A new polished concrete contractor needs a tooling package that covers four stages: coating removal, grinding/leveling, honing, and polishing, sized to their machine’s head configuration. Start with PCD tooling for coating removal, metal-bond discs at 30/40–80/120 grit for grinding, transition to 100–200 grit metal or hybrid for honing, then resin pads 400–3000# for gloss. Budget for at least two full sets of the most-used grits (30/40 and 80/100), a set of PCD discs, resin polishing pads, plus accessories like adapters, backer pads, and a few spare segments. This core kit covers 90% of commercial and residential polished concrete jobs.
| Stage | Tooling | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Coating removal | PCD discs (full or segmented) | Strip epoxy, paint, mastic |
| Grinding / leveling | Metal bond 30/40 – 120/140 grit | Flatten slab, open surface, CSP profile |
| Honing | Hybrid or metal 100/200 – 400 grit | Refine scratches, densify-ready surface |
| Polishing | Resin pads 400 – 3000# | Build gloss and clarity |
A> The 30/40 metal-bond grinding discs — they level the floor and open the surface, and everything downstream depends on that first step. Buy two full sets before any other tooling.
A> If you plan to work on coated floors (epoxy, paint, adhesive), yes. PCD is the only practical way to strip coatings efficiently. If you only grind new concrete, you can defer it.
A> Four: 400, 800, 1500, and 3000. Add 100/200 metal or hybrid for honing before resin. This sequence delivers a commercial-grade gloss on standard concrete.
A> Per machine. Tooling is matched to the machine’s mount and head size, and the same set serves every project. Standardize on one machine family to avoid duplicate tooling inventories.
A> Practice on scrap slabs: run the full sequence 30/40 → 80/100 → 200/400 → resin, photograph the scratch pattern at each step, and learn to read when a grit is done. Consistency in passes is the skill that separates pros.
A polished concrete contractor’s tool kit is a system: PCD for coatings, metal-bond 30/40–80/100 for grinding, hybrid/metal 200/400 for honing, and resin 400–3000 for gloss — all matched to your machine’s mount. JOY TECH supplies the complete range of PCD discs, metal-bond trapezoid discs, backer pads and resin pads. Ask us for a starter-kit recommendation matched to your grinder and market.
