Re-finish Garage Floor
01-15-2010, 04:46 PM
#1
Intermediate
Thread Starter
Member Since: Oct 2007
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re-finish Garage Floor
Hi everyone,
I am plannig on re-finishing my garage concrete floor this Spring. I used concrete floor paint a couple years back, but just wondering what everyone else has on there floors.
Does anyone have any suggestions or photos of garage floors that you keep your beautiful Vettes on all year long!!
I am plannig on re-finishing my garage concrete floor this Spring. I used concrete floor paint a couple years back, but just wondering what everyone else has on there floors.
Does anyone have any suggestions or photos of garage floors that you keep your beautiful Vettes on all year long!!
01-15-2010, 05:46 PM
#3
Melting Slicks
... i wish i had a garage...
that being said, there are some great garage floors out there. Even all kinds of forums for it, I think this is one
http://www.garageretreat.com/forums/...splay.php?f=10
that being said, there are some great garage floors out there. Even all kinds of forums for it, I think this is one
http://www.garageretreat.com/forums/...splay.php?f=10
01-15-2010, 05:48 PM
#4
01-15-2010, 07:31 PM
#6
Safety Car
Member Since: Jan 2004
Location: Northern California
Posts: 3,783
Likes: 0
Received 11 Likes
on
11 Posts
The Rustoleum Brand of floor coating has had a lot of Great reviews for price and durability (available at Lowe's).
Some members have had experience with both and said the "Rustoleum" brand has held up better than the "U-Coat It" system.
Some members have had experience with both and said the "Rustoleum" brand has held up better than the "U-Coat It" system.
01-16-2010, 12:27 AM
#8
Le Mans Master
I have used Rustoleum epoxy for some of my customers with great results.
They make several grades, make sure to get the industrial grade.
Prep is the most important part.
After the floor is cleaned either shot peen or scarify the floor to give the surface "tooth" for the paint to stick best.
I used U Coat It on my garage and it sucks. I have tire patch lifting.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
They make several grades, make sure to get the industrial grade.
Prep is the most important part.
After the floor is cleaned either shot peen or scarify the floor to give the surface "tooth" for the paint to stick best.
I used U Coat It on my garage and it sucks. I have tire patch lifting.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
01-16-2010, 11:54 PM
#15
Safety Car
Member Since: Sep 2002
Location: The reason time exists is so everything doesn't happen at once
Posts: 4,971
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
6 Posts
This write-up was done by the guy who's 93 I bought several years ago. I saw his garage floor and it was very nice.
There is some important information you should be aware of before you decide to paint. Don't paint the floor if the temp is below 60 degrees. If the floor was previously painted and you don't know what type of coating was put down you may not want to paint with an epoxy as most epoxy resin compounds will lift previous coats. They do have waterborne epoxy that won't lift older coats of paint but it will only be as good as the original coating.
If your concrete floor is new it needs to cure a minimum of three months, better to let it go to six.
One of the most important, is your floor damp? It's not always something you can tell by looking at or feeling the floor, you need a meter, you may be able to borrow one from a nearby professional paint store. By using the meter it will let you know if the floor is too damp to paint. If it is and you paint it anyway your looking at a failure in time to come. (Hydrostatic pressure from the water trying to rise to the surface will push the paint off in time).
Some floors are not meant for painting because of this; they’re just always damp, but you may be able to use a concrete stain
The next important consideration if you decide to paint is the correct cleaning and
etching process. There are industrial strength cleaning products to do this. Clean the floor and let it dry at least 48 hrs. Etch the floor following the directions and then you will have to neutralize the acid with a strong rinse of just water. Again let it dry up to 1
week (use the meter again to make sure it's dry enough if available). If you use a pressure washer you may need to wait a bit longer for the floor to dry because the water is forced deeper into the concrete.
Next any paint store should have a paint film gauge you can buy. It's only a couple of dollars. You have to look on the back of the product you buy and see what they recommend for the dried film depth. The way to use the gauge is to look on the back of the can and look at, for lack of better words, the ingredients list. Look at the percentage of solids in the paint. For example, if it's 50% solids and the manufacturer suggests a 2 mil. dried finish you have to put paint on wet at 4 mils.
Next some of your professional coatings do better with a special barrier epoxy clear coating before the color goes on. This prevents the chemical compounds in the epoxy from interacting with the concrete directly, which in some instances can cause failure. Let each coating dry the specified amount of time.
Your color goes on next. After the 1st coat of color is on but still wet you may want to broadcast an aggregate onto the surface (epoxy can be very slippery when wet). After it dries you can broom or use a leaf blower to remove the excess. Then put 1 to 2 coats more on, and that should be that.
Keep your car off for at least 10 days. I found the best epoxies to use are polyamide epoxy or aliphatic epoxy, whichever best suits your needs. There are several companies with superior products, (sorry guys Home Depot doesn't cut it), Benjaman Moore’s Industrial line of paints was my preference, but you research it and make your own choice.
the way did mine this way almost 10 yrs. ago and still
looks great, just pressure wash once in awhile.
There is some important information you should be aware of before you decide to paint. Don't paint the floor if the temp is below 60 degrees. If the floor was previously painted and you don't know what type of coating was put down you may not want to paint with an epoxy as most epoxy resin compounds will lift previous coats. They do have waterborne epoxy that won't lift older coats of paint but it will only be as good as the original coating.
If your concrete floor is new it needs to cure a minimum of three months, better to let it go to six.
One of the most important, is your floor damp? It's not always something you can tell by looking at or feeling the floor, you need a meter, you may be able to borrow one from a nearby professional paint store. By using the meter it will let you know if the floor is too damp to paint. If it is and you paint it anyway your looking at a failure in time to come. (Hydrostatic pressure from the water trying to rise to the surface will push the paint off in time).
Some floors are not meant for painting because of this; they’re just always damp, but you may be able to use a concrete stain
The next important consideration if you decide to paint is the correct cleaning and
etching process. There are industrial strength cleaning products to do this. Clean the floor and let it dry at least 48 hrs. Etch the floor following the directions and then you will have to neutralize the acid with a strong rinse of just water. Again let it dry up to 1
week (use the meter again to make sure it's dry enough if available). If you use a pressure washer you may need to wait a bit longer for the floor to dry because the water is forced deeper into the concrete.
Next any paint store should have a paint film gauge you can buy. It's only a couple of dollars. You have to look on the back of the product you buy and see what they recommend for the dried film depth. The way to use the gauge is to look on the back of the can and look at, for lack of better words, the ingredients list. Look at the percentage of solids in the paint. For example, if it's 50% solids and the manufacturer suggests a 2 mil. dried finish you have to put paint on wet at 4 mils.
Next some of your professional coatings do better with a special barrier epoxy clear coating before the color goes on. This prevents the chemical compounds in the epoxy from interacting with the concrete directly, which in some instances can cause failure. Let each coating dry the specified amount of time.
Your color goes on next. After the 1st coat of color is on but still wet you may want to broadcast an aggregate onto the surface (epoxy can be very slippery when wet). After it dries you can broom or use a leaf blower to remove the excess. Then put 1 to 2 coats more on, and that should be that.
Keep your car off for at least 10 days. I found the best epoxies to use are polyamide epoxy or aliphatic epoxy, whichever best suits your needs. There are several companies with superior products, (sorry guys Home Depot doesn't cut it), Benjaman Moore’s Industrial line of paints was my preference, but you research it and make your own choice.
the way did mine this way almost 10 yrs. ago and still
looks great, just pressure wash once in awhile.
01-17-2010, 12:35 AM
#16
Melting Slicks
I have used Rustoleum epoxy for some of my customers with great results.
They make several grades, make sure to get the industrial grade.
Prep is the most important part.
After the floor is cleaned either shot peen or scarify the floor to give the surface "tooth" for the paint to stick best.
I used U Coat It on my garage and it sucks. I have tire patch lifting.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
They make several grades, make sure to get the industrial grade.
Prep is the most important part.
After the floor is cleaned either shot peen or scarify the floor to give the surface "tooth" for the paint to stick best.
I used U Coat It on my garage and it sucks. I have tire patch lifting.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
01-17-2010, 07:13 PM
#17
Safety Car
Member Since: Sep 2002
Location: The reason time exists is so everything doesn't happen at once
Posts: 4,971
Likes: 0
Received 7 Likes
on
6 Posts
I used U Coat It on my garage and it sucks. I have tire patch lifting.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
I called U Coat It on their guarantee. They claim it is my floors fault, it was new concrete, I waited the appropriate time for curing and acid washed it, all per their instructions.
They offered to sell me some more material to recoat the whole floor for half price.
Now why would I put more crap over crap.
U Coat It's product sucks and so does their customer service.
01-17-2010, 07:22 PM
#18
Pro
Member Since: Nov 2006
Posts: 545
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
i'M THINKING
I am going to investigate commercial grade adhesive tile in the spring.
I'm convinced this is the way to go. With proper prep and application I think it will be a winner.I also think it may be available in 2 foot or 4foot squares or possibly linoleum style, fewer joins fewer problems.
Does anyone have any pros and cons on this idea.
I'm convinced this is the way to go. With proper prep and application I think it will be a winner.I also think it may be available in 2 foot or 4foot squares or possibly linoleum style, fewer joins fewer problems.
Does anyone have any pros and cons on this idea.
