Different brand, I used ICI epoxy, but I did it myself. Trick is just like any paint, surface prep is key. Its been 4 years and it is starting to flake a bit in places, but still looks better than plain concrete. Would apply it thicker next time (I think that was more related to the brand). Keep the doors open when you do it, stuff will make you high as a kite...
Easy to fix Pay $15 and subscribe... Seriously, though... it's in the Silver Subscribed section... WELL worth $15. Believe me. No secret decoder ring...(that's Rossa) but real advice from real experts. Mike
Very easy process...prep work is everything and I also suggest at least 2 heavy coats. I finished mine off with a clear epoxy topcoat.
I used Rustoleum purchased from Lowes. I used a pressure washer to clean the floor before the acid wash supplied with the kit. I did it about 18 months ago and it's holding up well.
I have done 2 of my garage floors using commercially available coatings from Home Depot and Lowes. Both slabs were approx 90 days old when the coatings were applied. I had great results with no lift up issues what so ever. One was done in 1996 and the other in 2000. I know people that have done there garages that had oil spots that soaked into the concrete and had poor results. On the other hand the shop I worked for in NC had the floor coated in there new shop done professionally and had lift up issues with in 2 months of being applied. Surface prep and cleanliness is the key when coating a floor with epoxy.
Did mine just today. LOts of prep work was done beforehand. Used 2 parter from Sears. We'll see how it holds up.
There's a company that adds a multi colored confetti chip, it comes out real nice! No personal experience, I found it at a car show...
thanks fellas for all your advice. I like the little chip look but I don't know how you would get it even. My floor will be new, no oils so the prep should be relatively easy.
I did mine 10 years ago using the paint from Griot's Garage. They are very specific on how to prep the floor. It was a new house and I did an acid wash as Griot's said, and then put down two coats. No problems with any paint lifting. If I can drive for a couple of hours in 110 dergree heat and the tires have no impact on the paint I don't think anything will lift it. One thing I would do if you get a lot of moisture is to add grit to the final coat. I don't have to deal with a wet floor here in Vegas very often, but that floor does get slick when wet.
Gentlemen; On a new floor, I'm sure it needs to be acid washed, but is it necessary to do the scrubber thing like the guy referenced in the OP (see pic from his blog)? I don't mind washing with acid and powerwashing, but I hoped not to have to rent a buffer. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Man I wish I could find the flyer....it IS hand sprinkled but with practice you could get it 'even'....being random is part of it's 'look'....Most of my papers are still boxed at Mom's house from The Exodus... Let me see if i can find it on the 'web..
The buffers are reasonable at Home Depot, about $40 per day. I think you need to wait at least 30 days before laying epoxy on fresh concrete. I was going to do polyaspartic on my garage floor but opted for VCT tile instead. My total cost will be half the coating and I think it will look better. The installer just put down the glue, I should have some pics tomorrow. PM me your email and I will send some over if you're interested in that option. This is a good website to peruse: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/
The flakes came with the Rustoleum kit I used. It's not hard to get decent results. It only took me a few hours to do a 26'x26' floor. I'll post a picture or two later this evening or tomorrow.
I hope these are of some use. I did not clear coat with a gloss finish because I thought it would be too slippery. I think it was a good call because it's a little slick when wet with a flat finish. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
One thing you might want to consider is choosing a color that will make any dropped metal part stick out. The light grey tends to blend in with bolts and washers that get dropped on the floor making it hard to spot.
true, color is important. also using the fleck will camouflage any items that you may drop. but as someone had mentioned, surface prep is VITAL. most any product will hold up if you prep the surface well.
After looking around and reading, I used www.epoxy-coat.com The hard part was getting the chips down evenly, and I spent lots of time cleaning the floor, including wire brushing dirty spots with a grinder and washing, and washing. I really didn't want to use chips, but decided I should for the traction when wet. Glad I did, it's slick when wet. I'm happy with result, but I have seen some great factory installed coatings that I've thought I should have considered, given the looks and my work involved in self-install. Check these coatings... http://www.slide-lok.com/products/garage_floor.php PS - Even with lots of cleaning, brushing, and washing, and double acid etching (I bought extra muriatic acid from hardware store), I still ended up with a number of fisheye areas (ie, unseen oil, etc). So cleaning is very important if your floor has been used a while.
They actually have dozens of colors of chips, and you can buy extra and mix your own chip colors. That's what I did. I used their fine chips, since I wasn't after a lot of chip look, just the traction. They also provide aluminum oxide that you can spread on the coating for traction. I'm sure it's great, but Epoxy-Coat's FAQ on their website says that it really only lasts maybe 5yrs. So I didn't use it, and felt the chips should last about as long as the coating and still provide the traction. I'm sure Epoxy Coat is higher quality than what you get at Home Depot or some other cheap online stuff. It's 100% solids and 'm happy with the result, except for some uneven chip application in places.
Has anyone tried the perforated floor tiles as an option to the epoxy coatings? Would seem that water, snow (for those of us that have it) would drain and keep the floor drier and non slip. There are a couple of places with 12x12 colors that could make for an interesting design project.
