Epoxy garage floor prep can I have a bit of help please?

[dhutch]

I can't see acid etched doing anything for the painted areas.

Very little information, but I think the scabbler or some form of more aggressive grinder is what you want.

What do the various paint suppliers and or other hire shops say?


Daniel

[V8RX7]

You don't want a glass like finish the paint won't stick.

I'm not familiar with what's available commercially, I'd take a look on HSS website then look at what they do on youtube

[Andehh]

Thanks guys, glass like was an exaggeration. It is very very smooth, but concrete none the less. Spoke to johnstones and they confirmed that providing it absorbs water it will be fine. Power floated (!?) my floor is not, so I need not worry.

Day 2 has been more successful, still a bit solid 9th hours of grinding to reach 55% complete, but at least it feels like the back has even broken.

Wife stepped in when she clocked the mood I was in from afar, and helped me out as i saw to a few errands (work...).

The trick seems to be:.

1) 4 very heavy house bricks strapped to the top of the machine (as per previous comments on thread regard weight helping)

2) pressure washer getting the bulk of the paint off, then grinder to get rid of the underside if it all

3) swear at the floor, coating, paint, machine owner, previous owner copious amounts of time!

4) Wear comfy shoes... I clocked 12,150 steps today. I didn't leave the property....

Edit: 5) ensure you are grinding the correct ceiling... . (how the feck has the photo been saved upside down!?)

Edited by Andehh on Friday 29th June 18:48

[P924]

I'm not envious of the work, but I'm sure I will be of the result.


The bikes help to confuse the photo.

[Andehh]

Well, another very long day but progress again!

The floor is in a good state, paint removed, and nicely ground down. I have used Degreaser over the whole thing, and then pressure washed thoroughly.

Tomorrow will be a half day of grinding further just to really clean the surface & get rid of the adhesive trace of old paint that seemed to have soaked in a bit!

I then hope to pressure washer thoroughly twice, before leaving it to dry for a couple of days before the painting!

[Andehh]

Well,

Weekend finally ended & task completed - with an estimated damage of nearly 25 hours of solid grinding away.

The floor is now 95% immaculate, grounded down once more then rinsed down thoroughly twice with a pressure washer to really ensure clean & dust/debris free and now left to dry for a few days. I couldn't get right to the edges, but I figure i am never going to do much with the 3" around the edge of the room so will hopefully get away with those bits!

Plan is to Start painting Wednesday evening, I have recruited my wife & a mate on stand by to help. Hoover beforehand, follow the instructions, make sure the right cans are mixed and crack on!

I will update in due course!!

Edited by Andehh on Monday 2nd July 15:39

[Flibble]

Angle grinder for the edges. Yes it'll be a pain.

[Andehh]

I didn't get a grinder in the end but went round with a hot air gun & manual scraper to get the worst of it up.

Just an update;

After letting the garage dry out for a few days (I put a lot of water in there to wash & rinse it out), I then hoovered twice before I painted. I then left it 24 hours & put the second coat on this evening.

First coat was diluted 10% to allow it to soak into the concrete & brick. It was watery, as per instructions, but seemed to soak into the surfaces as needed

Second coat went on this evening, and really evened it all out & finished it off very nicely. I have enough for TWO more coats but the 4th coat is just not going to make any difference so I will probably save that for touch ups in the future.

Tomorrow I will do the third coat, then give it until Sunday to start moving the lighter stuff back in the garage, the car wont go in until next weekend though - they insist a full 7 day cure time for heavy traffic.

Below is how it is looking, I am very happy. It isn't as 'thick' as I was expecting (as per OP's resin floor) so does show imperfections, but I am fine with that to be honest. This isnt a showroom & is a very 'domestic' sort of garage - half car, half crude.

I also made a total mess of masking off the white vs dark grey, so didn't bother in the end. Once settled I will go round with white & tidy it all up.


Images below:

Edited by Andehh on Thursday 5th July 21:31

Edited by Andehh on Thursday 5th July 21:36

[James_B]

Apologies for the slight thread hijack, but is this kind of space suitable for asphalt?

My new home has a communal garage below the street, and I have a couple of spaces in it. I’d like to clean it up a bit, paint it, and leave a nice surface.

[dhutch]

Andehh said:

I didn't get a grinder in the end but went round with a hot air gun & manual scraper to get the worst of it up... I hoovered twice before I painted. I then left it 24 hours & put the second coat on this evening.

First coat was diluted 10% to allow it to soak into the concrete & brick. It was watery, as per instructions, but seemed to soak into the surfaces as needed

Second coat went on this evening, and really evened it all out & finished it off very nicely. I have enough for TWO more coats but the 4th coat is just not going to make any difference so I will probably save that for touch ups in the future.

Tomorrow I will do the third coat, then give it until Sunday to start moving the lighter stuff back in the garage, the car wont go in until next weekend though - they insist a full 7 day cure time for heavy traffic.

Below is how it is looking, I am very happy. It isn't as 'thick' as I was expecting (as per OP's resin floor) so does show imperfections, but I am fine with that to be honest. This isnt a showroom & is a very 'domestic' sort of garage - half car, half crud....

Great update.

Looks amazing, sound perfect in terms of the first coat sinking in, second two giving a good finish, even the edging is more than neat enough.

Remind me how much paint you had and the surface area of the garage? Did they provide the thinners?

Cheers

Daniel

[Flibble]

He used a water based paint, so thinners are on tap.

The OP got thicker coverage as he used a full solids epoxy rather than a half solids epoxy paint.

[Andehh]

dhutch said:

Great update.

Looks amazing, sound perfect in terms of the first coat sinking in, second two giving a good finish, even the edging is more than neat enough.

Remind me how much paint you had and the surface area of the garage? Did they provide the thinners?

Cheers

Daniel

They are 4+1Litres so 5L of paint, which is more or less perfect for a modern new build garage 5m x 5.5m. First layer was bang on (10% watered down, inc doing the lower wall) then second layer was also bang on - i presume as it didnt soak in so much so covered further.

Flibble said:

He used a water based paint, so thinners are on tap.

The OP got thicker coverage as he used a full solids epoxy rather than a half solids epoxy paint.

Ooooh, Whilst I didn't think i would get the coverage OP did, I am curious as the 'why' of it. What is the big difference between his & mine then> Epoxy resin vs Epoxy paint??

[Flibble]

Andehh said:

Flibble said:

He used a water based paint, so thinners are on tap.

The OP got thicker coverage as he used a full solids epoxy rather than a half solids epoxy paint.

Ooooh, Whilst I didn't think i would get the coverage OP did, I am curious as the 'why' of it. What is the big difference between his & mine then> Epoxy resin vs Epoxy paint??

Epoxy resin is a two part chemical cure adhesive basically. You put it down, it cures, there's no evaporation of solvent, what you see when you pour is what you get. The two parts chemically react and alter structure to form a tough plastic.

Epoxy paint is an epoxy resin diluted by a solvent (in your case water). When you mix and pour the epoxy part cures, but also the solvent evaporates. The solvent helps to spread it more thinly so you can get a more economical coverage, at the expense of it being less hard wearing.

[Andehh]

Flibble said:

Epoxy resin is a two part chemical cure adhesive basically. You put it down, it cures, there's no evaporation of solvent, what you see when you pour is what you get. The two parts chemically react and alter structure to form a tough plastic.

Epoxy paint is an epoxy resin diluted by a solvent (in your case water). When you mix and pour the epoxy part cures, but also the solvent evaporates. The solvent helps to spread it more thinly so you can get a more economical coverage, at the expense of it being less hard wearing.

I am struggling to tell the difference, it looks like OP's is also sold as ''2 part epoxy floor paint'', which is the same as mine? How would one tell them apart?

Also, the Johnstone's I used is £120+ per tin (though not what I paid)

[Flibble]

Andehh said:

I am struggling to tell the difference, it looks like OP's is also sold as ''2 part epoxy floor paint'', which is the same as mine? How would one tell them apart?

Also, the Johnstone's I used is £120+ per tin (though not what I paid)

You check the solids content (which should be listed in the specs); 100% means no solvent.

Once down there's little difference really, it's just easier to get a thick layer with a 100% solids (or a thin layer with a lower solids).

[Andehh]

James_B said:

Apologies for the slight thread hijack, but is this kind of space suitable for asphalt?

My new home has a communal garage below the street, and I have a couple of spaces in it. I’d like to clean it up a bit, paint it, and leave a nice surface.

I wouldn't go with asphalt, height increase, crumbly edges, cost etc.

As per this thread some form of epoxy resin garage paint or plastic tiles would worth investigating. I'll update this thread over time as I use & a bus my garage floor.

[dhutch]

Flibble said:

He used a water based paint, so thinners are on tap.

The OP got thicker coverage as he used a full solids epoxy rather than a half solids epoxy paint.

Ah right.

My experience of Epoxy is in structural woodwork and epoxy sheathing, basic board building and repairs, which has always been a case of using special thinners and cleaning which from what I've just read is whats referred to as 100% solids, ie as you say, it all cures.

I wasn't aware you can get epoxy which is an emulsion with a solvent, certainly not water, but if you can that obviously makes the thinning and application much easier while still giving the benefits. I guess however what you cant do necessarily is put it on with a trowel and walk on it 24/48h later, as while it will cure off, the solvent needs to come out. It also appears to give a more satin/mat finish rather than high gloss.

OP, did you apply with a roller, or the squeegee, for interest?


Daniel

[dhutch]

Andehh said:

I wouldn't go with asphalt, height increase, crumbly edges, cost etc.
As per this thread some form of epoxy resin garage paint or plastic tiles would worth investigating.
I'll update this thread over time as I use & abuse my garage floor.

Yeah, epic thread take-over (especially given the numerous less specific 'what garage flooring' threads) however asphalt inside seems a really poor idea. Very dark, hard on the knees, costly, and also hopeless if you get spills and or solvents on it especially diesel etc.

But yeah, lets us know how it goes Andehh, looks excellent and appears to have gone on with a lot less drama (bar the grinding) then the OPs 100% solids epoxy coating.

Daniel

[Flibble]

Asphalt is too soft for proper garage work anyway, trolley jacks chew it up like you wouldn't believe.

[guindilias]

Andehh said:

I didn't get a grinder in the end but went round with a hot air gun & manual scraper to get the worst of it up.

Just an update;

Looks awesome.
You could wear out a pair of shoes if you walked too long on my garage floor - but it never had a screed, just a concrete slab poured when the house was built in the late 60's... plenty of grip for axle stands and the like! Also like most garages, it is full of stuff - generators and chainsaws in my case, bikes and garden furniture in other people's cases!
Maybe one day I will get round to it...