Staining concrete prep - removing old paint. Help!

Need some assistance from some of you guys with firsthand experience.

I removed carpet from a room in a 40 year old home in planning to stain the concrete. Found a bit of carpet glue that I was able to remove with some time consuming scraping. I then proceeded to clean the floor with TSP which brings me to where I am now....

There is quite a bit of old paint that needs to be removed and I need help on some proven ways to do this. The room is being totally redone and is empty so making a mess is not a concern. Searched the web and there are TONS of different suggestions. Prefer not to waste time and money on things that may not do the trick.

Any ideas?? Thanks in advance!!

You will need to grind the floor first to get it right. You can probably rent one from some rental place. It will come out great if you do it this way. Its all about the prep work. Or you could sand/bead blast it. That would work good also. Good Luck. Post pics when you are done.

You dont grind the floor, you call someone with a shot peen machine. It looks like a floor scrubber that throws metal shot @ 3Kpsi under the deck. Makes nice dusty mess by peeling the top layer off making just a little rougher. Then sweep, rinse and your ready. Probably about $150 hr and a 2 car garage will take about 1-2 hours with travel and clean up. Highly worth it. Sandblasting sucks makes a huge mess but baking soda and dry ice are the new media of chioce but they don't do much to the surface. Dry ice is trick on grafitti though.

Here is a link:
http://www.rapidblast.us/?gclid=CP7Yx4Hv0p8CFSAkagodIFlkag

I would think grinding it, But Ricks idea sounds better. Im currently doing the same project downstairs for my boys bedroom. ANY stain, ANY spill of whatever is going to show up after its all said and done. Im sure theres going to be a few paint splotches and mud stains

Michael, just curious, what's your plan on staining yours? I went to Sherman Williams and the yahoos there had no clue of how its really done. I went to Whitecap and got the full scoop along with the color we wanted. let the mess begin tomarrow.

Thanks for the info so far guys. This is actually my office / workout room that we are redoing.

Matt - not sure as of yet....I realize it will probably take a month to get it done correctly so have not done much research on the final application, etc.

Already have before pics so will take some pics post the next major step.

Rick - thanks, I will start looking into that option!

Rick, That machine looks awesome. Do you know anyone in the area that does this? Also, whats the trick with dry ice and baking soda?

Michael, Im downstairs right now washing my floor prepping for my acid stain later today.

I started with a wire brush on a drill and went over some of my paint stains on the floor. It worked well BUT it also took off the top layer of the creme. When I got the floor wet it was quite obvious as to where I had been. Oh well, Just more character for the boys room. So now Im using an old puddy knife to scrape off any paint on the floor, Not that thats a garantee of seeing it come up in tha stain, but at least I wont see the paint.

I think if you had a consistant grind/buff job throughout than that would be alot better.

Having been a water & sandblasting contractor for 16 years I can advise that surface preparation is EVERYTHING. NO product will adhere if there is any grease, oil or glue. Cracks must be sealed or moisture intrusion can cloud stains and cause sealer failures. Also the shinier the surface the more the imperfections show. The higher the gloss the more slick they seem to be unless grit is added to sealer coat.

I used to use Hans From Western Blasting Service in Woodland But I think he quit. Steve Johnson from Elete Crete in Sacramento has done nice work for many years if you want to hire it done right.

You might try Rod Scott from Concrete Surfacing in Sacrametno. @916-439-4525.

Here is a couple companies:

http://www.krsurface.com/contact/

http://www.industrialfloortech.com/blastraccontractor.htm

Great Thanks Rich