Wolverine floor project finally started

[tojan19]

I'm finally getting a start on my Epoxy flooring job. I decided to go with Wolverine based on the reviews and propaganda on this board.
Since I know you'll ask this is what I ordered.

33# flakes. A mix of white, black, ash gray and navy blue.
5.25 gal Liqutile - light gray
4.5 gal Bondtite
1 gal I-flex

I bought half a dozen 18" rollers, a few 9", and 3" for cutting in along with some 3" brushes and 2 mixers for the drill. I also got a bunch of plastic mixing cups.

I decided that grinding was the best option for prep since good results and a good bond are pretty much a guarantee. I couldn't locate a reasonable priced diamond grinder in my area which was rather surprising since I had at least 10 rental places to pick from. Same story most other people have been hearing. Grinder itself was cheap but the wheel are very pricey. About 300-600. So I decided to go hand held and buy the stuff myself.
I picked up a 7" Hitachi on Amazon as well as a Dustie Hood ($85 & $30). I picked up a "turbo" diamond wheel off ebay ($40 shipped).

I spent Sunday clearing out one side of the garage. I've got a lot of big heavy woodworking tools and getting everything out of the garage for a week wasn't an option. I'm going to do one side of the garage at a time.

Tonight I decided to start grinding my mini room in the garage. The garage is about 26x22. Wider than long. It has a small room on the side. I keep my freezer in there and my reloading bench will be going in later. The room is about 4x12. I'm also doing the 12" high cinder block wall around walls and the 2x on top.

It took me about 35 minutes which included banging out the filter on the shop vac in the middle. Not bad time for just starting. I was obviously going faster at the end. Using the angle grinder isn't bad. It's heavy but for the most part the weight is on the floor. The trick is to keep the wheel level. If you tip it to hard it will put a good groove in the floor. It's not to hard to smooth it back out. You can even tell where the low spots in the floor are very easily.

The shop vac filter clogs very fast. I've got a clean stream filter which is made of goretex and hepa. It's easy to clean. Take it out, bang it a few times and it good as new. I think to keep good DC it will need to be cleaned about every 10 minutes. I wanted a drywall bag for the vac but couldn't find one to fit my Craftsman vac.

I'm figuring that it's going to take a few good hours to do this side of the garage. I'm planning to have it done by the weekend and lay epoxy Saturday. I'll keep posting pics here as the project goes.

Here's some pics

 

[AlphaGarage]

Thanks for the all those details and great pics!

A few questions...

On the area already ground, what kind of texture are you getting?

Regarding the grinding wheel, does it look like it's going to last through the complete floor?

About that dust - is the dust hood doing a good job diverting the dust into the vacum and out of the garage?

 

[tojan19]

The texture is slightly gritty to the feel but smooth and visually a lot more porous than the uncut concrete. A little hard to describe but it looks like it's going to be a good surface for the bondtite. I even found a few tiny spots where air bubbles were directly under the surface.
The dust hood does better, the cleaner the filter is. When it's clean, nothing escapes. As it clogs, more dust gets in the air. I think when I'm done I'm going to take my leaf blower around the garage a few times to get the inevitable coat of dust off everything. This project is going to require frequent filter cleanings. It will be good to get off my knees occasionally. A respirator or dust mask is still required. Gloves would be a good idea. I wasn't wearing them last night and the dust pulled all the moisture out of my hands. There is a company that makes a water filtering setup for drywall dust that I'm thinking about trying to replicate.

I don't notice much wear on the grinding wheel yet. I meant to check it with a caliper as I went but my calipers are now buried on the other side of the garage. I'll find a ruler or something and try to keep track.

 

[roger55]

Did your wheel last for your entire floor?

I have a 660 ft2 floor and wonder if I do it your way whether I could do it with one wheel or not.

 

[SimpleManLance]

Did your wheel last for your entire floor?

I have a 660 ft2 floor and wonder if I do it your way whether I could do it with one wheel or not.

im new here has it been a problem with people going threw diamond wheels?

the ones i use if i had to guess can go up to probably 3000 sq ft. they last a really long time on normal concrete. its when there is a bolt and we grind it down rather then use a cut off wheel. anther time is when we have to really grind the floor at a seam the get the concrete that same level. those are the only time the wheels really take a beating.

 

[roger55]

im new here has it been a problem with people going threw diamond wheels?

the ones i use if i had to guess can go up to probably 3000 sq ft. they last a really long time on normal concrete. its when there is a bolt and we grind it down rather then use a cut off wheel. anther time is when we have to really grind the floor at a seam the get the concrete that same level. those are the only time the wheels really take a beating.

I don't know of people having problems with wheels. I just have no experience whatsoever with them and didn't know.

Mine is normal concrete (new shop) so it sounds like I can order one of those wheels and be fine. Thanks.

I'm still curious about how the original poster's job came out.

 

[snorky18]

So what's the difference between using a 7" grinder with $40 wheel as shown compared to using this high dollar bosch grinder?

http://bosch.cpotools.com/grinders_and_metalworking/concrete_surfacing_grinder/1773ak-rt.html

 

[SimpleManLance]

So what's the difference between using a 7" grinder with $40 wheel as shown compared to using this high dollar bosch grinder?

http://bosch.cpotools.com/grinders_and_metalworking/concrete_surfacing_grinder/1773ak-rt.html

probably how long they last. i would assume for the average person they will be fine.

this is what the one i use looks like. i use a dustless attacment too. we use them about 5-10 hours a week. they usually last 2-3 years. might have to replace a switch or the brushes in the motor in that time frame too.

http://bosch.cpotools.com/grinders_and_metalworking/large_angle_grinders/1873-6.html

 

[roger55]

Well, after talking with the salesperson at toolplanet, I went ahead and purchased this wheel:
http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Supreme-I-Seg-Diamond-Cup-Wheel-Concrete-Grinding_W0QQitemZ250293505312QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250293505312&_trkparms=72%3A1163|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

And, I went ahead and got the Hitachi G18SCY 7" grinder with the dustie hood.

 

[SimpleManLance]

Well, after talking with the salesperson at toolplanet, I went ahead and purchased this wheel:
http://cgi.ebay.com/7-Supreme-I-Seg-Diamond-Cup-Wheel-Concrete-Grinding_W0QQitemZ250293505312QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250293505312&_trkparms=72%3A1163|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

And, I went ahead and got the Hitachi G18SCY 7" grinder with the dustie hood.

thats the same sorta design as the ones i use. only i think it has more segments. that should work great.

 

[tojan19]

I got the first half of the garage done and started a new thread
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=288599#post288599