Lukewarm Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 I would like to put some type of coating on my garage floor. Its a lot of work so I would like to put something down that will last. The concrete is about 12 years old. The strange thing is the two-stall portion where the cars are parked looks the worst. Mostly due to salt melting off the cars. The single stall side looks pretty good other than some oil stains. The single stall side gets the most abuse from occasional welding, torching and dropping heavy parts and tools. I know people who have had commercial epoxy coatings professionally installed and it is peeling off with very light use. I know any coating will require proper cleaning and prep. I just want to end up with something that will last after all the work. So, who has experience to share good or bad? What products have worked well and what products need to be avoided? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOXXIC Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 In my old shop, (at my ex-wife's house) I did the two part epoxy system you can buy at Home Depot. Was pretty easy, and still looks good 5 years later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanix Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 I tend to do a lot of thrashing in my garage so I expected that if I put epoxy down, I would burn holes in it with weld slag or scrape it off with moving heavy steel across the finish. I went the garage floor paint route. Spent a lot of time cleaning and scrubbing before painting. Waited the 3 days before driving on it. The crap is mostly still stuck on the floor, but coming in and parking my truck after a rain will still pull up a tire pattern when I leave. There are some areas where there was a lot of oil that I had used solvent and kitty litter to clean it up before scrubbing and then painting. Those areas have lifted and I hit it with my boot and scraped the flakes off with a wire brush. Flaked up pretty easy. I would probably epoxy it the next time I did it, but I am thinking of selling the house, so I may just throw more paint on it and leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcrich Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 In my old shop, (at my ex-wife's house) I did the two part epoxy system you can buy at Home Depot. Was pretty easy, and still looks good 5 years later. +1, I can not think of the brand name. The key is the prep with any type of product like this. Follow the directions to the letter. Looked it up it is a Rust-Oleum product. 2 part epoxy coating, with the chips you throw on it before it dries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runner Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Go with the epoxy route. I have tried the basic garage floor paint and its a waste (no suprise). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon haney Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Probably not relevant here, but when my dad built his extra garage, he just used two coats of Thompson's water-seal on the brand new concrete. For about 10 years, cleaning up oil spills was as easy as wiping it up off of a painted floor. Not sure I would try this with 12 year old concrete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimack Posted April 14, 2009 Share Posted April 14, 2009 Go with the epoxy route. I have tried the basic garage floor paint and its a waste (no suprise). rustoelem (spell) makes an epoxy coating, I have used it in the workspace at my place of employment. Got it from Graingers they have a heap of colors. The garage kit that is at home depot is good for maybe a 1-2 car garage and it comes with the paint chips and anti skid so you can option them in. I found paint chips on ebay, a range of colors and they really make a difference to the look. It's not cheap, the commericial grade from graingers worked out to about $100.00 a gallon. The preparation is key, I degreased the whole floor first with a degreaser and water blasted it off, then went back over the really oily parts with some etching acid.. This stuff will adhere in water, all the rollers and brushes are toast after one use tho. The odors only last about 45 mins then there is no smell unlike traditional paint. use regular masking tape as well. I've had forklifts , heavy armoured vehicles, floor jacks and motorcycles on it and there are no marks, scratches or any damage. Its real easy to clean I just hit with the water blaster. 2 cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 You mean using jack stands or dropping heavy metal parts don't chip the finish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimack Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 You mean using jack stands or dropping heavy metal parts don't chip the finish? I never had a problem with jacks or jackstands, dropped tools either, maybe just lucky..........the stuff is pretty tough tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emillard Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I just did this last summer. My garage floor was 13 years old and had a bunch of stains and settling cracks which were starting to look ugly. I used this stuff Like everyone says, the prep is the most important part. I would say the epoxy is holding up OK but not great. It can peel/flake up easily in areas that aren't properly prepped and you really don't know which areas those are...until it peels up. It has definitely flaked off where my kick stands sit. Overall I'm happy with the way it turned out. It is unbelievably easy to wipe up spills now. I have let oil drops sit there for 2 months and then walk up with a paper towel and they're gone. Definitely wait days before you drive on it. I waited 7 days myself. Nothing would piss me off more than having the tires ruin a tacky coating. Here are some before, during, and after pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOXXIC Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 I put the epoxy down on new concrete, which I suspect works best. I also put a rubber mat down where I parked my bike to avoid the kickstand scars. Rust oleum was the brand I used as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrgoudy Posted April 17, 2009 Share Posted April 17, 2009 Just did my new (several months old) garage floor with the Rust Oleum stuff too, and found out the hard way you don't want to leave Chlorox sit on it for a day. Had a garden sprayer sitting around with chlorox in it for several weeks under pressure, and the other day the hose blew off at the compression fitting overnight, emptying the container all over the floor. Found it the next morning and rinsed everything off, but left a few small puddles behind that I didn't get with the squeegie. This afternoon I noticed the puddled areas had turned yellow. Guess I'll use the leftover gallon for some touch up. One thing to check with a twelve year old floor is to ensure you remove any sealers that may have been put on the concrete during the prep stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianmacza Posted April 18, 2009 Share Posted April 18, 2009 I bought old conveyor belt rubber sheeting (1.2m wide and almost 1/2 incth thick) and laid them on the floor edge to edge. A rubber tape used on roofing closed up any gaps and its pretty good. Oil doesn't stick, tools bounce, and its easy to clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrhemi Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Epoxy, definitely the way to go. But don't use the big box store brands, get the good stuff from an industrial paint supplier. Thompson's water seal, bad. If you want to paint it at a later date, and you will, the floor has now been ruined to accepting a paint coating. Do not try to paint fresh concrete floor. Let it cure approx. 6 months. Do clean the floor with good detergent then muriatic acid solution. Lots of rinsing and drying before application of epoxy. Wear a respirator when painting epoxy, if you don't have to, it's not the good paint. I have painted every shop floor I have owned with this system and have no regrets. Mr. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beondwacko Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 After reading the various stories , I think I'm going to pass on the side job I loosely lined up. I have a customer who wants thier garage floor re-painted. It was previously painted with some non epoxy bullshit pain and it's comming up all over the place. The customers are seniors and the garage is full of crap and shelves already which I'd first have to take out. I was thinking that I'd pressure wash the floor first but after hearing the bad experiences of good paint not working well if the surface is not perfectly prepped, I'd rather not get involved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimack Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 After reading the various stories , I think I'm going to pass on the side job I loosely lined up. I have a customer who wants thier garage floor re-painted. It was previously painted with some non epoxy bullshit pain and it's comming up all over the place. The customers are seniors and the garage is full of crap and shelves already which I'd first have to take out. I was thinking that I'd pressure wash the floor first but after hearing the bad experiences of good paint not working well if the surface is not perfectly prepped, I'd rather not get involved. the first time I did this it was an old floor that had never been painted. I used a quality degreaser and scrubbed then power washer to get rid of the easy shit then hit the bad areas with the etching acid then power washed and degreased the whole area again.. I used the commercial quality, from Grainger, still rustoleom but at Grainger prices. masked out lines etc and had no problems. 2cents Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekanix Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Update on paint. Stupid crap peels up splendidly with an old gas spill! Next time, epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toynut Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 Costco has a 2 part epoxy (with the paint chips) system for $59.95. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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