Should I Concrete Etch Painted Concrete Before Epoxy Shield

Grinding vs. Acid Etching Your Concrete Floor

Grinding

Mechanical grinding involves removing the smooth pinnacle layer to expose the raw concrete beneath. An industrial grinder equipped with diamond grinding blocks or a hand grinder using diamond discs is typically used for mechanically grinding the floor surface. Grinding makes controlling the surface profile easier, and it as well helps to ensure a consistent issue for the necessary texture to exist achieved.

Depending on the requirement of the manufacturer for the coating, a concrete profile similar to lx to 120 grit sandpaper is needed to ensure proper bonding. Grinding can leave uneven areas and gouge marks on the floor if information technology is not washed properly. You should hire a professional floor coating company for a consistent and well-profiled surface.

Acid Etching

Acid carving involves the application of acid to remove the top surface of the concrete flooring. This method is skillful enough to prepare the floor for the application of protective coating specially if you are thinking of a DIY projection or new physical. Acrid carving can expose the pores of the concrete under ideal circumstances just it won't remove glues, caulks, mastics, and other mutual stains. If your flooring is stained past any of these substances, you will need to make clean the floor beginning to remove them.

The etching process can get out behind a wet concrete dust motion-picture show that might clog the concrete pores if not fully cleaned off; this tin can lead to coating failure. Additionally, if the acid is non properly disposed of information technology can damage paving stones, landscapes, grass, etc.

Which One is Better?

Acid etching a garage floor is a groovy solution for those who are installing the flooring themselves and practise not take access to industrial grinders. Nonetheless, for larger commercial jobs, older physical, or worn floors nosotros always recommend grinding before epoxy installation. This is because there are different concrete types with varying composition, texture, and hardness levels. This means there is not a one size fits all solution.

Diamond grinders utilise several grinding heads designed for the variations in physical surfaces to ensure y'all go a proper surface profile that lasts a lifetime. Acid etching is a meliorate option than ability washing but it doesn't requite the aforementioned results as grinding.

Anyone with a decent commercial floor paint product and a trivial DIY skill tin glaze a garage floor and get a corking stop result. The concrete floor will fail if the coating doesn't bond mechanically to the concrete floor, and so the preparation is the nearly important part before applying any type of epoxy! So it is of import that there is a solid bond between the concrete and epoxy coating so as not to cease up with a failed epoxy garage floor.