IN this article I'll cover some (not all) of the typical surface preparation methods,

techniques, as well as materials and equipment that may be used. When working with
concrete, if the correct finished surface preparation is achieved, then technique is not
critically important.

The information that I'll cover is referenced from the SSPC SP-13 / NACE No. 6 "Surface
Preparation of Concrete" standard. For those interested in the NEW (December 2019)
released SSPC SP CAB "Abrasive Blast Cleaning of Concrete" three standards, I'll be
covering those standards in my next article.

SSPC SP-13 / NACE No. 6 is a highly specified standard for the surface preparation of
concrete, as this industry consensus standard provides requirements for surface
preparation of concrete by the use of mechanical, chemical, or thermal methods prior to
the installation (application) of bonded protective coating or lining systems. The
standard's requirements are applicable to all types of cementitious surfaces including
concrete floors, walls, masonry walls, precast slabs, and shotcrete surfacings. The
ultimate goal of the standard is to arrive at an acceptable surface prepared concrete
surface that should be free of contaminants, laitance, loosely adhering concrete, dust,
and importantly provide a sound, uniform substrate that's suitable for the installation
(application) of protective coatings.

Let's talk about what it means to have "Sound, Clean, and Dry" prepared concrete, so
let's break this down by each word. Sound refers to the unsound areas on the surface
layer of the concret, these unsound areas in most cases will need to be removed and
repaired with materials which are compatible with the coating system that is to be
installed. Clean focuses on oils, grease, dust, food, dirt, chemicals, and other
incompatible substances for the coating system. These all must be removed prior to
coating. Dry is very important because most coatings require a dry surface for proper
adhesion and a maximum level of moisture emission. Moisture in concrete migrates
upward and outward through pores within the concrete, the amount moisture that
migrates can in many cases work against adequate coating adhesion.
 Some basic methods used to remove contaminants typically includes; detergent
scrubbing, low-pressure waterjetting, degreasing solutions, and in worst case scenarios
the removal of all contaminated concrete. When using detergent and chemical solutions
it is important to completely re-clean the concrete surface with fresh clean water. These
basic methods of cleaning can be used to address concrete contamination by soluble
salts, efflorescence, and removing mildew.

As I mentioned earlier in this article, I won't be covering every method of surface

preparation, that's why I pointed out my referencing the SSPC SP-13 / NACE No. 6
"Surface Preparation of Concrete", I highly recommend that you review all methods
found in the standard. The standard provides much more detail and information on
industry recommended methods of surface preparation of concrete.
 Grinding is used as a primary method to remove surface irregularities on the concrete
surface than it's used to create a surface profile on the concrete. It's a great method to
remove old coatings and in certain cases unsound concrete surface areas. As I
mentioned earlier, grinding can produce variances in profiles.

Dry Abrasive Blast Cleaning can be achieved with the use of conventional open air-
driven equipment that uses abrasives identical to those used during the surface
preparation of steel. To control dust, many projects require the use of vacuum-collection
air-driven equipment that is very similar to conventional abrasive blast cleaning
equipment, but adds a vacuum system to collect spent materials and surface debris. The
majority of blast cleaning of concrete floors uses a centrifugal wheel (shot-blasting)
system.
 Wet Abrasive Blasting as the conventional abrasive blast cleaning listed above, added
accessories (water ring donut) or dual-use dry/wet or specific wet abrasive blast cleaning
systems can be used. In my opinion, for contractors it makes economic sense to use
dual-use dry/wet blast cleaning systems, as projects specifically might only require dry
and or wet abrasive blast cleaning.

Scarifiers come in handy for coatings and or surfacings which are greater of 15 mils DFT.
This equipment has cutters, which look like toothed washers that are assembled on steel
rods which are mounted on a rotating drum that will pulverize the concrete surface.
Scarifiers are very good for corners, edges, and those areas that shotblasting will not
adequately prepare the concrete surface.

Scabblers impact the concrete surface with piston-driven cutting heads at right angles
to chip-up and pulverize concrete floors. Operators of scabblers must be mindful that
using the equipment to prepare the concrete floor there is a higher chance of micro-
cracking of the concrete surface which can result in a weakened substrate as a result of
coarse aggregates are fractured, without being dislodged or removed.
High and Ultra High Pressure Waterjetting uses water pressures of 10,000 to 45,000
psi to remove weak concrete and tightly bonded existing coatings and surface overlays.
Operator experience, training and certification is important, as the use of high-pressure
water can damage sound concrete and transform good concrete to problematic
concrete requiring repairs.

I hope that you found this article informative on some of the common methods used
during surface preparation of concrete. Again while not a complete listing of methods, I
highly recommend a review of SSPC SP 13 / NACE No. 6 "Surface Preparation of
Concrete" standard to understand the totality of methods used by contractors to
perform the surface cleaning and preparation of concrete. The SSPC SP 13 / NACE No, 6
standard was the source material for this week's article. Next week I'll cover the
December 2019 new SSPC SP CAB (1, 2, 3) "Abrasive Blast Cleaning of Concrete"
standards series.