Surface Preparation & Grinding

Coating over an existing failed or unknown coating is one of the most common causes of repeat failure. We remove it mechanically by grinding or shot blasting until we reach sound concrete across the whole area, including edges and under fixtures where old material is often left behind. What we find underneath often explains why the previous floor failed, and that shapes the new specification.

Related: floor coating removal and coating and adhesive removal.

Diamond grinding abrades the surface and is well suited to flattening, removing thin coatings and producing lower profiles. Shot blasting propels steel shot at the surface and can profile large open areas quickly, producing a coarser texture. Some jobs use both — blasting the open floor and grinding edges and tight areas. The choice comes from the profile the product needs, the existing surface, and the building's constraints.

The ICRI concrete surface profile scale gives contractors and manufacturers a common language for roughness. Each coating system specifies the CSP range it needs to bond properly — thin coatings need less profile, thicker systems more. We prepare to the range the product's data sheet calls for, and check it against reference chips rather than by eye.

Related: mechanical surface profiling.

Coatings bond mechanically to a profiled surface. If the slab still carries laitance, oil, an old sealer or a weak top layer, the new coating bonds to that instead of sound concrete, and it can come away with it. Mechanical preparation — diamond grinding or shot blasting — removes those layers and creates the profile the product requires. It's the least visible part of the job and the one that decides whether the floor lasts.

Related: concrete surface preparation and surface preparation and grinding.

Yes. A newer slab is usually in better condition, but the surface of fresh concrete is closed and a coating will not bond into it as it is.

Grinding opens the surface so the system anchors into the slab rather than sitting on top of it.

Related: concrete surface preparation and diamond grinding.

Usually yes. Stains and old patches sit at the surface, and grinding takes that layer off before anything is applied.

What we check for underneath is moisture and structural cracking, since those decide the build rather than the appearance.

Related: surface preparation and grinding.

It comes off. A new system is only as sound as whatever it sits on, and putting fresh material over a failing one simply repeats the failure a year later.

We grind the old coating away mechanically, then assess the concrete underneath on its own condition.

Related: floor coating removal and surface preparation and grinding.

Grinding removes contamination, levels imperfections and creates the surface conditions required for proper sealer penetration and long-term adhesion performance.

Related: grind and seal systems.

Grinding creates the concrete profile required for strong mechanical adhesion between the flooring system and the substrate.

Related: polyurethane and urethane flooring.

Grinding creates the concrete surface profile required for mechanical adhesion. Without proper preparation, coatings may experience reduced bond strength and shortened service life.

Related: polyaspartic flooring systems.