Commercial Coating Removal and Slab Prep - Austin, TX

Why Proper Prep Determines Every Coating Result

Austin Concrete Finishes has performed commercial coating removal and floor prep across the Austin metro since 2005 - 21 years of stripping and profiling commercial slabs for general contractors, facility managers, and property owners. Warehouses with old paint and failed industrial coatings, retail spaces with tile mastic left behind after a tenant departure, restaurant buildouts with sheet-vinyl adhesive embedded into the slab - these are routine jobs. Jason Laxson owns and runs every project himself, which means the person walking your site and confirming the target surface profile is the same person operating the grinder.

Commercial floor prep is the work that makes every finish possible. A new epoxy coating over poorly prepped concrete fails within two years, especially on Austin slabs affected by Central Texas expansive clay soil that causes ongoing slab movement. A polished concrete floor that skips the initial grinding phase never achieves a consistent surface profile. The prep is not optional - it is the job, and getting it right determines whether the finish that follows holds or has to be done again.

As of 2026, Austin’s commercial construction market generates constant floor prep demand. Tenant improvement buildouts across the Domain, South Congress corridor, and East Austin require stripping what the previous tenant left behind. The I-35 warehouse corridor from Pflugerville to Georgetown sees regular repurposing of older industrial buildings where the slab carries decades of contamination. Restaurant renovations across central Austin involve tile demo that leaves mastic and thinset on the concrete. Austin Concrete Finishes serves all of it.

Coatings and Adhesives We Strip From Concrete Slabs

Commercial slabs accumulate layers. Here is what comes off and how each material is handled.

Failed Epoxy

Epoxy that was installed without proper diamond-grinding prep typically begins delaminating within one to three years on Austin commercial slabs. When it goes, the entire coating system has to come off mechanically. PCD tooling strips failed epoxy efficiently - the cutting segments shred the coating without loading up the way diamond pads do on soft materials. Thick industrial systems with multiple coats may require multiple grinding passes.

Tile Mastic and Thinset

Tile removal leaves behind adhesive that bonds hard to the concrete surface. Mastic from older tile installations is often petroleum-based and resists mechanical prep differently from acrylic thinsets used in more recent work. PCD tooling handles both. The key is removing the adhesive completely rather than just breaking it up - residue left in the slab creates adhesion failures in the next coating system.

Carpet Adhesive and VCT Glue

Carpet adhesive and the glue used for vinyl composition tile are the most common materials encountered on tenant improvement projects in Austin. Both are soft enough for PCD tooling to remove efficiently. Sheet-vinyl adhesive - sometimes called cutback adhesive in older commercial buildings - may contain materials that require specific handling procedures. Jason identifies the adhesive type at the site visit before quoting.

Old Paint and Acrylic Sealers

Warehouse floors and parking structures in the Austin area often carry multiple layers of paint or acrylic traffic coatings. These materials are thinner than epoxy systems and come off faster, but inconsistent paint layers create an uneven surface profile if they are not removed completely before diamond profiling. Acrylic sealers used on exterior concrete around commercial properties penetrate the surface and need mechanical removal before a new sealer or coating will bond.

Urethane Coatings

Urethane and polyurethane coatings installed in commercial kitchens and food-processing environments are designed to be chemically resistant - which also makes them resistant to chemical strippers. Mechanical removal with the right PCD tooling is the reliable approach. Jason works with urethane systems on Austin commercial kitchen renovations where a previous coating has failed or the tenant spec calls for a different flooring system.

Planetary Grinders, PCD Tooling, and HEPA Containment

Austin Concrete Finishes uses planetary grinders, not the single-head angle grinders or drum sanders that smaller floor-prep operations run. A planetary grinder has multiple satellite heads that rotate counter to the main plate. The result is a consistent, flat cut across the slab without the swirl marks and inconsistent depth that single-head machines produce. On a commercial floor that needs a verified CSP 2 or CSP 3 profile before a coating system goes down, consistency matters - the manufacturer’s adhesion warranty for most industrial epoxy systems is voided if the surface profile is not verified before application.

PCD tooling is specified for coating removal. Polycrystalline diamond segments are engineered to attack soft materials aggressively - carpet adhesive, mastic, failed epoxy - without loading up the way standard diamond abrasives do when the material is soft or gummy. When the coating is off and the concrete surface itself needs profiling, the machine switches to diamond tooling calibrated to the target profile depth.

HEPA dust containment runs throughout every commercial project. The grinders connect to industrial HEPA vacuum systems that capture dust at the cutting head before it becomes airborne. This is not a shop vac - it is a dedicated dust extraction unit with a filter rated for fine concrete particulate. Commercial spaces with active inventory, adjacent office areas, or food-preparation zones get the same containment equipment as any other project. For Austin restaurant renovations where the kitchen is operational during phased work, dust containment is not optional.

Commercial Floor Prep Projects Across the Austin Metro

Tenant Improvement Buildouts

A new tenant moving into a commercial space in Austin rarely gets a clean slab. Whether it is a Class A office in the Domain, a flex space in Round Rock, or a strip mall unit along Burnet Road, the landlord needs the previous tenant’s floor system removed - tile adhesive, old epoxy, paint - before any new finish goes in. GCs managing these tenant improvement projects regularly use Austin Concrete Finishes as the stripping subcontractor, handing off a clean, profiled slab to their own flooring contractor. The alternative is bringing Jason back for both the prep and the new finish system, which eliminates the risk of disputes between trades over slab condition at handoff.

Warehouse Repurposing

Older warehouse buildings along the I-35 corridor and in the East Austin industrial zone often carry decades of overlapping floor treatments. A warehouse converting to distribution, manufacturing, or food production needs the old coating history removed and the slab returned to a clean, verifiable surface profile before a new industrial system goes down. Austin Concrete Finishes handles multi-day warehouse prep projects and coordinates scheduling around warehouse operations to minimize disruption to stored inventory and active receiving areas.

Restaurant and Retail Renovation

Restaurant and retail renovations across Austin - from South Lamar and South Congress restaurants to Cedar Park and Lakeway retail buildouts - involve tile demo and material removal that leaves the concrete in variable condition. Thinset, mastic, and adhesive residue require mechanical removal before any flooring system - epoxy, polished concrete, or overlay - will bond. Overnight and weekend scheduling keeps restaurant kitchens and retail floors operational through the project. Most Austin restaurant prep projects run overnight so the kitchen is back in service before the next shift.

New Construction Floor Prep for GCs

New construction slabs need surface profiling before coatings go down. The concrete surface as poured is too smooth for most epoxy and overlay systems to bond mechanically. Diamond grinding opens the slab to the required CSP profile, removes curing compound residue left from the pour, and creates the texture the coating manufacturer specifies for proper adhesion. Jason works directly with GCs on new construction projects across the Austin metro - from Mueller mixed-use developments to Georgetown and Leander commercial parks - as the surface prep subcontractor, handling prep without requiring a finish coat commitment.

Prep-Only or Full-Service Options

Austin Concrete Finishes takes prep-only jobs. If a GC or facility manager has their own coating contractor lined up, Jason strips the floor and delivers a properly profiled slab - that is the complete scope. No obligation to continue with the finish. The target CSP profile is confirmed with the incoming coating contractor before work begins so the handoff is clean.

Full service is also available. Jason handles prep and finish in a single project: strip the old coating, profile the slab, address any moisture vapor issues with a barrier system if needed, and install the new finish. Epoxy, polished concrete, and overlay systems are all within his standard commercial scope. Combining prep and finish with one contractor eliminates the handoff risk that sometimes creates disputes between the prep subcontractor and the coating installer over slab condition. One call, one quote, one point of contact from site visit to final walkthrough.

Either arrangement works, and the quote spells out exactly what is included.

Request Your Free Floor Prep Estimate

Call Austin Concrete Finishes at (512) 749-8503 or use the quote form below. Include the square footage, the material that needs to come off, and your preferred scheduling window. Jason responds with a full scope and price within 48 hours (2026 scheduling available).