DFW Garage Floor Coatings: Why is concrete prep so important?

CSP: The Starting Point Everyone Overlooks

The first thing to know about garage floor coatings is this: it’s only as good as the surface it sticks to. That surface texture is measured by something called the Concrete Surface Profile (CSP). It’s a simple scale from 1 to 10 that tells us how smooth or rough the concrete is. If the concrete is too smooth, the coating has nothing to lock onto. Too rough, and you’re just beating up the surface for no reason. A CSP of 3–4 is right in the middle—and that’s the target every time.

The Sticker Metaphor

This is not the world’s best metaphor, but seriously: think about how many times you’ve tried to use a sticker or piece of tape on a dusty surface. It peels up almost instantly. Or try to slap that same sticker on glass—it might hold for a little while, but it slides around because there’s nothing solid to grip.

A garage floor coating works the same way. To last, it needs the concrete to have just enough texture to “hook in” and stay put, but it needs to be smooth enough that it isn’t adhering to a bunch of loose particles. That’s why CSP matters.

The Tools That Make It Work

So how do we get that CSP 3–4 sweet spot? We depend on propane grinders all day. They’re powerful, fast, and mobile—no cords to drag across the installation space, no underpowered motors slowing things down. Propane grinders can cover big areas quickly and evenly, which is the only way to guarantee that a garage floor coating bonds correctly.

What We Don’t Rely On

There are other methods out there, but they don’t deliver results. Acid etching and water jetting? Too smooth. Sandblasting or rotomilling? Overkill for a garage. Even electric grinders, while cheaper upfront, just don’t have the muscle.

That’s why we keep circling back to propane grinders—not only are they efficient, but they’re also safe. Propane has a narrow flammability range, and these machines give off near-zero emissions, so they’re safe even indoors.