Can you sandblast a concrete driveway?

Factual Questions
1

I had a stamped concrete driveway put in 3 years ago and frankly they did a lousy job. Both the coloring and stamping process failed to a certain degree and the company soon after went out of business. In some areas the stamping is so light you can hardly see it (they waited too long to do it I figure).

Because of its size I can’t afford to rip up the entire driveway and do it over so I was thinking of having it sandblasted so that the surface would at least be uniform in texture. I could then paint it if I wasn’t happy with the color it ended up. I talked to one concrete guy and he said that you can’t sandblast stamped concrete for some reason. Is that really true? The stamping is very light in most places and I could probably do it myself over a weekend… Anybody done this sort of thing before?

2

I think you might just end up exposing large aggregate particles - concrete is often laid in such a way that the top surface is composed mostly of fine particles, allowing a smooth even finish, but just below the surface, the texture can be very coarse.

3

You might be able to get resin-bonded gravel applied.

4

Mangetout nailed it. The last operation in laying concrete is to “float” it. I.e. lay a flat tool, a float or a long piece of 2x4 across the surface and lightly pat it. This brings the fines to the surface so that you can make a nice smooth finish. Just below the fines is the coarse aggregate.

And, you will also require truckloads of sand, I think.

I would find another way.

5

That said, ‘exposed aggregate’ is sometimes a deliberate decorative finish, but in these cases, a suitably attractive and uniform aggregate is usually chosen - since the aggregate in your driveway was never intended to be on show, it is anybody’s guess what it looks like - it might not even be the same throughout the driveway.

6

A possible alternative might be a concrete grinder or terrazzo grinder which will grind away everything at once (aggregate and fill) and leave you with a flat surface. Find a rental yard in your area that specializes in tools for contractors and you may find one that rents cement or terrazzo grinders.

7

Thanks everyone. I forgot about the underlying aggregate.

Grinding sounds just a risky as sandblasting, with an even greater chance of an uneven surface. Did I mention the driveway slopes down 15-20%?

I’ll look at Resin Bonding…