The World is quiet, no more whiizing or buzzing or flopping or scraping.And then i wondered. To illustrate the difference, Lowes offered a 4 diamond grinding wheel for $10, versus silicon carbide wheels for under $3. This did seem to be the explanation for the dusty result. Instantly a fan. A place where people can come to learn and share their experiences of doing, building and fixing things on their own. You have a very wry wit and I liked how you wrote. I hoped this would facilitate better adhesion. This product can be controlled with your voice through Alexa-enabled devices such as Amazon Echo and Amazon Tap. To do that, I made a spacer, about 1 long, out of a piece of 5/8 PVC pipe. I wound up just glopping a bunch of the stuff on the concrete and then smearing it into a uniformly flat and level surface, using a piece of cardboard as a squeegee. Overall, I felt that it had been kind of fun to play with my concrete mix, and I realized that it might be useful for other purposes. Using the garden spade, I shoveled the wet mix into the lamp base. It now appeared that the only solution compatible with my tiny budget for this little project was to use a rotary wire brush drill attachment to wear off the loosest dust particles, and hope that my adhesive would mostly stay attached to the remaining concrete for a long time. Versatile Weight with Split-Ring Opening. There are many reasons for this weakened layer of concrete. The base is hard, sturdy, and feels very solid. I doubted that I would be able to replicate the factory coating. The webpage for Quikrete Sand Topping Mix listed some of the applications it was intended for, including large crack repair, thick beds for ceramic floor tile, and filling cores in masonry block walls. I guess I had hoped that the Liquid Nails would dry clear. The remaining question was whether the mouse pad would remain adhered to the concrete. If that was a concern, possibly a countermeasure would be to insert hardware cloth in the concrete as a form of rebar. The lamp pole is extremely thin too and is also made of metal so it can be moved quite easily without stumbling over. But they do have to get moved when the floor is cleaned, and that's regularly. Or, more accurately, it would definitely introduce a potential fault line, but hopefully the lamp would suffer no single or cumulative impacts sufficient to amplify that potential fault line into an actual crack in the concrete. I hit the finished concrete with a bristle brush. I viewed the concrete horizon levelly and, with my finger, lightly tapped down any bits of sand that were sticking up. That was premature; I should at least have weighed it first. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. The lamp has just been sitting here. The fabric seemed to have stayed pretty well attached to the rubber during years of use. So it seemed that I wouldnt need one of those mechanical solutions (e.g., grinding); I could just spray or paint something onto the surface to seal it and provide an adhesive surface. The QUIKRETE Concrete Bonding Adhesive webpage said it permanently bonds new concrete, plaster, and stucco to existing concrete, plaster, and stucco. A search at Lowes turned up 71 water-based products but would you believe $267 for a gallon of Ghostshield concrete sealer? I would find some old style barbell weights at a "GARBAGE" sale that are made from cast iron, adapt the lamp pole to go into the weight hole and use that . That worked: those crumbs were willing to get massaged into the mix. I love your write-up of your concrete adventure! Weather forecasts and prior experience led me to expect the temperature inside the greenhouse to range between roughly 65F at night and 100F in daytime. The data sheet accompanying the Quikrete Sand Topping Mix said, For applications 1 2 (25.4 51 mm) thick, use specified bonding agent, but For applications less than 1 (25.4 mm) thick, use specified admixture. User comments at Lowes led me to understand that you wouldnt want to use Quikrete Sand Topping Mix for applications less than an inch thick because it was a mix of cement, coarse sand, and gravel. The lamps threaded shaft seemed to require a fine-threaded half-inch nut, and for some reason those were not to be found at the local Home Depot. Itallegedly Helps prevent water and ice damage to concrete surfaces. But that didnt appear to be a product that would soak into the concrete, as a sealer would do. It is possible that a hard rap (e.g., dropping the lamp onto pavement) could cause the concrete to fracture along the plane of that piece of steel. On eBay, I saw rubber mouse pads that might do the job, as long as I chose one that either lacked a cloth liner or whose cloth liner was attached consistently to its rubber base, so that the cloth would not fray when I cut it into a circle to fit the lamp base.After a bit of searching, I found one on eBay without a cloth liner, but it was going to take up to ten days to deliver. It did feel like a tool looking for a purpose; I wasnt sure whether or when such a purpose would next emerge. I had used too much water, within a greenhouse that trapped humidity, in what was already a humid climate. You are FANTASTIC, RUTHLESS, QUITE A CEMENT AUTHORITATOR AT LEAST FOR LAMP BASES, NOW, AND FOREVER HILARIOUS! Of course, I could not see what was going on down inside these lumps of concrete. I should have thought to weigh the old concrete base before discarding it, so as to know how much new concrete Id need. For example, Home Depot offered a gallon of sodium silicate concrete densifier for $65. And silence. When I got the lamp back into position on my desk, surrounded by other stuff, I could barely even see the base etching. But plainly it would have been better to have a less cluttered workspace. This happened only about 43 times in three minutes, for an average rate of only once per photo. At worst, the fumes or solvents in the adhesive would dissolve the glue that held the fabric to the rubber, and the rubber would come loose. Thank you for the compliment! I did consider scrapping the plastic film idea, but it was so warm in the greenhouse that I felt it was probably best to trap moisture within the concrete mix as recommended. A. Apparently I was going to get a light layer of concrete on the outside of the lamp base, whether I wanted it or not. So I went ahead with the rotary wire brush. GSA said that lacquer would protect the brass from deterioration, and could be removed and reapplied, but would not itself require polishing. The surface now looked rougher, with more of the larger particles. As one other possible precaution, for those whose lamp bases include a cord (mine didnt), Ken Mitton suggested inserting a piece of folded cardboard in the concrete to preserve a slot through which the cord could run: I couldnt say whether such a slot would significantly weaken the base or make it more prone to cracking. It appeared that I would have to try one of those mechanical surface cleaning solutions (e.g., grinding) after all. For a mere $7, I was able to get a 60-lb. The tube didnt seem to have an expiration date. I removed the lamp from its cinderblock encasement, unwrapped its rags, and examined the lamp shaft. Change). Ahhhh! The McLean Company (2020) continued: Whats nice about dust proof sealers like sodium or lithium silicate densifiers is that theyre easy to apply, relatively inexpensive and dont alter the appearance of your flooring surface. The Vinyl Conrete Patcher is design for repair less than thick. That Quikrete is light stuff light enough to fill the air around your head, every time you fiddle with the Quikrete bag, or pour or stir the concrete powder. You will need to pressure wash the surface to achieve clean and bare surface and the ReCap Concrete Resurfacer is suggested if you are seeking a thin layer. Possibly I could replace that by pouring some adhesive into the base and shoving the chunk of concrete back in. I was hoping that someone would tell me that, actually, I could just do the job with some random thing lying around, like spray paint or leftover motor oil, though of course the latter would not provide a very good adhesive surface. DLLT Modern Reading Floor Lamp, 3-Light with Adjustable Flexible Gooseneck Tree Standing Lamp for Living Room, Bedroom, Study Room, Office -Black Metal White Shades, E26 Base, Light What You Love, Source for Lighting & Decor, All customers get FREE Shipping on orders over $25 shipped by Amazon. One option was to reattach the felt pad that I had peeled away from the old lamp base. On the seventh day, I looked at the sidewalk patch. Hi! Nine months later, its still fine. Not very high priority right now so just trolling for ideas. 8620-10)? Their reply: No it will not. Now it was time for the glue. Somebody said that chemicals in the concrete could be hard on the skin, so I put on some theoretical plastic gloves and goggles. The mouse pad still seems to be firmly attached; nothing is rattling; the lamp still works. In that case, a glance at the label on my half-used tube of Liquid Nails LN-700 confirmed that it was supposedly good on concrete and vinyl, but not on steel. It's never happened to me in my life, ever. This way, your facility is protected not only from dusting, but from problems caused by moisture, too. I have an old standing lamp similar to this one here and the cement base weight has crumbled and fallen apart. I wouldnt know whether that would produce a better outcome than just pouring in a final layer of Quikrete Resurfacer (above). My search led to various possible solutions (e.g., buy a replacement base; fill it with plaster; somehow attach a five-pound weight from a yard sale dumbbell set). I found that a fingernail could scrape away the excess dried Liquid Nails from the metal base, but there were still spots where the white, dried Liquid Nails was visible between the metal base and the mouse pad. I emailed Quikrete, described the dust situation, and asked, Will it work to trowel on a thin layer of QUIKRETE Concrete Repair (No. I think it cures a lot quicker; I just hope it lasts for them. So I proceeded to lay on the plastic film. At this point, it was high noon, and the temperature in this greenhouse was probably over 90F. I thought I would be getting a reasonably sloppy result. I positioned additional cinderblocks to mitigate the risk of accidental bumping during the curing period (below), and (with pieces of cardboard) to catch excess concrete troweled off from the lamp base: I didnt have a steel masonry trowel, and wasnt inclined to buy one for this single task, so I used a piece of leftover angle aluminum. But I assumed the latter would suffice for my little job. I did have a small level, long enough to span the lamp base. For a mixing bowl, I used a plastic bucket. There were some of the ragged marks you can get with scissoring: on close inspection it didnt exactly look professional. With the lamp reassembled, I did a final wipe-down of the metal base; wrapped the lamp in old rags, to protect its finish; and manipulated four cinderblocks until they held it in a level, upside-down position: My setup was located in an old, partly shaded outdoor greenhouse. I found that, no, it definitely was too hard to gouge with a screwdriver. Learn how your comment data is processed. Perhaps it's a poor-quality product. So, I was looking to see if I could rig up something bz I really like the lamp. It was also possible that I had caused or at least aggravated this result by dragging the cellophane around that maybe I should have just laid the plastic onto the concrete without pulling it in any direction, so as to avoid pulling water over the edge, though the cellophane still might have done some wicking. Well, que sera, sera. But in response to my emailed query, a Quikrete representative said this (typos in original): If you are attempting to create a 2 base the Sand Topping Mix is suggested instead. The absence of any such note probably indicates that it has been working OK in the meantime. It didnt. It seemed that pointy spots in the concrete could poke or wear through the thin felt pad. My speed, for this operation, was shorts, sandals, and bug spray. If the surface of your concrete is soft enough to easily gouge with a screwdriver or your dusting is more severe, then aggressive grinding, shot blasting, or scarification of the concrete surface is going to be required. Well, this should not have been a surprise. A forum community dedicated to Do it yourself-ers and home improvement enthusiasts. The clouds diminished but did not cease as I continued brushing. I have exactly the same problem with an old floor lamp which I took apart to modify. I need to fix a lamp, but fear that when I turned it right side up, the new concrete would fall out. It looked dry. Well, there isnt much of anything patchable. I was considering of welding a rebar piece to the sides of metal base before pouring in fast-setting cement for anchoring (isomat fix rapid or similar), but I think that your solution of attaching a steel piece on the central shaft is more elegant and easier. AllGarageFloors (Shea, 2020) elaborated: Dusting is the white chalking and/or powdering of concrete at the surface. I have found a couple replacement discs online, but the thickness and inner hole diameter (for the bolt) varies, plus they're like $40. Slam on the brakes unexpectedly, and I could find a nice hole in the heavy paper bag holding the concrete mix. After using a densifier, an optional next step is to apply a water repellent sealer. It seemed in retrospect that I should have mixed up a tiny bit of the concrete and tested it on a small or hidden part of the brass finish, or should at least have tried to research it. That helped a little but, really, I might have had to double the water to get the kind of smooth consistency I expected. Now that I was belatedly looking into it, I saw that Lowes and Home Depot offered Quikrete ReCap Concrete Resurfacer only in a 40-lb. This was a little problematic because it appeared that the film, however flimsy, might add grooves to the concrete surface, and also because it drew some of the water over the edge. That plywood base could presumably be secured with flathead screws, run into mollies inserted into the wet concrete and lined up with pre-drilled holes in the plywood, marked on paper. But the concrete had been formed around the lamps central shaft, and that had broken loose too. That was the smallest size I found locally. Other people seem to be happy with just using the vinyl concete patch, even though it sounds like its not the right stuff for the job. The lows did not drop below 50F. The answer appeared to be yes. When I tapped the edges, they crumbled, though not as easily as before; and when I tapped the center, the parts that were less than maybe 1 thick sounded hollow. As with the other transgressions along that bottom half-inch of the metal base, this appeared to be something that I would have to resolve with maybe a ring of black paint, though frankly it was, again, not even noticeable in the lamps final resting spot. That framing did get in the way while I was switching the trowel from one hand to the other to work the concrete into the lamp base.