Garage Floor Paint

[Rex Ruby]

One of the services I offer as a contractor is garage floor epoxy coatings. It is not my intent to push epoxy floors as epoxy is only one of the possible garage floors available. My intent is to share my knowledge of the epoxy option.
The recent job I did was a 2100 SF metal building. As with any project the preparation is key. This floor was so smooth, one of the best cement finish jobs I've ever seen. It was actually too smooth so I had to grind it so the epoxy would have some "tooth" to grab on to. I used a grinder that has 6 replaceable stones doing the grinding.
http://inlinethumb19.webshots.com/47314/2969136360034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2969136360034327257WQVSIr)
In extreme cases scarifing the surface maybe needed. Scarifing will leave the surface rougher than just grinding, kind of like an orange peel. This is a basement floor I did a few years ago this was scarified mainly because there was 10+ coats of paint on it.
http://inlinethumb47.webshots.com/46958/2577223230034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2577223230034327257BdEEgh)
Once the concrete is roughed up to get the best result apply 3 coats. I use an industrial two equal part epoxy paint. (Can't buy this stuff at Home Depot!). First coat.
http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/48563/2379366460034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2379366460034327257NWgvWU)
Don't have any second coat pictures. The second coat was 85% good enough but the third coat put the icing on the cake!
http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/48429/2102828470034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2102828470034327257zFtcEJ)
http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/49187/2125799890034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2125799890034327257HLoBiV)

[Rex Ruby]

Here's another customer's floor, all grinded and ready for paint.
http://inlinethumb33.webshots.com/46752/2880857980034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2880857980034327257sgetGD)

Finished shots:
http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/48641/2282428320034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2282428320034327257cNfKMX)

http://inlinethumb07.webshots.com/49606/2478945010034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2478945010034327257bjNCdd)

[Rex Ruby]

These epoxy floors turn out real nice! So after doing the recent one I decided to redo mine. 10 years ago when I built my garage was the beginning of my epoxy floor education. Did a lot of research and decided on the U Coat It system. Within a year of applying the U Coat It I was dissatisfied. I had a lot of tire patch lift and the finish was not what was promised. Actually if they had insisted that I apply 2 coats the finish may have been acceptable. I called them on their guarantee and ultimately they blamed the failures on my concrete. So I've lived with that mistake for 8 or 9 years and everytime I do a floor for a customer it kills me when I look at mine:ack: I took a chance and didn't grind my floor as what was sticking of the U Coat It is pretty stuck. I painted a first spot coat covering all the areas where the concrete was exposed. Then painted 2 more coats for the following result!
http://inlinethumb09.webshots.com/48584/2992321330034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2992321330034327257ZUeejJ)

http://inlinethumb31.webshots.com/49566/2652621380034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2652621380034327257vdZIcA)

http://inlinethumb46.webshots.com/23597/2030953210034327257S600x600Q85.jpg (http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/photo/2030953210034327257dOEeEr)

Hope you enjoyed this and maybe learned something, PM me or email me at: corvette@jporter.net if you have any questions.

FWIW, installed this costs $3 to $6 per SF depending on conditions. If you'd want to DIY this you could do it for about $1 a SF, with a lot of work! :cheers:

[Scrrem]

Great information John. I did my floor two year ago (U-Coat-it) and I will say that it was more work that I first thought but with this system, floor preparation is key. So fair, mine has held up with no issues.
Rich

[HADI-ZR1]

Rex,
I think nowadays pro. Garage floor job done by using layer of epoxy and polyurethane coating, (powder coating)I have seen some 5 stars garage with that technic!
:cheers:
http://www.advancedfloorcoating.com/images/simpleviewer/images/005.jpg

[A26B]

These epoxy floors turn out real nice!
Hope you enjoyed this and maybe learned something, PM me or email me at: corvette@jporter.net if you have any questions.

FWIW, installed this costs $3 to $6 per SF depending on conditions. If you'd want to DIY this you could do it for about $1 a SF, with a lot of work! :cheers:

John,

Thanks for the info. I did my garage floor with Muscle Gloss epoxy about 8 years ago. Rolling it out for the coverage they specified has resulted in
spots now lifting. I didn't spread it so thin on the last half of my garage and it looked better and has been much more durable. Now it needs to be cleaned off and redone.

I've been planning on building a new shop for a couple of years and the floor finish has been my biggest, unresolved issue. Thanks for the info. I'm now encouraged to do epoxy again with the hope of a long lasting finish.

[Rex Ruby]

The garage with the red floor is 3.5 years old. I was doing another job for that customer the beginning of this year the spot he parks his DD was all crapped up from winter driving. I took some spray 9 to part of that area and all the winter crap easily cleaned off and the floor looked like new again!

[A26B]

Wish you were in Oklahoma John!!

[Rex Ruby]

Wish you were in Oklahoma John!!

Did I hear someone say ROAD TRIP??!!

[-=Jeff=-]

How slippery is it when wet?

Been wanting to do my garage floor but concerned of the 'slip' factor being I am in the Chicago Suburbs and my wife gets her car in the garage in winter.

[Rex Ruby]

How slippery is it when wet?

Been wanting to do my garage floor but concerned of the 'slip' factor being I am in the Chicago Suburbs and my wife gets her car in the garage in winter.

It is fairly slippery when wet. You can add aluminum oxide for less of a slip factor. But the rougher you make it the harder it is on mops when you want to clean it.

[Scrrem]

How slippery is it when wet?

Been wanting to do my garage floor but concerned of the 'slip' factor being I am in the Chicago Suburbs and my wife gets her car in the garage in winter.

The U-Coat-It system has grit you can add when appling the base coat but I opted not to use it (Mistake) and I can say the floor is "Slick-as-Snot" when it gets wet.
Rich

[ZR1Vette]

Nice work! And you got it right when you said the floor finish is all due to the prep work...gawd how many painted floors with the "best epoxy finish" fail within a couple years.

I went the acid etch route (concrete was clean to start with...no oil stains etc) and then the UCoatIt system (two epoxy base color coats/flek/aluminum oxide and then final epoxy clear coat) and I have (after 6 years) some very minor paint lift in few spots...nothing that is of concern>>

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/MRBLU/DSC00210.jpg

http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b79/MRBLU/DSC00208.jpg

Oh...even with the grit the floor can get slippery with certain smooth soled shoes... and as John said...more grit harder to mop etc. and the grit loves to shred pants and T shirts if you happened to be lying on the floor.

[rhipsher]

That work looks great John. Where can I rent one of those grinders at. Reason I ask is because I had one car leak transmission fluid in my driveway and I tried everything I could think of to get it up. Power washed it. Used concrete stripper with a corse wire brush and nothing worked. So I figured if I can't get it up I'll just cover it up. So I mixed a big bucket of quick crete and spread a thin layer over it. A couple of weeks later the stain came up through the quick crete. So not only does the quick crete not match the color of the driveway I still have a stain. My neighborhood association threatened to sue me if I didn't do something so I did and now it looks worse than before. Lol! I thought my only choice was to jackhammer the whole driveway up and have a new driveway poored. That is until I saw you concrete surface grinder. That just might work for my situation.

[Rex Ruby]

That work looks great John. Where can I rent one of those grinders at. Reason I ask is because I had one car leak transmission fluid in my driveway and I tried everything I could think of to get it up. Power washed it. Used concrete stripper with a corse wire brush and nothing worked. So I figured if I can't get it up I'll just cover it up. So I mixed a big bucket of quick crete and spread a thin layer over it. A couple of weeks later the stain came up through the quick crete. So not only does the quick crete not match the color of the driveway I still have a stain. My neighborhood association threatened to sue me if I didn't do something so I did and now it looks worse than before. Lol! I thought my only choice was to jackhammer the whole driveway up and have a new driveway poored. That is until I saw you concrete surface grinder. That just might work for my situation.

Sounds like the trans oil has soaked in. A grinder probably won't accomplish the result you are looking for. I would go very aggressive and rent a scarifier. Instead of grinding stones there are little carbide wheels and it will really take layers off of concrete. Leaves a rougher finish (see my second picture).

Most of the larger equipment rental places will carry it, Taylor, Sunbelt, etc.

[rhipsher]

:proud:Sounds like the trans oil has soaked in. A grinder probably won't accomplish the result you are looking for. I would go very aggressive and rent a scarifier. Instead of grinding stones there are little carbide wheels and it will really take layers off of concrete. Leaves a rougher finish (see my second picture).

Most of the larger equipment rental places will carry it, Taylor, Sunbelt, etc. We have Sunbelt rentals here. Thanks so much because I didn't know what the hell I was gonna do.
Although these neighborhood associations have their place" they can be be very overbearing. I keep my place immaculate. And just one time the Mazda decided to let loose with transmission fluid and soak in all night long and holy cow. If you leave your hose unwound you will receive a nasty letter about it. And I pay those "MF's $1,000 a year. Excuse my english. My next house will be on my own 2 or 3 acres of land void of any association.

[DaveK]

Can you apply this to fresh concrete? I'm thinking get it down before there's time to get any stains there? :confused:

[ZR1Vette]

How fresh?? Less than a year old then 'no' since not all the water has been released from the concrete mix

[DaveK]

I was thinking of putting it down as soon as I laid the slab! I won't be doing that now :o - I didn't realise it took so long for the water to come out fully.