SURFACE PREPARATION IS DEFINED AS THE COMPLETE REMOVAL OF THE LAITANCE OR CREAM COAT OF THE CONCRETE. BY DOING SO WE ARE OPENING UP THE CAPILLARIES OF THE CONCRETE. THIS ALLOWS THE MATERIAL THAT IS BEING INSTALLED TO WICK INTO THE POURS OF THE SLAB ALLOWING IT TO ESTABLISH A MECHANICAL BOND.

Before the installation of any coating system, concrete must be structurally sound, cleaned and prepared to achieve a laitance and contaminant free with open textured surface.  Most of coatings manufacturers require a CSP profile (Concrete Surface Profile) defined by the ICRI Technical Guideline No. 310.2R-2013.

CONCRETE SURFACE PROFILES

THERE IS A GOVERNING BODY CALLED THE ICRI (INTERNATIONAL CONCRETE RESTORATION INSTITUTE) THAT SET SURFACE PROFILE STANDARDS OVER THE INDUSTRY. THEY CREATED CONCRETE SURFACE PROFILES OR CSP SAMPLES USING DIFFERENT PREPARATION METHODS. THESE METHODS WERE THEN GIVEN A RATING SYSTEM FROM 1 TO 10.

Depending on the coating to be applied, the manufacturer of that product will specify a desired concrete surface profile (CSP) which has to be adhered to. Every manufacturer in this industry has tied a CSP profile to all of their products. This ensures each system has the correct level of profile to ensure proper adhesion to the slab.

CONCRETE SURFACE PROFILES

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SURFACE PREPARATION BY GRINDING

Grinders use horizontal rotating diamond discs to perform a multitude of tasks, from light texturing to open the pores of the surface. All of the Blastrac grinders are equipped with a local exhaust for dustless operations. It is important to protect the operators and the environment. Check out Diamag tooling for more information.

The profile left behind is the depth of the grit size diamond used to grind that slab.

SURFACE PREPARATION BY SHOT BLASTING

Blastrac closed circuit media blasting machines throw a large amount of steel abrasive media by centrifugal force at the surface. After the steel abrasive hits the surface, the shot blaster recycles the media. Dust and contaminants are removed by an air wash separator and are removed to a dedicated Blastrac dust collector. This makes the process almost dust-free in operation.

The profile left behind depends on the size of the steel shot, the speed of the machine and the amount of steel shots you throw on the surface. Multiple sizes of abrasive can be used to clean and profile in one step.

SURFACE PREPARATION BY SCARIFYING

With scarifying, cutters are loosely fitted on lateral shafts which are then placed inside a drum housing. The rotating drum generates centripetal force which ‘throws’ the cutter at the surface, causing a mechanical cutting action. As all Blastrac machines, our scarifiers are equipped with a local dust exhaust. Dust and contaminants are moved to a dedicated Blastrac dust collector.

The profile left behind depends on the type of tools (cutters or milling cutters) and the machine you use. By selecting the correct type of cutter, a wide range of applications can be carried out with guaranteed success.

HOW TO MAKE THE DIFFERENT CONCRETE SURFACE PROFILES?

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CSP 1

LIGHT
GRINDING

To achieve CSP-1, use a Blastrac Grinder with 60/80 grit diamond tool

CSP 2

MEDIUM
GRINDING

To achieve CSP-2, use a Blastrac Grinder with 30/40 grit diamond tool

CSP 3

HEAVY GRINDING OR VERY LIGHT SHOT BLASTING

To achieve CSP-3, use a Blastrac Grinder with PCD tools or use a Blastrac shot blaster with small sized steel shot at maximum speed

CSP 4

LIGHT SHOT
BLASTING

To achieve CSP-4, use a Blastrac shot blaster with
small / medium sized steel shot at high speed

CSP 5

MEDIUM SHOT
BLASTING

To achieve CSP-5, use a Blastrac shot blaster with medium sized steel shot at medium speed

CSP 6

MEDIUM / HEAVY SHOT BLASTING OR LIGHT SCARIFYING

To achieve CSP-6, use a Blastrac shot blaster with medium / larged sized steel shot at medium speed or a Blastrac scarifier at low depth

CSP 7

HEAVY SHOT BLASTING OR MEDIUM SCARIFYING

To achieve CSP-7, use a Blastrac shot blaster with large sized steel shot at low speed or a Blastrac scarifier at medium depth

CSP 8

MEDIUM / HEAVY SCARIFYING OR LIGHT MILLING /PLANING

To achieve CSP-8, use a Blastrac scarifier at high depth

CSP 9

HEAVY SCARIFYING OR MEDIUM MILLING / PLANING

To achieve CSP-9, use a large Blastrac scarifier at very high depth

CSP 10

HEAVY MILLING / PLANING

To achieve CSP-10, use a BMP-4000RC scarifier at very high depth