I decided on a lift for my Garage but after looking at the floor I thought I would like to clean it up first with a coating. I am close to going with an epoxy floor coating either Wolverine (Wolverine Residential ? Garage Flooring, Epoxy Coatings, Cement & Concrete Protection, Certified Installers) or Ucoat It (UCoat It Video Library). Any thoughts on floor coverings are welcome.

Thanks
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Clean it better than suggested, then go with an epoxy coating...

 

I agree with the extra cleaning.


Also, if you have a garage door, paint only to where the door closes on the concrete... I had a six inch section of faded paint where the floor stuck out under the door. The sun faded it pretty quick.

 

After cleaning any areas that have or may have had any oils on it, etch it with HCl (muratic acid) at between 5 to 10:1. Power wash all that off, then it's properly prepped.
I've used Sherwin Williams Macro Poxy 646 on a few floors now and it holds up great. It's an industrial floor coating and you'll pay more than any of the diy stuff, but worth it.

I have yet to heed my own advice and keep using a med gray color which shows all the dirt.
Next time I will do a dark brown or VERY dark gray.

 

What seems to be consistent is the need for proper concrete prep. My floor was sprayed with a sealer when polished and it seems that most recommend grinding even before the acid etching. Any experience with this?

 

If it has a non penetrating sealer, like it is glossy or built up then yes, need to grind first, IMO. At least with the floor paints that I'm used to.

 

If you think you already have a coating, you might want to find out more about it... if it is oil and solvent resistant, I'd leave it alone.

Go get a little used oil and some gas.. pour in an area that won't be noticed... just a little! If it beads up instead of soaking in, I'd leave it.

 

Gas will re-enact a concrete sealer and produce a sticky, stringy area until it flashes off again. If it has an acrylic sealer on it you will want to remove as much as you can before epoxy coating it or it may flake off in areas.

Before staining or working on any existing concrete surface I prefer to clean it as mentioned above and run a floor buffer over it with a white scotchbrite type pad and a comercial degreaser /Castrol Super Clean works really well/ Then rinse it twice and let it thoroughly dry before applying the epoxy.

 

Acid etch over and over till it doesn't get frothy. I believe at that point you are ok.


I did a bar a couple years ago like this, then resealed it. I stopped by there a couple weeks ago and it still looked good. The job was complicated because they tore down walls opened up the whole building and added new plumbing/concrete. It was a mix of thick old epoxy, new concrete, and sealed concrete; a lot of it damaged because the building was old. We eventually resorted to 7 inch handheld concrete grinders with vacuums attached on most of it.


Also a polished surface doesn't take well to epoxy or sealer. You can rent a floor grinder at home depot. It is actually just a floor polisher with an abrasive wheel on it. It won't take up epoxy but it can prep it before putting down sealer or epoxy. Grinding concrete is pretty forgiving if you kinda get the hang of it, very messy though if you are not using a vacuum connection on a high speed grinder.


Before grinding it though I would acid etch. Then acid etch it one more time after grinding. Acid etching really isn't that hard if you have a couple hands helping you and a couple wet/dry vacuums going.

 

One more thing, before you rent the floor grinder research sealers/epoxy. Some of them may work well on the polished surface.

 

Check out www.garagejournal.com It is a forum similar to this and just a wealth of information. There is a section on "flooring" that should answer your questions, and make suggestions.

Jim

 

Looking to do a coating on your garage floor is more involved than scrubbing the concrete and putting down paint. I used to be a installer for
Crown Polymers (www.crownpolymers.com ) for 5yrs.
1.you need to see if you have any moisture gassing out of your concrete. If you do you have to put down a vapor barrier. If you dont put down a barrier the material will peel up.
2.Don't use epoxy. Epoxy is not UV stable and will,what is call brown out. meaning the parts exposed to direct sun light will turn brown in a matter of months.
3. Prep is everything. I would pressure wash with hot water and a good quality soap and scrub brush than use a Makita grinder with a diamond grinding wheel and give the concrete the proper profile.
4. Cracks can now be filled with a good crack repair/filler.
When you pick the coating make sure its self-leveling.
Good Luck if you need any advice let me know