Garage floor finishing -- need advice

indypup

indypup

Accidents HURT! Safety doesn't
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I'm thinking about putting down some epoxy on my garage floor. My question is should I repair the worn, eroded and pitted areas first? I've heard that the epoxy levels out and fills in the low spots. I have an unfinished concrete floor with some oil stains. I'm assuming I need to clean it with a power washer or even more. Has anyone finished their garage floor? Any advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


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You will have to use oil stain removers and scrub the floor, then etch with muriatic acid before you paint. Consider a concrete stain rather than a paint, as paints eventually flake and peel. I haven't any experience with epoxy, but it may be the way to go. But you have to have a squeaky clean floor first to get a good bond..
 
Two years ago I did my 2 car garage with a kit from Rustoleum... It was from Home Depot for $99 / up to 500sq ft.
It came with the cleaner ( a bio safe orange type ) 2 cans of epoxy paint; gals , 2 cans of epxoy hardener; pints, and two bags of paint flakes to throw on after applied.

First was the floor test... if painted , with a sheet-rock knife cut an X about 4 inches each leg...put duc tape on.. if it pulled up the paint , it had to be cleaned off first... if the paint stayed, it was ok to paint over.
Second, loose cement, crumbling cement had to be fixed.. wire brush out loose, patch.
Third, Cleaner... mix up bio orange cleaner and apply to floor scubbibng with floor broom...rinse with water.
When dry on goes the epoxy... mixed half at a time , best if between 75-85f, more than 60f...higer temp = less working time.
Rolled on a 4x4 sq ft area, throw on flakes, move on...

I started at 9 am and by dark I was able to walk on it ( about 80f), next day moved my stuff back in.

So far, nothing has pulled up, I have some small patches where the paint chipped off ( half-dollar size) but this was due to dropping tools to the floor ... The concret chipped out, not the paint.

Over all... best $100 spend on the garage
Tom

ps... they have a clear overcoat you can also buy for extra... IMHO, not worth it. Also in sneakers it can be a little slippery if wet ( you may want to buy and add some paint sand)
 
I have also used the Rustoleum product from Home Depot. As others have said you have to properly prep the floor to get a good bond. Shot blasting is best, but a shot blasting machine is not easy to borrow or rent.

I did a three part cleaning of my floor. First, I used the cleaner that was supplied with the Epoxy Coating per the instructions. I also made sure I have gotten the oil stains up as best possible. Oil spots, depending on how old and how deep the oil has penetrated may give you some trouble no matter how you prep the floor. Second, I used a pressure washer very aggressively. Last, I etched the concrete with Muriatic Acid.

Be sure to give it plenty of time to cure. If possible I would not park your bike or car on the floor for 72 hours.

I have had my coating for 5 years with no peels or chips.

Good Luck
 
Back in 2000 I built a 5300 Sq ft shop and was rushed to move in. I painted the floor with a masonry paint that was a flat blue. What a waste! Without a glossy finish, every foot stop left a print that would not sweep up.

A year later I redid the floor with a latex epoxy and it looked ok and was much easier to clean. It did require a strong detergent to remove oil spills, etc. and would stain with brake fluid and battery acid. I found that mopping was the best method of cleaning.

Last year I built a 1,200 sq ft garage at home and used the Rustoleum product. I thought the flakes would add a nice touch, but wish I had not used them. Since they are not embedded in the paint, dirt builds up next to the edges and is harder to sweep than a smooth floor. I have noticed that it stains, but have not really worked in the garage, it is mainly for storage at the moment.

Here are some photos of the garage and one from my shop.
 

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I have three friends who have painted their garage floors with three different products. All three had the paint come up when they returned from trips that heated their tires up. Seems that in all three cases the hot tires tend to pull up the paint. I can't speak to how they cleaned the floors before they painted but I do know one let the paint set for ten days before parking his car in the garage, still the paint came up. He now has pieces of cardboard over the spots for his tires to rest on.
 
Can you do the floor in two stages; one side on day one and the other side on day two, or would it look funny by having a seam line?
 
Don't think you would see the seam line with Rustolem product... besides the flakes would prob break up any line to the sight if you could.

As to the flakes, I never noticed a problem with them. The floor is real easy to clean up now tho!

I pull the MR2 right into the garage ... One of the reasons I went with epoxy was the old paint would pull up under the tires... no problem since.
Key is prob how well you clean and prep the floor.
 
Do not depend on the epoxy paint to fill in the pits and errosion damage in your floor. You will end up with pockets that collect dirt, besides looking bad, it will be harder to clean your floor. You will need to patch large chips and pits before you paint, Rustoleum sells a patch kit that is pricey, but is worth it depending on the amount of damage that you have. The best way to prep the floor is find or rent a floor scrubber with a diamond grinding pad. Grind the top layer down with soap and water, it is worth the effort and doesn't take much time, then wash with the acid solution and rinse.
Let it dry and paint. If you are going to use the Rustoleum product, I would suggest you use the solvent based paint and stay away from the water soluable paint.
 
Thanks for all of the suggestions. Definitely has given me more to think about it. ;)
 
Don't use the flakes in the kit. It is nearly impossible to find small objects (nuts & bolts) dropped on it. kinda like dropping your gum on the hen house floor.

Ralph Sims
 
If I may add that the ground under the garage is a key factor. Here in northern Quebec, the ground gets fairly wet in the spring, even if the sand cushion under the concrete slab is well drained. This is caused by the frost getting as deep as 6 feet underground. When the snow melts, it gets under the garage until the ground has thawed. The slab then gets saturated with water and as it evaporates, the water vapor pushes up under the paint and breaks the bond between concrete and paint.

Painting a concrete slab in the desert and here in Quebec are two different things. Here it's a big NO-NO, whatever the product or the method!
 
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