Aging concrete skatepark surfaces. Can they be re-smoothed?

[Bold]

A couple of the skate parks near me are getting some age on them. He surfaces started out much smoother than they are today and now they are beginning to resemble grip tape. The really super rough grip tape with big grit.

Several of the grocery stores in my area recently took up their 12-in commercial waxed vinyl tile type flooring and replaced it by staining and polishing the concrete slab underneath.

Is it possible to do a similar treatment to a gritty, rough concrete skatepark surface?

[hayduke lives]

i'm not a huge expert but i looked into this after an unexpected storm wreaked havoc on a fresh pour at our DIY. from what i saw the machines that can do the resurfacing are for flat surface. might work on flat banks too but not radius. angle grinders with the same grinding wheels you would use on curbs is how we approached fixing the quarter pipe, total pain in the ass. or you skim coat a fresh layer over top. think this is what the pro park builders did for derby and burnside's past facelifts

[Bold]

i'm not a huge expert but i looked into this after an unexpected storm wreaked havoc on a fresh pour at our DIY. from what i saw the machines that can do the resurfacing are for flat surface. might work on flat banks too but not radius. angle grinders with the same grinding wheels you would use on curbs is how we approached fixing the quarter pipe, total pain in the ass. or you skim coat a fresh layer over top. think this is what the pro park builders did for derby and burnside's past facelifts

Oh, good point about the flat surface thing. Hadn't thought about that.

Do you know if they put any kind of sealer or other chemical on the concrete as they polish or before or after? Those grocery store floors are way too slick for a skatepark but something in between the current park situation and the grocery store would be better than the current park situation if I could figure out some way to smooth it off cost efficiently.

[fernando the skater]

A very rough old park was smoothed out a couple years ago here. I think they grinded it smooth. It took a while.

[hayduke lives]

ya, grinders are what we used. definitely time consuming...and dusty! as far a chemicals i think any kind if sealer/hardener would go on after grinding. nothing to actually help with grinding. there is also a bonding agent i believe that you would use before any skim coat. i think the right paint can also help smooth things a bit without being too slippery. that is kinda the plan at our spot.

[S.]

A very thick paint will do the job. That’s what they do at some of the bigger DIY parks like la kantere or burnside. It takes some testing though. You don‘t want the paint to be too slippery. And it needs to be as thick as lacquer basically.

[j....soy.....]

Yes, in around Vancouver they are starting to do it and the results have been pretty positive: Tofino and recently railslide.  The company who does it here : Transition Construction.  I suspect it's not cheap, super labour intensive but definitely cheaper than tearing out a whole new park. 

[CHONGO]

Angle grinder + diamond blade + mask.

[InkkeACAB]

A very rough old park was smoothed out a couple years ago here. I think they grinded it smooth. It took a while.

[Willie]

A very thick paint will do the job. That’s what they do at some of the bigger DIY parks like la kantere or burnside. It takes some testing though. You don‘t want the paint to be too slippery. And it needs to be as thick as lacquer basically.

FDR just slops on mis-tinted latex paints with rollers. It makes everything deathly slippery when even slightly wet or if there is condensation but it does refresh the surfaces somewhat and keeps it from becoming like sandpaper.

[sharkjumper]

I’m pretty sure Red/Dreamland did refurbishing on the OG part of Lincoln City several years ago. Coastal air is not gentle on that concrete. Not sure what method they used, but they’re pretty responsive on IG and through email if you feel like asking them.

I know that Windell’s/seek skate camp has sealed their park multiple times over the years. That’s helped it stay smooth. Pretty sure they used a concrete sealer clear coat made for outdoors.

[grimcity]

Gnars all the way down this thread! Our local Dreamland park has one sizeable patch of flat at the bottom of a perfect quarter that's weathered enough to slow you down a good bit going up and down... I kept forgetting to investigate the fix, so thank you. Fuck yeah.

[sharkjumper]

Want to add a note that if you’re doing concrete grinding, you need more than an N95 mask. Get one of those fancy masks that seals to your face with the external filters. Concrete silica will fuck up your lungs.

[TheDraught]

They resurfaced Stockwell skatepark in London as well, cost a pretty penny though:

https://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2022/08/stockwell-skatepark-reopens-after-500k-facelift/amp/

[WashingtonNECKTIE]

Angle grinder + diamond blade + mask.

+ running water if possible. Really helps cut down the dust if you keep it wet while grinding or cutting.

[Unkle Fleak]

A very rough old park was smoothed out a couple years ago here. I think they grinded it smooth. It took a while.

My older local needs this

People call it Mark's Park now. I like that

[AFX]

Yup just sand them and add a fresh thin layer of crete. It is easy? No. Is it super expensive? Yes, it’s called capping. Also might want to check out TF structural concrete overlay.

[CrappybsflipDownthe5stair]

Expand Quote

A very rough old park was smoothed out a couple years ago here. I think they grinded it smooth. It took a while.

[close]

That was a great vid, thanks for sharing

[jsettle]

Im pretty sure KONA does this for their park. With how old that park is but still somehow smooth, they definitely do something. Even from 10 years ago till now it's smoother than before. I'm sure its not easy but can be done