Mastic removal - Polisher with Diamabrush or 7" Grinder

Users who are viewing this thread

Soparklion

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Pennsylvania
I need to remove paint/mastic from ~250 sq ft of concrete. I'm considering a $50 DeWalt diamond wheel on a 7" grinder vs renting a floor polisher and a Diamabrush for ~$140/day. The polisher has a hookup for a vacuum that would hopefully diminish dust...
 

Cacher_Chick

Test, Don't Guess!
Messages
5,458
Reaction score
213
Points
63
Location
Land of Cheese
The diamond wheel might gum up pretty quickly. I did a floor where I scraped off as much as I could with the scraper and then finished cleaning it with adhesive remover.
I think the diamabrush should save enough time the the cost would be worth it, but I have no personal experience with it
 

Soparklion

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Pennsylvania
The diamond wheel might gum up pretty quickly. I did a floor where I scraped off as much as I could with the scraper and then finished cleaning it with adhesive remover.
I think the diamabrush should save enough time the the cost would be worth it, but I have no personal experience with it
Thanks. Is there an adhesive remover that you would recommend?
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
Many mastics soften when wetted. Is the area someplace where you could get it all wet and let it sit for a bit? If so, it will likely come up fairly easily with a scraper. A steamer might work pretty well, too. You can get scraper blades that fit on a pole. Buy a box of the blades, as they get dull fairly quickly over a concrete surface.

If you're planning to tile the area afterwards, do NOT use a chemical stripper. In fact, the mastic may have seeped into the pores of the cement, and the only way to get a reliable thinset bond would be to run a scarcifier over it to remove a thin layer. That will also rough it up a bit, also improving the thinset bond.

The way to tell if thinset will bond to the surface is to spread some water on it. If it beads up, thinset won't bond well. If it gets absorbed in less than about 15-minutes, you should be okay.
 

Soparklion

New Member
Messages
20
Reaction score
1
Points
3
Location
Pennsylvania
UPDATE: I used a mastic remover from Home Depot on a small section... it dissolved the mastic and carried it into the pores of the concrete.

So I used a diamond cup wheel. Cacher_Chick was correct that the mastic gummed up the teeth... of the DeWalt diamond cup that has two rows of big, rectangular teeth.

However, the Harbor Freight diamond cup wheel - comparable to Makita https://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-diamond-turbo-cup-wheel-98729.html - just chewed through it without much of an issue. I'm not sure how to describe the grinder pattern. I'm downright disappointed by the DeWalt. It also had poor quality control - one of the teeth was 'short' and didn't contact the substrate.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks