A Flexible option – Malish and Diamabrush
As someone who has been around the flooring industry for close on 30 years, I have born witness to the claims of many manufacturers, from the downright fabrications through to the totally justified. What they generally have in common is that they have been heavily promoted is some way, shape or form in order to get the attention of their target market. Today however, I want to talk about a manufacturer that does relatively little promotion but instead relies on word of mouth from its satisfied customers, a company whose vast range is both a blessing and a curse.
Malish is a brush manufacturer formed in 1945 in Ohio USA, starting out as a typical “mom and pop” operation the company has grown to be one of the most innovative and quality driven brush manufacturers in the world. It is this innovation that has led them to be very well known in the flooring renovation industry with their Mal-Grit range of silicon carbide impregnated brushes that clean a multitude of surfaces such as stone, vinyl, LVT, safety flooring etc., as well as brushes for carpet cleaning and other general cleaning purposes.
Possibly less well known about is the range of products that are manufactured by Malish but sold under the Diamabrush brand name and the scope and capabilities of these tools is impressive. So where do we start? I am going to start with the tool that first got me interested in the Diamabrush brand, the Hardwood Prep Tool. Like the rest of the Diamabrush range the basis of these tools is diamond impregnated blades that scour the surface to be cleaned, this tool looks fairly brutal and the “hardwood” part of its name is very important as it can seriously damage softwoods. The tool consists of six diamond blades designed to remove old carpet adhesive, ceramic finish or layers of acrylic seal from hardwood floors prior to sanding without “gumming” up and wearing out due to carmelization.
Next, we move on to the Coating Removal Tool which looks similar to the Hardwood Tool but has only 5 blades and is designed to remove thin set, adhesives, paint or polyurethane from concrete prior to new coatings being applied or possibly polishing. Used with water to contain the debris this system is far safer than using solvent based chemicals or even dry grinding of the surface.
Sticking with concrete we now move on to the Concrete Prep Tool which has 16 sprung blades at 100 grit and is the starter tool for concrete polishing. The springs on each blade keep the tool in constant contact with the floor and as the blades wear down new diamond abrasive is exposed. There is also a Concrete Prep Plus tool which is both longer lasting and faster, both tools create an excellent surface for new paint and resin coatings.
Finally, in the range are the Polybrushes which were designed for concrete and terrazzo polishing but which are also incredibly useful for restoring certain vinyl floors as well as Marmoleum. The brushes consist of 32 blades set in banks of 8 on 4 carriers and are available in six different grits from 50 through to 2000. Designed to follow the Concrete Prep Tool the concrete will start to appear “polished” at around 400 grit but for a fine finish it is best to continue through 1000 to 2000 grit, however a concrete densifier will be necessary to seal the surface for polishing.
So why should you look at the Diamabrush range? Put simply all these tools fit on basic rotary machines and so can give all contractors the capability to carry out otherwise tricky tasks. The blades are available as separate items, so you don’t need to buy the complete tool as they wear out again adding to the low-cost nature of the setup and clutches are available for a variety of machine brands.