is correct you may be mishandling the cup a bit, the smaller cup size is a bit tough especially not using a variable speed grinder, even for a pro.

We recommend the diamabrush hand tool. You can literally use the grinder with one hand and not kill the floor with digs, like a cup wheel. We run the unit at speed # 4 on a variable polisher/grinder.

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[mmurfitt]

finally got my floor down. ended up getting a 7" grinder and doing the floor by hand. I put down one coat of Epoxy Shield with extra paint chips. Turned out good in my opinion for being the first time i have done this.

 

[kingofrestriction]

Looks pretty darn good to me! Nice work.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Nice work!

 

[dtam]

mmurfitt,
What 7" grinder did you end up getting, and did you use the diamabrush? How long did it take just to grind the floor?

 

[mmurfitt]

i bought a black and decker from menards. and an omega diamond cup, link is below. I could tell towards the end of the garage that it was getting dull though. The type scotty recommended would be better to use.

I didn't use a dust shroud, bad idea, so i was stopping every 5 minutes or so to clean up dust. Overall with taking short breaks, it kills your knees, i would estimate 2-3 hours. I didn't keep real good track of time though.




http://menards.com/main/tools-hardw...e-row-diamond-cup-wheel/p-1456005-c-10154.htm

 

[dcs Inc]

You know, you can dampen the concrete and do a wet grind. More clean up at the end but it saves your lungs.

 

[mmurfitt]

i did think about doing a wet grind, but i wasnt sure if it would fill the grinder with sludge. if it did sudge up the grinder i didnt want to wait for the floor to dry to continue. I used some common sense and wore safety glasses and a mask. they helped some but dust and flying concrete still got through.