What CSP means
CSP is the industry scale for how mechanically open a concrete surface is, running from CSP 1 (acid-etched, barely textured) to CSP 9 (scarified). Every coating manufacturer specifies a minimum profile in their data sheet, and applying over the wrong one voids the warranty. It also fails, which is the more practical problem.
Why acid etching is not equivalent
Acid etching dissolves some surface paste but produces an inconsistent profile, cannot remove oil or old coatings, cannot flatten anything, and leaves salts behind if the rinse is imperfect. It exists because it is fast and needs no equipment. Every coating we have been called to remove early was etched rather than ground.
What else the grind achieves
Beyond profile, the pass removes laitance. The weak, dusty layer that rises to the surface during finishing, along with curing compounds, sealers, adhesive and previous coatings. Coating over laitance means bonding to a layer that is itself poorly bonded to the concrete underneath.
How to verify it happened
A ground slab looks and feels obviously different: uniformly matte, slightly rough to the palm, with the aggregate faintly visible where the cut went deeper. If a contractor prepped your floor in under an hour with no grinder on site, no extraction hoses and no dust, it was not ground.
Want this answered for your slab?
Free site visit with a moisture reading, then a written fixed price. Across the BC Interior.