Just like your wood deck or the walls in your living room, the concrete surfaces of your home need to be refinished sometimes. Serving that purpose is the concrete grinder, which can give your concrete surface a new look again. They are also helpful for roughing up the surface, if you plan on applying a new layer of material that will need to adhere properly. Here are four steps for how you should properly operate the machinery:

Understand the machine
Because the machine has many moving parts, you should know everything about how it operates. When you do start using it, be sure you wear the proper safety equipment such as work gloves and safety glasses. Make sure you select the proper type of pad for the amount of material you want to remove from the surface. Hard pads remove more and softer pads remove less, creating a smoother finish. If there is a vacuum hose attachment, hook it up to keep the dust at a minimum.

Time to start
When you begin, make sure the discs are off the concrete so you don’t create any scuffing. The wheels also have a setting to run at grinding speed and one for normal movement. When the discs are running at a stable operational speed, it’s time to start.

To prevent swirl marks, move the grinder from side to side. You should also know whether the machine is rated for wet or dry grinding. If meant for wet, make sure there is a light mist on the concrete. It doesn’t have to be too saturated. Remember, whether it’s wet or dry rated keep your motion slightly side to side.

Finishing up

When you’re all done and the machine is off, clean off the machine so it’s in good condition to return to the rental store.