Sandblasting to prep floor

[Kent in KC]

Good morning. I read somewhere here about one of you guys that sandblasted his floor instead of using acid.

I'm building a new house/garage and, despite my clear request to the contrary, the concrete guy sealed the pad. I want to epoxy the garage and my wife wants to stain the basement floor (really cool). So... I'm thinking about sand (or whatever) blasting. What's the advice: rent one from HDepot/buy one/ what kind of shot/ better or easier than acid?

Thanks and MurChrissmus!

 

[neblinc]

I think your only choice is to rent a Shot Blaster.

Randy

 

[Winmon]

Shotblasting would be the quickest and easiest way to remove the sealer. My HomeDepot (or any of the local rental companies) did not have a shotblaster to rent so I used an Edco surfacer. It worked but took forever to remove my sealer with it.....You can also probably hire a shotblasting company to come out and do the work. They wanted $1000 to do my 1600 sq ft. I should have paid them!

 

[rt66jt]

Do not use acid. Acid weakens the top of the concrete, leading to dusting and popping. You have two possible options; chemical or mechanical. The concrete specialty companies have come up with citrus-based cleaners that are said to remove sealers with a little help by scrubbing. This is a good choice if the floor is good and just needs the sealer removed. Be aware that rinsing with water will be required. Option two would be to rent a shotblaster; not cheap, but effective. Exprect to pay about $200 a day for the blaster and vacuum, plus the cost of the shot (shot must be purchased). You'll have a better finish than about any other mechanical process.

 

[snorvet]

Another vote for shotblaster. It will work great for the garage, but may rough up your basement floor to the point where stain by itself wont smooth out the finish. The epoxy tends to smooth out the roughness achieved by the shotblaster.

 

[Randall Edge]

Are you gonna stain the floor yourself? If you are check out http://www.kemiko.com/ for info and supplies. I'm having a pro do mine. They are halfway through and should be finished Monday or Tues. My floor was so FUBAR after the house was built that I wouldn't attempt it myself. There are so many cuts and holes that had to be patched and paint that had to be removed that they had to acid wash the floor twice then skim coat it, patch it, skim coat it again. Yesterday they troweled on micro finish. Now we are waiting on stain and sealer.

 

[carguy123]

To remove the sealer simply find out if it is xylene based or water based. The citrus stuff works on the water based, but you will need to use xylene and a stiff brush for the other.

Either is a big pain, but doable if you don't mind a few blisters.

A floor buffer helps in either case