U ever polish concrete?

[Giorgio]

It looks like an interesting trade.

Might start dabbling in it.

anyone here polish any concrete?

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, I thought it would be great, also, George...bought a 10k variable speed polisher with all the tooling from 30 grit to 4 or 5 thousand grit...all diamond tooling...then used it in my garage for practice...

It was nice...great product...but i would have needed to charge at least 10 dollars a foot to make it profitable...

 

[Bee Busy]

the Lavina will be my next purchase. they work great on stone and concrete

 

[floorguy]

oh chit Jim...you bought all that???

ouch...


I have done small jobs, and ones that were not in need of "rough" grinding first.....did it with the cimex...

IT IS NOT A "DABBLE" type job.....the tools and supplies can get expensive....

 

[floorguy]

ohhh my nifty weight "kit"

 

[KevinL]

do you use like monkey pads to polish concrete?

 

[RickL]

I have done a couple jobs with Dave Gelinas and other buddies and I agree with Doug it is not a dabble type thing. The equipment to do the job right is expensive and it's a very time consuming process. You really need either a high end Cimex or Lavinia to do it. (The regular cimex can do it but it takes forever and hard on the equipment)

Kevin no way with the monkey pads!

Jim I agree nice machine you must do a lot of stone work to justify that!

 

[Giorgio]

I'm seriously considering the purchase of a new Werkmaster Titan with vacuum.

Already have lined up about 5000 s/f of concrete that needs epoxy removed and polishing. Another client has about 15 houses they want the carpet ripped up and concrete finished (or so they say).

Anyhow, the Werkmasters claims to be the fastest and can get 1/8 inch up to the walls. Reducing (if not eliminating) the need for hand polishing edges.

Maybe i should chat w/ someone who's actually done it before i do something stupid...

Besides, i'd much rather own a new Ducati Multistrada than a concrete polisher.... right?

Werkmaster Titan vs. Ducati Multistrada

 

[Jimbo]

I think you deserve BOTH, George!...Maybe find them both used....

 

[Jimbo]

http://albany.craigslist.org/for/2317114656.html


Might be a challenge to find 3phase electric service in most homes.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Here is another one.


http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/tls/2332012066.html

 

[floorguy]

that 12.5 one sounds good...gets you a few diamonds to get going as well....

pricing to do it varies.... $.25-$1.50...usually you go back words....1.50 for 1st grits/cuts, and get cheaper...

the 1st grits get used up faster vs the higher grits...removing more product....thats why i charge that way...


I did a 2500 sqft tile & glue removal, and polish to 800 for 10000.....cost me about 2k for labor and chems and pads.....and took about 3 days a week for 3 weeks, about 6 hrs a day....sometime was sitting around waiting for the chem to break down the glue...but we could only work while they were open....PITA..

 

[J Scott W]

do you use like monkey pads to polish concrete?

Monkey pads / Spinergy pads are not for polishing concrete.

Polished concrete can be maintained with Cheetah pads or similar. The original polishing is going to take diamond grinding with Cimex or other equipment made for that purpose.

 

[Giorgio]

I think you deserve BOTH, George!...Maybe find them both used....

hahaha... Totally awesome!!!

I couldn't agree with you more Jim! Now, to convince my wife to go along w/ that line of thinking. (smile)

This might have to wait cuz Obama took all my cash yesterday. thathurts

Some killer finds on the craigslist though...

Thank you guys, very much!

 

[Desk Jockey]

This might have to wait cuz Obama took all my cash yesterday.

Mine too!

With the quarterly my savings dropped nearly 30 grand yesterday.....hated it!

 

[Desk Jockey]

I saw where someone was renting the polisher, maybe you should check into rental. It would get your foot in the door with polishing and then you could use some of the profits to purchase a machine. ?

Daily rates for Werkmaster Titan (fee is per day rental)

Titan 18" Grinder $350
Metal diamonds set $475
Pulse Vac $80
Diamonds Resin set $180
Fifty foot extension cord $50

The following chemicals are also available for purchase:

Premium Lithium Densifier- $60 per gallon
DuraCryl Guard- $45 per gallon
Citrus Blast Cleaner- $16.00 per gallon

Delivery charge is $50 for local delivery. For out of the area delivery, slightly higher. For set up and instruction, a service charge of $250 is available upon request.