Removing epoxy Coating from concrete

[jake00]

Hey Guys,

I need to remove an commercial epoxy coating on a floor that I'll be installing some vinyl plank on,

It was a restaurant so I assume its a decent coating.

Local rental places rent the diamabrush, or a concrete grinder that looks like a very heavy duty buffer with stones.

Whats my best option? It's 1500 SQFT

 

[8mpg]

Re: Removing epoxy Coaing from concrete

Diamabrush from what I have been reading in the flooring forum. Can you not lay the vinyl over the epoxy?

 

[Shea]

Don't use the Diamabrush. A commercial epoxy coating in a restaurant is going to be thick and adhered very well. The Diamabrush just isn't cut out for that type of work. A 10" Edco machine from Home Depot or something similar from your local equipment rental is your best choice.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

If it is well adhered and mfg is ok with it, sand it, wipe off the dust and apply your adhesive directly to it. Should stick pretty well.

 

[jake00]

the MFG karndean says thier glue will not adhere to epoxy

 

[Armorpoxy]

If it is a true, thick epoxy coating many of them cannot be grinded off with even a traditional grinder. Diamabrush will do very little, if anything on epoxy.

We find that when our Installation Company, Prep-Crete, encounters this we have to use 'PCD' (Polycarbonte Diamond) style diamond cutting tools which tear the coating off with sideways-mounted diamonds. Very fast and efficient since a typical diamond grinder would have 9-12 of these rotating around.

PCD's will leave heavy scratch marks on the floor but that isn't a concern since you are planking over it. If you were applying an epoxy or finish coat, then the floor would need 2-3 steps of additional grinding.

PCD's are generally not available for rent since each piece of tooling runs close to $100 each, so you may need to hire a company that does diamond grinding, they would have these tools. We attached a photo of a PCD diamond tool/cutter. The PCD are the round, tilted part of the tool.