Line Grinder 390

Hello all! I am considering purchasing a line grinder 390 unit. I have some questions, I was hoping you could answer for me: 1. I have some customers who own warehouses that I paint from time to time, but have never scarified the lines before I would paint. Have any of you used the line grinder unit to do warehouse areas? Do the blades they provide do an effective job at lightly scarring the surface without making it look poor? I have heard that some of the blades seem to take too much concrete. Also, is this unit good for concrete floors? 2. In the area I live, many of my customre have problems with concrete sidewalks lifting and creating lips, which become trip hazards. do these units work well for elimintating that problem? If you would please share any other tips/advice, I would appreciate it! Thanks again!

I am not a grind-laser fan, have had more problems with them than with the ones from smith co. they are a good investment and you can do a lot with them, the selection of the right teeth for the right job is crucial. you can run the carbide teeth to do most everything from grinding lips to removal and prep if you are careful. If you want to prep smooth concrete you can run steel teeth, these wear quickly but will do the least damage, taking a little time with these can do some amazing things, but add in the time for replacing teeth, as they may only last a couple hours.

I have not used the graco but I do have a lot of experience grinding off lines with the smith units. the correct teeth patients go a long way to getting a nice looking removal job. don't try to remove all of the line at once, multiple passes work better.

We have a 290 and it is a good trouble free machine. We have never done a warehouse as just not very many in this area. We only have the carbide frail cutters and they are somewhat aggressive and do leave a scar. We have a big 6 inch knotted wire brush called a cure brush we got from Smith. We mainly use ours to brush and remove the cure agent from new concrete. Once in a while we use the brush to run over lines that are flaking or the carbide cutters. The cutters goes a lot faster but does leave a scar. The cutters and brushes for them are not cheap so it takes some selling to cover the cost if you use it much. I would also highly recommend a driver as they are a man eater. If you don't have one the smaller units may be a better choice, depending on your physical condition.

Get more than one head, 2 or 3 will save time on a job, it's faster to change the whole head than it is to put new teeth on one.

I picked up a Grindlazer 270 at an auction last week so I would also be interested in others experience with the units, I bought a new sprayer & rider this spring so I lucked out that there was a hitch kit for the grinder. Eric

Having not used a grindlaser specifically but with a lot of experience using walk behind scarifiers and ride on scarifiers, they are first and foremost not what you should be using in a warehouse. If you are considering using one in a warehouse I respectfully suggest that you do not have the experience to know how to approach a warehouse line removal or floor prep job. Hand scraping, diamond grinding or shot blasting are the correct way to remove lines in a warehouse to minimize floor damage. As stated above, the type of teeth you use will determine the effectiveness and quality of work done with any scarifier. Straightline is 100% correct, multiple heads make width and teeth type changes very quick. They are setup and entry costs worth considering. We tend to love the full face cutters from Kut-Rite. They are durable and leave a great finish.

We have been using the 390 for two years now and have grind off thousands of feet of line.I have not had one problem with the machine. This year we add a Ermator S26 vacuum to the grinder. it takes less than a minute to clean up the grinded parking line. Compared to a broom and shovel which was over five minutes. Plus with the vaccum, there is zero dust. A lot of people buy the grinder and forget about the clean up time. http://www.ermatorusa.com/S26-HEPA-Dust-Extractor.html Jim

Does anyone know what engin would fit on a graco 490 line grinder? Thanks Dan