I'm going to do my garage floor... I must be bored

[CaptRoy]

My neighbor brought over his 4000psi washer last weekend and I moved everything off the garage floor and hit it hard... Looks better but there are still stains from the old corvette and now the TR3A.

I really want to coat it so... what do you recommend... I know prep is the key to success and I plan to get a scrubber and apply two to three applications of degreeser and pressure wash in between..

Has anyone used .. U coat it... Sounds great... pricy..

What has some of you used??

Thanks

 

[Brosky]

Save the sealing effort and get one of those new interlocking tile setups. From what I've heard, the prices and quality is great.

Sorry, but I don't have a link or any pictures to back this claim up, just idle gossip from old LBC owners.

 

[PeterK]

I used an industrial coating that's used in warehouses. It's a clear slightly yellow finish (nothing pretty like you see on TV) that stands up to repeated forklift type traffic. Even dried POR-15 drips can be removed with a razor blade.

I have been very satisfied with it now 10 years later still looks the same. But I envy the purty floors I see on the car shows; still satisfied. My floors are 3000psi pour and were floated smooth, no texture.

I bought it at an industrial supply place in a 5 gallon bucket and rolled it on a green floor, couple of coats.

 

[Rob_T]

I've personally used Rustoleum epoxy floor coating, and lik it alot. They make a kit for the home owner that gives professional results. The Rustoleum holds up well to hot tires and fuel.
After you degrease the floor, I'd wash it with muriatic acid. I've achieved best results by dilluting it 1/2 gallon to 5 gallons of water. The acid gives a good "tooth" for the epoxy to bite into. BE SURE TO WEAR POTECTIVE CLOTHING, EYE PROTECTION AND A CARBON RESPIRATOR. Sorry for the caps, but you don't want to burn your eyes, skin or worse your lungs! You'll need the respirator when you apply the epoxy also. 3M makes a nice disposable one.
It's a bit of a process but well worth it!
If you want the floor to really pop, Rustoleum make a clear gloss finish too.

Cheers,

Rob

 

[PeterK]

Save the sealing effort and get one of those new interlocking tile setups. From what I've heard, the prices and quality is great.

From what I read about these floors, there are two price ranges. The lower range snaps together but allows fluids to seep between the pieces and fluids get trapped underneath. The high priced spread has a seal on each edge and will contain fluids.

I have one of the garage floor liners that comes on a roll in my main garage (not my shop). It keeps the concrete dust from coming up (good feature), is hard to roll a hydraulic jack on, impossible to use storage dollies on (worst feature), and water gets trapped on the outside edges. Cheap at Sam's club for around $130.

 

[Popeye]

First, I wish you luck.
Second, I just did this to my garage.

There are three types of epoxy: water based, solvent based, and pure epoxy. Price is slightly different... but I do not believe by much. Application of water- or solvent- based is easier than pure. I went with pure epoxy as most of the work is prep - however, my application is less than perfect, but you can't tell unless I show you or you look really hard / know what to look for. Benjamin Moore is what I went with.

Prep: I found "Pour-n-Restore" to be the best at removing grease. Takes a lot of patience, as you pour it on, let it dry, sweep it up, let the residue dry, and repeat. It took a few days for mine to fully dry, but it was in April, temps in the 50's plus the shade of the garage. Bottom line: 3 weeks prep time... nothing gets parked in the garage during this time, of course. Also remove tire marks... they are full of some sort of oil. The test is to spritz a little water on the surface and see if it soaks in instantly. If yes, even with a visible stain you should be good to paint.

Prep, part deux: Acid etch. I found diluting the acid ineffective, and went with full strength. WEAR FULL BODY ARMOR... GOGGLES (not glasses), BOOTS, GLOVES, CARBON RESPIRATOR. Use a cheapo plastic pesticide sprayer to distribute the acid - spray it all over the floor. Do not pour the acid onto the floor, it becomes ineffective faster than you can spread it. The acid cannot dry on the surface, otherwise you leave a bunch of crystalline matter "bonded" to the concrete. Rinse, rinse, rinse. Be aware of environmental concerns - do not just dump it down the drain. Plenty of water will dilute the acid - mine drained onto the lawn, and I had the garden sprinkler running, and limed the lawn afterwards. Some people suggest spreading lime on the floor to neutralize the acid, but I found this resulted in a horrible mud that was impossible to clean. Bottom line: it took me four attempts to etch, and the final, full strength etch did the trick. When complete, the surface should feel like 100-grit sandpaper.

Vacuum. Vacuum. Vacuum. Rinse again. Vacuum. Vacuum. Get that floor clean.

Let the floor dry for a week... or at least a few days. Tape a piece of plastic to the floor and see if moisture condenses on the backside. If yes... let it dry. (Matter of fact, this is a good test before you even start... if there is moisture coming through the concrete, the paint will not stick.)

Coat #1 is a clear, pigment free coat. The pigment particles are bigger than the epoxy particles, so a pigment free epoxy will soak deeper into the concrete. Roll this coat on... using a squeejee (spelling?) will not cover the floor, the coat is pretty thin.

Coat #2 is colored... and tricky. If you roll too much, it is discolored. If you roll not enough, it will not cover teh floor, and/or you will have puddles. I found the trick is to paint the edges, then pour the bucket onto the floor. Squeejee it out, then one final roll to smooth the paint. Use golf shoes (or similar spikes) so you can walk on the fresh paint.

Coat #3 is same as #2.

I have two expansion joints on my floor, dividing the floor into quarters. I did one quarter of the floor at a time, as the working time with the paint is less than 30 minutes.

So far is it three months old, and with daily parking on it I have not had anything lift... I suspect something eventually will lift, chances are I missed cleaning a spot here or there.

Good luck!!

 

[Brosky]

Popeye,

If I built a new home, it would have a trophy garage. That is not likely to happen so my oil spotted concrete will remain, since I'm just too darn lazy to do all of that work.

But I am jealous, because I'll be it looks great! And due to your preparation, it will probably last longer than you think.

 

[YankeeTR]

https://www.garagejournal.com this has been discussed to death over there...

BTW...I used a non-brand name epoxy finish on my shop floor...I bought it from my local paint store who sells it to professionals. Two years and it has been great.

 

[Cyberpyr8]

I just painted my floors with the Rustoleum kits from Home Depot. The kits were great. They come with the epoxy, the activator, specks (optional), grease remover powder and a DVD video showing how to do it. My 3 car garage took 3 1/2 hours to do (including degreaser). I watched the 6 minute video and used my Wagner Power Roller. Because of the temperature here in FL I didn't have too much time. It had to take 3 hours or less!

I will take some pictures, but everyone that has come over has been impressed with the results. If you can paint, you can do this. I bought some liquid grease remover which worked great. I had some spots from my old Firebird that came right up. I did the whole floor with 3 kits. It was an easy afternoon job. The only bad part is that it has to dry untouched for 24 hours and can't be driven on for 7 days. I have been told that if you try and ruch it that the floors will not hold up. So far I have not had any chips or marks.

 

[YankeeTR]

The water-based products are OK for the average home garage. They won't take a lot of abuse, though.

I vote for a solvent-based product. I routinely drag stuff across my floor with little damage. I only have one gouge in the coating and that came from moving a 1200# mechanical ironworker across the floor to it's new home.

 

[Joe_Pinehill]

I painted my floor with epoxy from Home Depot, but for under the car I have a 4 x 8 sheet of 22 or 20 gauge( I forget exactly) galvanized sheet metal. Easy to clean the inevitable leaks from the spitfire, and its fire proof.

 

[Cyberpyr8]

Actually I did leave a 4X8 rug on the floor that the Spitfire sits nicely on in case it leaks.