You want a garage or patio floor that looks right and holds up, not one that peels in a year. Before any new coating goes down, the concrete underneath has to be sound and open enough to grip. That’s what grinding and coating removal do. It’s the quiet step that decides whether your new floor lasts or lifts. At McWilliams Painting, we grind concrete down to a clean, solid surface and strip off old epoxy or paint so your new epoxy or polyaspartic finish actually bonds. We’ve done this across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties since 2012, and every job ends with a walk-through before you pay a dime.
Same spot, before we started and after we finished. Drag the handle to compare.
A new coating is only as good as what’s under it. If a crew rolls epoxy or polyaspartic straight over an old, failing finish or a smooth, sealed slab, it can’t grip. Within months you may see peeling, bubbles, and whole sheets lifting where a chair leg or hot tire touched down. Now you’re paying twice: once for the bad job, and again to grind off everything and start over. That’s the corner some cheap bids leave out to look lower on paper. Florida heat and humidity make it worse, because moisture pushing up through an unprepared slab has nowhere to go and pops the coating loose. Proper grinding removes the guesswork. It opens the surface, takes off the old stuff, and gives your new floor something real to hold onto.
We use a diamond grinder to take off old epoxy, garage paint, glue, mastic and other failing coatings down to sound concrete, and we level high spots and rough finishes at the same time.
Not every floor needs the same amount of work, and part of our job is telling you the truth about yours. If your slab is in good shape and just needs a light profile, we’ll say so and keep the cost down. We recommend the right amount of prep for your floor, not the most expensive one.
Crews that have been with us six-plus years handle this work, so the prep is consistent every time. When the coating goes down, a foreman walks the finished floor with you, and you don’t pay until you’re satisfied.
You always know what happens next and who is in your home.
We look at your slab, check for old coatings and moisture concerns, and tell you what it needs.
Clear numbers, no surprise add-ons later.
A diamond grinder with a vacuum shroud strips failing coatings, glue or paint and opens the concrete.
You get a sound, profiled surface your new epoxy or polyaspartic can bond to.
We check the finished floor together.
Real jobs from our crews around Lake, Sumter and Marion County.
McWilliams Painting grinds concrete and removes old, failing coatings across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties, Florida. We open and level the surface so your new epoxy or polyaspartic floor bonds and lasts. This is the prep step cheap crews skip. Every job ends with a foreman-and-customer walk-through, and you don’t pay until you’re happy.
Old epoxy and garage floor paint, clear sealers, carpet glue and mastic, and leftover thinset from tile floors. If it’s failing or in the way of a good bond, it comes off.
We start with coarse diamond tooling to cut through old coatings, then step down to finer tooling for an even, open texture across the whole slab. We grind the edges and corners too, not just the open middle, because edges are where a lot of cheap floors start to lift. Cracks and pits get filled before any coating goes down.
Coating makers rate concrete texture on a scale called the Concrete Surface Profile, set by the International Concrete Repair Institute. Most garage floor coatings call for a texture a lot like coarse sandpaper. Too smooth and the coating has nothing to grip. We grind to the profile your coating actually calls for.
Yes. Florida slabs hold water, and moisture coming up through the concrete is one of the top reasons coatings bubble and peel. We check your slab before we coat, and if it reads high, we put down a moisture barrier primer first.
The word ‘grinding’ shows up on a lot of quotes. What you actually get can be very different. Here’s an honest look at how we work compared to a typical low bid.
| What matters | McWilliams Painting | Typical low bid |
|---|---|---|
| Old coating removal | Ground and stripped to sound concrete | Often coated right over |
| Surface profile | Opened so new coating bonds | Smooth slab left as-is |
| Dust control | Grinder with vacuum shroud | Open grinding, heavy dust |
| Walk-through | Foreman-and-customer before you pay | Crew gone, then problems |
| Payment | No payment until you’re happy | Deposit or pay up front |
We stand behind our work and finish every job with a foreman-and-customer walk-through, and you don’t pay until you’re happy. Interior epoxy carries a lifetime warranty and exterior carries a five-year warranty with a maintained plan.
Acid etching is a shortcut. It cleans the top of the slab but leaves a shallow, uneven texture, and it won’t take off old coatings or sealers. Many coating manufacturers recommend mechanical grinding instead, so we diamond grind every floor.
Yes. Moisture pushing up through the concrete is a common reason coatings bubble and lift, especially in Florida. We check the slab before we coat, and if moisture reads high, we use a moisture barrier primer under your new floor.
Old epoxy, garage floor paint, clear sealers, carpet glue, mastic, and leftover thinset from tile. We grind it all down to clean, sound concrete so your new coating bonds to the slab itself.
Grinding and removal set the stage. Once you have a clean, solid base, your floor is ready for the finish you actually want. Most of our homeowners move straight into a coating on the same visit, so the prepped surface stays clean and bonds at its best.
See what goes on next: epoxy flooring, polyaspartic coatings and garage floor coatings.
“Grinding” shows up on a lot of quotes. We strip old coating to sound concrete, open the surface so the new coating bonds, control dust with a vacuum shroud, and finish with a foreman-and-customer walk-through before you pay. A typical low bid often coats right over the old finish, leaves the slab smooth, grinds with heavy dust, and takes a deposit or payment up front.
For garages and workshops, polyaspartic and epoxy give you a hard, easy-to-clean floor that handles hot tires and dropped tools. For patios and lanais, we match the coating to the sun and moisture your slab sees. We’ll help you pick what fits how you use the space and your budget, not just the priciest option.
McWilliams Painting is owned by Weston McWilliams, a working painter and coatings pro who’s been in the trade since 2012. Weston is married with kids and runs the business out of Fruitland Park. He’s a member of BNI and BEST 352, and he’ll tell you straight to get three estimates and compare what’s really in each one.
His crews have been together six-plus years, and they’ve painted an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 homes in The Villages alone. When it comes to floors, Weston’s rule is simple: prep it right or don’t do it at all. That’s why grinding and coating removal aren’t an upsell here. They’re the reason your floor lasts.
We prep and coat floors across Lake, Sumter and Marion counties in Central Florida, including Mount Dora, Eustis, Tavares, Leesburg, Ocala, Wildwood and The Villages. If your slab is in our area, we can look at it.
Not every slab needs heavy grinding. We look at yours, tell you honestly how much prep it needs, and give you a written price the same day. Request your free estimate or browse our recent work.
Straight answers. If yours is not here, give us a call.
We answer the phone and give you a straight answer.
(352) 626-8007Grinding opens the top of the slab so the new coating can grip it. A smooth or sealed floor has nothing for epoxy or polyaspartic to bond to, which leads to peeling later. Grinding also removes any old, failing finish so you start clean. It's the single biggest reason a floor lasts.
Yes. We use a diamond grinder to strip off old epoxy, garage paint, glue, and other failing coatings down to sound concrete. We also handle high spots and rough finishes at the same time. Once it's clean and profiled, your floor is ready for a new coating that holds.
Most residential garages and patios grind out in a single day, depending on the size and how much old coating has to come off. If a coating is going down too, we usually schedule that right after so the surface stays clean. We'll give you a clear timeline with your written estimate.
We run grinders with a vacuum dust shroud that pulls most of the dust as we work, so your garage stays far cleaner than open grinding. There's some residue with any concrete work, but we clean up before we leave. Your space won't be buried in dust.
It depends on the size of the slab and how much old coating or leveling is needed, so we don't guess. We give you a free assessment and a written price the same day, with no surprise charges after. If your floor needs less than you expected, we'll tell you.
If the old coating is sound and the slab is already profiled correctly, light prep may be enough, and we'll say so. But if the old finish is peeling or the slab is smooth, coating over it will fail. We diagnose your floor first and recommend only what it actually needs.
Most homeowners choose polyaspartic or epoxy for garages and workshops because they're hard and easy to clean. For patios and lanais, we match the coating to your sun and moisture. We help you pick the right fit for how you use the space.
