BallistiX does NOT require a profile. If it’s clean, it’ll bond.
BallistiX does NOT require a profile. If it’s clean, it’ll bond. Period. The grind and seal is extremely easy - it can be done one of two ways. First start off with a quick tensile test. Take a cup of water and dip your finger tips, spritz around your jobsite to create small areas of beaded water. Count how long before the small beads dissipate. A rule of thumb is 0-15 seconds? You’re definitely going to need a primer. 15-30 seconds? Primer may be required, but generally you are fine without, but will require more product than over a tight surface. Greater than 30 seconds? No primer needed.
OPTION 1 - Mix Grenade primer pack into 1 gallon of catalyzed SQUIRE. Apply at recommended coverage rate (no need to mop). This will give you 1.25 gallons of material with the pack. 8-10 minutes after primer is applied, follow with topcoat. If you are using a primer, the floor is porous and you should be able to walk back over it with shoe covers. Sometimes this does require cleats. If working in a large area, the goal is to have three folks working. One will spray, two will work in unison to spray and mop. Generally we recommend also using flow agent in your topcoat as this will actually increase your viscosity ever since slightly and give you a little bit more working time! The idea behind this, is to create a false bottom and give you a superficial/semi impregnating approach. The primer flashes relatively quickly and allows your topcoat to adhere to the primer and remain. The product will initially look somewhat flat, but as long as it’s consistent - will get shinier, harder and glossier over the first couple of days.
OPTION 2 - Spray your primer coat. Allow it to flash. Come back >12 but <24 hours and hit the floor with a black pad, ISO wipe and apply topcoat. Why is this an alternative option? Well, it allows you to see any areas that may be slightly more porous. We do not answer for concrete finishers. You very well may have floors that were constructed on different days, with variations such as humidity, slump, additives, trowel techniques and of course - the laborer that finished the job. Never assume that one slab will be consistent. Test broad and thorough.
Remember also, that you can very easily do a mock-up on any floor - concrete or epoxy… give it 20-30 minutes and see how it settles. If you are happy with it, you can simply lightly over spray an edge and activate to carry on. OR douse it in a little iso and wipe it up to start fresh.
This product is extremely forgiving and manipulatable/malleable especially in the first 12 hours. Now, the one thing to remember is - it goes through a very intense bond and cross linking period from day 2-5 so if you are going to make alterations, do it on day 1 or day 6. Just know that by day 6…. It’s going to get extremely hard! A product that you can easily remove with a sanding screen on day 1, will take a very aggressive Diamond after days 6-10. If you alter the coating between day 2-5 it will cannibalize and destroy itself. This is related to the very unique bonding process.
Also remember that some grind and seals are meant to be focused on performance and others are desired to be aesthetic. This product works phenomenally to protect against the elements and to preserve the substrate for years and years to come! The entire motivation behind developing the grind and seal aspect of BallistiX, for me, was entirely out of motivation to have an inorganic product that looked and performed like a polish.
This is also a great product to enhance and/or renovate an already polished floor. You can convert a busted up 400grit to look like a 1500 polish without the use of tools - I as a polisher am not endorsing replacing polish - but you have now given your customers an option that may be within their budget and perform for years to come! Have your customers take old motor oil, brake cleaner, skydrol, battery acids, etc and apply it to the floor! Just remember it does take our product a week to chemically cure (at 70 degrees). For every 10 degrees less, you double your cure times.
If you do use a system other than our primer to bind porous floors - just remember that you are only as good as what you bond to. With our system you will not experience delaminating, efflorescence, moisture issues, discoloration, etc. our system is warrantied per our specifications. If you do decided to go with an alternate primer or base, we do steer customers towards water-based products such as Acrylics, Urethanes or Epoxies. Water-based materials do not require anything more than an iso-prep wipe as long as they are hardened and appropriate to coat. If you do use solvent based products, we recommend allowing the product to chemically cure prior to coating,
BIG TIP - For first time users, if you have any imperfections or flaws in your work (mop marks, porous areas, missed spots) - understand that this product is forgiving and most alterations can be made with a buffer and some pads. If you notice this and the floor is wet, let it dry before attempting to fix - OR simply wipe it up with some iso and try again.