One of my spring to do list items is to re-do the garage. Mostly it will be cleaning-up and tossing things I don't need, But one area I want to work on is the garage floor. I want to coat it with a Epoxy paint and I want it to be smooth and have a Terrazzo look. I was planning on using U-Coat-IT, it is the stuff they used on 2 guy's garage, and on Trucks. I found there web site, and from there info it doesn't seem to hard. My question is, have any of you used this product? If so, how was it, are you happy with the results? Any tips or suggestions? I have also found other products like Concrete Solutions. They appear to be very similar to the U-Coat-It products.
If you have any suggestions I would like to hear them, I have not bought anything an have a good month before the weather is nice enough to do anything. I have also seen Rustoleum and Behr Epoxy finishes, they would be nice but they are more of a paint.

 

How is your floor finish right now?? If you have chips and areas you want leveled out look up a cement grinding/leveling company in your area. You will get the terrazzo look you want as well as a perfectly flat polished floor. They grind off a quarter to half an inch. Then seal it and you will have no flaking paint or anything to peel off. I have had no luck at all with any paints for concrete. Good luck.

 

The thing I have heard the best results on is a concrete stain amd for the life of me I can't remember the name. the product is sold by Kush paints in Roseville Michigan I know they are listed in the phone book so you could call directory assistance and get a #, Don't forget to get a non slip finish so you don't bust your rear. I used a little fine sand and sprinkled it on before the paint dried.

 

Thanks, right now the finish is bare concrete. It is very smooth, but there are also a few small cracks. I plan on filling them in and smoothing everything out by grinding. I know a smooth floor is or can be slick, but I really like the look of them. The product (U-Coat-IT) is applied is several coats and and ends up about 3/8" thick. The Terrazzo look comes from the broadcasting of paint chips on to the base coat, then a layer or two of clear. I have seen where the concrete solutions product can be bought or they can do the work for you. I think I should be able to do the job, but was looking for someone that may have experience with it installation or maybe seen the results. I have only found the two companies, there maybe more? From what I have read, I think it will run around $2 a square foot, that is with me supplying the labor.

 

2 bucks a square foot is not too bad for an epoxy paint. It is still paint tho-can chip off again.

 

It's all about the prep. If the floor is dirt and grease free, the epoxy paint should last a long, long time.

 

I've seen concrete stains before. Pretty nice looking. And you can get different shades and colors. And the stain gets down into the pores of the concrete just like wood and won't chip or scratch too easy. And concrete isn't uniform in porosity all through the surface of the pour. When you stain you'll get random dark and light spots.

 

The prep work is probably the most important. Make sure that whatever you get can stand having heavy small wheels rolled over it without chipping. The small steel wheels from creepers can quickly damage the finish on a floor. So can the wheels from heavy tool boxes and even welders.

 

Ditto Mexstan's comments, It's all in the prep work. I sell the stuff and with out good prep work you got a layer of junk. Do you get a lot of expansion and contraction?

If you don't isolate the individual pours of concrete no matter what you put down it will peel and crack, chip.

I know this doesn't provide an answer specifically to your question, but most of the high dollar stuff works well if you just follow the directions.(Sorry guys)

 

Never apply a paint to a garage floor or to any concrete for that matter. Use a quality stain or an epoxy. As stated above, the prep is the most impportant part of the job. You will first need to remove any dirt or grease than you will need to give the concrete surface some profile for the stain or epoxy to mechanically bond to. Most people will use a diluted muratic acid solution to do this. Then you must neutralize the acid on your floor with baking soda or something similar. Give your question a shot over on acidstain.com if you want more details on what and how to do these types of decorative concrete floors.

 

If i rember right if you park a car or truck with hot tires on it, their is a good chance it will pull the paint.

 

I didn't know that painting a floor was that involved. I put color pigment in my last garage floor. 4 bags in 11 yards = salsa red concrete. Cost me 600 bucks for the 4 bags but it is there until the floor comes up.

 

We use Rustoleum floor epoxy at our facility in the pump rooms. Its is a 2 part about $90 a gallon. a garage floor would need several gallons. It looks like glass when done, shines,smooth. BUT if you drop tools it will chip, if it stays wet it will lift, and will fade from sun on it and loose the shine. I`d stay away from this for a high traffic area. It will look bad and its tough to get off. gotta use a needle gun or sandblast it off to recoat.
apache

 

Y-Not;
There's is a product called STONEHARD and I've seen it at work and at a audio instalation shop, This stuff is extreemly durable and I beileve you could get it put down for $2.00-$3.00/sq.ft.
I work at Boeing Airplane Co. and they've got 4000lbs forklift trafic on it constantly, it doesn't peel it's roughly a 1/4 "thick.
I've only seen grey but I'm sure they offer other colors.
It is an epoxy 2 or 3 parts.

ramguy

 

RG,
Thanks, and thanks to everyone else. Yes I have heard of many having problems with certain products peeling or coming up when parked on it. I checked around locally and found several products that would work and were mentioned on here. The Restoleum 2-part HD epoxy I found at grainer's. Right now I think I will still go with the U-COAT-IT, I called them and discussed some of the issues raised here. I'll continue to look around and find some more products that were mentioned, I am in no hurry.