Sanding a Garage Floor

Sweep the floor with a push broom to remove any loose debris from the floor. Sweep the debris into a dustpan and discard it.

Pour 1-gallon of bleach into a 5-gallon bucket. Fill the remainder of the bucket with hot water.

Scrub the floor with the bleach/water mixture and a bristle brush. Scrape up thick areas of grease and oil buildup with a putty knife instead of attempting to scrub it up with the brush. Take your time with this step. Change the dirty water for fresh water and bleach if the water gets too dirty. The cleaner the floor, the more successful sanding the floor will be.

Inspect the floor sander to ensure it is equipped with a masonry-sanding disc. The store where you rent the sander from will install the disc for you or show you how to install it. The process differs for each make and model sander.

Place the sander on the floor in the far corner of the room and turn it on. The disc turns in a circular motion. Slide the sander back toward the garage door and work your way out of the room. Once you complete the first row, move back to the far end of the room and overlap the second row by 50 percent. Repeat this until you sand the entire floor. You should see a fine, white or gray powder on the floor.

Stop periodically and sweep up the dust powder with the push broom. You have adequately sanded once all of the dark spots caused by grease and oil are gone.