Epoxy Coating Garage Floors (Preparation?)
Discussion
Hi All,
I know theres alot of past posts about this, and i think i've read them all but i'm still short of a few answers so i thought i'd start a new thread.
I have a garage 5.5m X 2.8m, i'm not looking for tiles, i'm hoping for a ~£50 solution.
Previously, the bare concrete has been painted with garage floor paint from B+Q, ('International' i think) this was directly onto the bare concrete, as hasn't stood the test of time and came off quite quickly in high traffic areas.
So this time i'm looking to put down something more hardcore, such as these 2 part epoxy floor mixes. I do maintenance, jacking up and axle standing etc, wheels turning on the garage floor.
The garage floor is fairly level, but isn't super smooth, i believe the term is that it has a 'brushed' finish.
The surface has been jetwashed top remove the loose existing paint, but some paint remains in the areas that it appears to have bonded well. I'm thinking after the event that this may not have been such a good idea as the concrete will now have some water content, not sure how much of a big deal that is.
So, my question is, prior to applicating the epoxy floor covering, how would you prepare the floor?
Watered down 50/50 PVA/water mix? Acid etch the surface? No prep? Concrete hardener/dustproofer? etc etc?
This is the stuff i'm thinking of putting down, price and coverage seems good, 2 coats on my garage for £50
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Thanks for all advice
Matt
I know theres alot of past posts about this, and i think i've read them all but i'm still short of a few answers so i thought i'd start a new thread.
I have a garage 5.5m X 2.8m, i'm not looking for tiles, i'm hoping for a ~£50 solution.
Previously, the bare concrete has been painted with garage floor paint from B+Q, ('International' i think) this was directly onto the bare concrete, as hasn't stood the test of time and came off quite quickly in high traffic areas.
So this time i'm looking to put down something more hardcore, such as these 2 part epoxy floor mixes. I do maintenance, jacking up and axle standing etc, wheels turning on the garage floor.
The garage floor is fairly level, but isn't super smooth, i believe the term is that it has a 'brushed' finish.
The surface has been jetwashed top remove the loose existing paint, but some paint remains in the areas that it appears to have bonded well. I'm thinking after the event that this may not have been such a good idea as the concrete will now have some water content, not sure how much of a big deal that is.
So, my question is, prior to applicating the epoxy floor covering, how would you prepare the floor?
Watered down 50/50 PVA/water mix? Acid etch the surface? No prep? Concrete hardener/dustproofer? etc etc?
This is the stuff i'm thinking of putting down, price and coverage seems good, 2 coats on my garage for £50
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&am...
Thanks for all advice
Matt
Edited by StreetDragster on Saturday 3rd January 17:54
Perfect, thanks!
And to add to that, here's the reply from the seller-
"Hi, This particular type of Epoxy Resin paint is best applied straight onto bare concrete so no sealer/PVA. Regards, Maureen"
Even better, less work to do! Although i think i'll try and wire brush of as much paint as possible to expose the bare concrete.
Thanks
Matt
And to add to that, here's the reply from the seller-
"Hi, This particular type of Epoxy Resin paint is best applied straight onto bare concrete so no sealer/PVA. Regards, Maureen"
Even better, less work to do! Although i think i'll try and wire brush of as much paint as possible to expose the bare concrete.
Thanks
Matt
Just to add a few more details to this thread.....
I bought the stuff on ebay, seems like really good stuff, has gone down well and has set rock hard, but i haven't given it any real use yet to see how hard wearing it is.
I put it down using emulsion brushes, the first coat is a ballache and you need more helpers than you would expect to get it down in time before the paint goes off. You need to use a brush in a circular motion to work the paint into the uneven surface of the concrete, and i very mearly ran out of paint on the first coat.
The second coat was much easier, even laying it much thicker i still had about 1/4 of a litre remaining when finished.
I went with the light grey
Mixed it with a corded drill powered stirrer
To prep the floor, i jet washed it with a Karcher K3 to loosen/remove the old paint, then used concrete cleaning acid to wash the surface, and then jet washed again. I then let it dry out for a few weeks, and put the paint down in temperatures of around 10 degrees.
Hope that helps someone out
Matt
I bought the stuff on ebay, seems like really good stuff, has gone down well and has set rock hard, but i haven't given it any real use yet to see how hard wearing it is.
I put it down using emulsion brushes, the first coat is a ballache and you need more helpers than you would expect to get it down in time before the paint goes off. You need to use a brush in a circular motion to work the paint into the uneven surface of the concrete, and i very mearly ran out of paint on the first coat.
The second coat was much easier, even laying it much thicker i still had about 1/4 of a litre remaining when finished.
I went with the light grey
Mixed it with a corded drill powered stirrer
To prep the floor, i jet washed it with a Karcher K3 to loosen/remove the old paint, then used concrete cleaning acid to wash the surface, and then jet washed again. I then let it dry out for a few weeks, and put the paint down in temperatures of around 10 degrees.
Hope that helps someone out
Matt
Mac. said:
Good man! I'm thinking of doing something similar myself. I went down the tiled floor route about 18 months ago and they aren't wearing well. The weight of the car on axle stands has cracked a few of the tiles and the grout is starting to come out. I'm seriously tempted to rip them all out and go down the epoxy floor route, it sounds like the best way.
A couple of Q's - do you have any pictures of the finished article? Also how did you deal with the threshold between the garage floor and outside? Did you use a timber baton to mark outside/inside?
Cheers
Iain
Hi Iain,A couple of Q's - do you have any pictures of the finished article? Also how did you deal with the threshold between the garage floor and outside? Did you use a timber baton to mark outside/inside?
Cheers
Iain
I don't have a picture at the moment, but i'll take one soon to show you the finished product.
The threshold between the garage floor and outside is a step in my house, so firstly i just painted up to the step. However on the second coat, i had some paint left over at the end of the garage, so i painted about a further foot onto the [plain concrete] driveway as this is a place i commenly twist the wheels when finally lining up into the garage.
I didn't treat or prepare the driveway section though, so it'll be interesting to see how it fairs compared to the garage floor.
I'm going to put down a weatherstop door seal, about £35, to keep the weather out the garage, its a moulded rubber bulge that seals the door to the floor, and has a yellow strip in it to prevent you missing it and tripping over it. My friend has one and its better than the rubber seal that attaches to his [up and over] garage door, just like mine.
http://www.weatherstop.co.uk/
Any more questions just give me a shout
Thanks
Matt
I'd forgot about this thread!
I'll get you some pictures still Iain
The seller was called 'moreen55' i think, heres a current listing
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10KGS-GARAGE-INDUSTRIAL-EPOX...
Thanks
Matt
I'll get you some pictures still Iain
The seller was called 'moreen55' i think, heres a current listing
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10KGS-GARAGE-INDUSTRIAL-EPOX...
Thanks
Matt
Just an update to this, both the coating thats in the garage, that had all the preparation done prior to applying, and the coating outside which had NO preparation at all, are holding up really well.
No noticable wear, lifting or patching.
Will report back after we have had some prolonged freezing winter conditions.
Thanks
Matt
No noticable wear, lifting or patching.
Will report back after we have had some prolonged freezing winter conditions.
Thanks
Matt
Hi Mike,
Coverage, your probably going to cut it close. When i did mine, the first coat took alot of paint as you were working it into all the grooves, knucks and crannies, and i very nearly ran out. If theres are area of your garage that receives low traffic, try to spread it thinnly there to make the paint go further (Just for your first coat).
The second coat, i had quite a bit left over at the end and i managed to get it down quite thickly too.
The finish has faired really well, not sure if you read that i also did a 1 foot long section out onto my driveway. This is/was bare concrete and had no prep whatsoever, it has survived being outside since application without any change or obvious wear, and its the place where my tyres are often rotating as i back in.
The reason for the difference in shean is probably down to thickness, over most of my garage the two coats are quite thin, but towards the end of the second coat i noticed i had quite a bit left and laid it down much thicker. Now its all dried, the thicker sections are very shiney compared to the thinner sections. Also the areas where the under lying concrete was smooth, the finish is shiny, where the concrete was textured, its dull. Also lighting comes into play i think, there ad shots are from brightly lit warehouses compared to my comparitivley dully lit garage.
You have about 30 mins realistically to get the paint down before it starts to thicken up. You first coat will take MUCH longer than you think it will, i'd advise three people to get the first coat down, and maybe two for the section coat.
I used 3" wide paint brushes, cheap ones, and just threw them away after each application.
If i was doing it again, i would personally buy another 5kg, and put a third coat down, nice and thick over the textured areas. This isn't essential but i would do it regardless. This would give me a nice and smooth floor, and as i jet wash it down frequently, it would make it easier to clean.
A drill powered stirrer is definately a good idea aswell.
12 months later the finish has worn well, and after a clean it looks nearly as good as the day i put it down. My garage is a working garage, things are regularly jacked up on the bare flooring, petrol and other fluids often spilt etc.
Hope that helps
Matt
Coverage, your probably going to cut it close. When i did mine, the first coat took alot of paint as you were working it into all the grooves, knucks and crannies, and i very nearly ran out. If theres are area of your garage that receives low traffic, try to spread it thinnly there to make the paint go further (Just for your first coat).
The second coat, i had quite a bit left over at the end and i managed to get it down quite thickly too.
The finish has faired really well, not sure if you read that i also did a 1 foot long section out onto my driveway. This is/was bare concrete and had no prep whatsoever, it has survived being outside since application without any change or obvious wear, and its the place where my tyres are often rotating as i back in.
The reason for the difference in shean is probably down to thickness, over most of my garage the two coats are quite thin, but towards the end of the second coat i noticed i had quite a bit left and laid it down much thicker. Now its all dried, the thicker sections are very shiney compared to the thinner sections. Also the areas where the under lying concrete was smooth, the finish is shiny, where the concrete was textured, its dull. Also lighting comes into play i think, there ad shots are from brightly lit warehouses compared to my comparitivley dully lit garage.
You have about 30 mins realistically to get the paint down before it starts to thicken up. You first coat will take MUCH longer than you think it will, i'd advise three people to get the first coat down, and maybe two for the section coat.
I used 3" wide paint brushes, cheap ones, and just threw them away after each application.
If i was doing it again, i would personally buy another 5kg, and put a third coat down, nice and thick over the textured areas. This isn't essential but i would do it regardless. This would give me a nice and smooth floor, and as i jet wash it down frequently, it would make it easier to clean.
A drill powered stirrer is definately a good idea aswell.
12 months later the finish has worn well, and after a clean it looks nearly as good as the day i put it down. My garage is a working garage, things are regularly jacked up on the bare flooring, petrol and other fluids often spilt etc.
Hope that helps
Matt
I think you'll have to be carefull with anything you put down first, as the paint is designed to adhear to concrete, if you say, put PVA down first, it'll only stick to the PVA, and how well it'll wear will depend on how well the pva has adhered to the concrete.
Thinning might be possible, email the seller for advice, they were very helpful with me. With it being a two part epoxy mix though it might not be possible
Best of luck!
Matt
Thinning might be possible, email the seller for advice, they were very helpful with me. With it being a two part epoxy mix though it might not be possible
Best of luck!
Matt
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