Garage floor paint?

[sparky300]

Got a hair up my ass this weekend and decided to re-organize the garage, finish out the walls etc. Now I'm looking at the f-ugly bare concrete floor and wondered if anyone had any opinions on epoxy paint that worked well for them with good adhesion and durability, and/or problems (ie, flaking, peeling etc). Thanks

[Disturbed1]

sparky300,

Just an FYI... If you do any welding or use a cutting torch, the epoxy coating will catch fire if hot metal drops onto it. Don't ask me how I know[down]

[ali]

Do a acid etch before you epoxy your floor...I was planning on doing my soon, but cold man winter stepped in and put a hold on me doing it this year :(

[snrusnak]

What's the point? It's a garage, who cares if you have a stained garage floor? Every coating I've seen shows tire marks, etc. And they are very expensive.

JMO

[2004xb12s]

And they are very expensive.

You can get the epoxy and chips in one kit and it only costs about $100. Personally i will be doing it this spring because instead of the concrete sucking up the oil ya spill you can just wipe it up

[firebolt830]

You can get the epoxy and chips in one kit and it only costs about $100. Personally i will be doing it this spring because instead of the concrete sucking up the oil ya spill you can just wipe it up

He is correct and they look good initially but they those cheaper kits come apart where the tires usually sit, aka "Hot Tire Pick up". I used to work at Sherwin Williams and tested multiple epoxy products. The best one for durability is this: http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-30026%3aproduct-225 and you will need to get the Part B mixture for it as well which is this: http://protective.sherwin-williams.com/detail.jsp?A=sku-30017%3aproduct-224 .

It is pretty expensive if you are buying it as a DIYer but if you know anyone with a contractor account you can get it for a decent price. Also, make sure you acid etch the concrete to make sure to get rid of any oils or other items that have seeped into the top layer of the concrete. Any epoxy you use will only be as good as the surface it goes onto. (aka only as clean as the surface it is).

[2004xb12s]

Any epoxy you use will only be as good as the surface it goes onto.

[up]

[sparky300]

Thanks for all the input and, yes, as with anything prep is the most important step. The effort you put into prep directly impacts the final result. Removing oil spots and etching (and removing any etching residue) as well as letting the floor dry completely afterwards. I've read differences of opinion as to how long to allow the surface to cure after painting, some say 2 days, others as long as 2 weeks.

anyone with a contractor account you can get it for a decent price
We have a commercial account at work, I wonder if I can talk the salesman into selling it to me at a discount price...

[chevy42083]

I've used the ~$100 home improvement store kits 3 times (Rustoleum?). The only issue we had with hot tire pick up was NEW tires, and fresh out of the rain. Combined. Never had it happen any other time... but both times we parked brand new wet tires on it, it peeled up to bare concrete. Since then, new tires get parked outside for a week. The motorcycle and less driven cars got cardboard under them for a couple weeks.

Buy more than you need... so you can lay it thick without worry. It sucks to get almost done and have to start laying it thin to stretch your supply.

We did it to new garages, so no oil to worry about... and we did use the acid that came with the kit.

As for the "sprinkles"... don't try to "sprinkle" them. Throw them into the air, and let them spread as they fall. Believe me, the only way to get it evenly spread.


We followed the directions on etch time/dry time/etc... and all worked well. They only have ~3 years on the various floors, but look great. And oil wipes right up without a mess. We usually spray with simple green, scrub with a broom, then hose it out every now and then.

Oh... a push broom style squeegee makes the washing (before and after application) MUCH easier.

[ccdirtrider05]

agree about welding/cutting slag.. does not do the coatings any good. thats why mine is bare concrete.

[Internet Annoyance]

Thanks for the posting about the coatings, I have seen some in other peoples garages but it seems not easy to keep in good shape, For slobs like me they get scraped, scratched, stained and then look like crap. Show piece garages where no one does any work or spills anything, well they look good but dont fit into my lifestyle. most of my old bikes leak oil, and other fluids as a matter of habit.

At a shop i used to work at i did some installs in new service bays of plastic colored tiles in checkerboard patterns.. snap together type of stuff Red and silver in my work area, Blue and silver, Black and white and Green and silver.

This was a few years ago and wasnt cheap,, plus it left dents in the material when we left the fork lift on it over night plus the bike benches, we put small sheets of wood under the bike benches feet to spread out the loads and the dents from the fork lift came back out eventually

Nowdays theres a LOT more of these products out there and seem to be less expensive,, Ill be doing PARTS of my shop and garage with them this winter. But as noted,,in other areas where Oil, gas, and welding and grinding will be bare concrete.

I am looking for a good laminate floor in checkerboard pattern for my new cargo trailer, any suggestions? Something thats durable but not super slippery when wet,

[EricZ]

I also used the Rustoleum epoxy floor coating kit for my garage. I pressure washed the concrete with simple green, then with plain water, then acid etched and applied coating. I waited a couple days after pressure washing to allow the floor to dry. I had the garage completely empty so I didn't have to worry about water damage.

The coating has held up really well since ~2006 and the only damage has come from sliding heavy metal objects across the floor (tried not to do) and repetitive kickstand wear. I didn't use the flakes that come in the kit since I didn't know how to put them down uniformly. I don't park cars in the garage but it has seen a lot of floor jack and jack stand abuse and still looks pretty good. It's really easy cleanup and mopping with Simple Green or Fantastik makes it new again. Some of the color/coating will transfer to a rag if I scrub the floor with carb cleaner and some harsh brake cleaners so I try to minimize that.