Quick Answer

Epoxy removal tools differ far more in cost per square metre than in sticker price. PCD stripping discs cost $4-$28 each but clear 150-600 m2/h of coating; metal-bond diamond discs run $1-$6 but glaze on soft film; fast-change bush-hammer rollers texture at 100-300 m2/h; scarifier cutter teeth chew up 80-200 m2/h on soft mastic. As indicative 2026 figures, PCD tooling usually lands at about $0.05-$0.12 per m2 of coating removed - and the cheapest jobs run PCD for the first pass, then a metal-bond disc for cleanup.

Why the Cheapest Tool Is Not the Cheapest per m2

A $2 diamond shoe looks unbeatable next to a $20 PCD disc - until you measure area. On epoxy, the cheap shoe glazes and removes roughly 20 m2 an hour; the PCD disc clears 300 m2 an hour. Labour and machine time are the biggest line items on a removal job, so a tool that costs 10x more but works 15x faster almost always wins on total project cost.

The Four Removal Tool Types, Side by Side

Downtime and Changeover: The Hidden Cost

Tool price is only part of the math - how long the tool stops your crew matters too:

• PCD shoes: quick-change backing means a disc swap takes 30-60 seconds; tool life runs 500-2,000 m2 per set, so changeovers are rare.
• Bush-hammer rollers: durable and fast to swap, but they texture rather than strip - plan on a follow-up pass.
• Scarifier teeth: cheap per tooth but wear fast on hard concrete; changing a full rotor of cutters costs 20-40 minutes of downtime.
• Metal-bond shoes: cheap to replace, but on thick epoxy they spend most of the day glazing and slowing the crew.

Match the Tool to the Coating

• Thick epoxy or polyurethane (1-3 mm): PCD trapezoid disc or fast-change PCD shoe - the only tool that strips it in one pass.
• Glue lines, mastic, self-leveler residue: chip PCD, or the 5-small-PCD disc (JOY-TP-PCD5) for mixed grinding-and-stripping floors.
• Edges and corners: 12-tip PCD cup wheel (JOY-CW-PCD12) on an angle grinder.
• Texture for a new coating to bond to: the fast-change bush-hammer roller (JOY-BHP-FC).
• Finish the scratch profile: a low-cost metal-bond trapezoid disc (JOY-TP-R3) after the PCD pass.

The Lowest-Cost Sequence on a Real Job

Almost every profitable removal job uses two tools: PCD first to take the coating down to bare slab, then a 30/40# metal-bond disc to clean the smear and open the texture. Skipping the PCD pass means glazing for a day; skipping the metal-bond follow-up means a floor the next coating will not bond to.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is PCD always the cheapest way to remove epoxy?

A: On coatings over 0.3 mm, yes - its speed advantage dwarfs the higher unit price. On bare concrete or light curing compound, metal-bond shoes are cheaper because PCD would gouge and waste its life.

Q: Can a bush hammer fully remove thick epoxy?

A: No. Bush hammers texture and break up thin buildup but leave material behind; they are for profiling after removal, or for light coatings - not for stripping 2 mm epoxy.

Q: What does a scarifier leave behind?

A: A grooved, aggressive profile with more dust and noise; it works on soft mastics but rounds out fast on hard slabs, which makes it costly on polished-concrete jobs.

Q: How do I calculate tooling cost per m2 myself?

A: Divide the unit price by the m2 one set handles. Example: a $12 PCD disc that strips 600 m2 contributes about $0.02 per disc; six discs on the plate give roughly $0.12 of tooling per m2 removed.

Conclusion

Efficiency and cost are the same question on removal jobs: pick the tool that finishes the square metre fastest, then check the tooling cost inside that metre. PCD wins open-floor stripping, metal-bond discs win cleanup, cup wheels win edges and bush hammers win texture - and the lowest-cost program combines them in that order. Compare samples on your own coating before you price the next job.