Technical Has anyone painted or coated the floor of their shop or garage?

Thanks, I'll do that.

 

What did you use?

 

My buddy had his done a few years ago and it still looks very good, almost still new. He only parks cars in it though no work goes on.
He had it professionally done with epoxy, I know they came in and chemically cleaned one day and applied the next.

 

Our floor was 18 years old in this picture. Been through hell and high water. Plenty of things dropped on it lacquer thinner spilled wont even take it up. Oil based epoxy i want to say it was a ppg brand. Anyways our shop burned down in February and it held up pretty good considering how bad the fire was. The second picture is the new building and we will be recoating it again within the next couple of weeks. Highly recommend


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Yup. Used water Bourne epoxy two pot paint. Best thing ever in the shop. Handles weld spatter etc with ease. Easy sweeping or mopping.

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2 component automotive paint. Applied with a big ass roller. Is oil resistant, not slippery. And impact resistant. Can drop a hammer from 3 feet: not a scratch.



Leaking oil? No, sweating horsepower

 

My only experience is on new concrete and as a contractor. We found the 2 part to be the most durable. It's pretty spendy compared to the single stage stuff and a bastard to breath. I recommend a pressure air mask.

 

As many have stated, use a 2-part system, either epoxy or urethane. Over the years, I have used single part oil-based, single part water based and a few 2-part (base + catalyst) packages. No comparison of the first 2 to the latter but I have found that 2-part systems are sometimes not readily available to the general public (for safety reasons). Always start by etching the floor first with a diluted muriatic acid and water solution. -EM

 

I used the Rust Oleum about 7 years ago and it has lasted. Prep is important. I was a concrete contractor for 20 years and the Ready Mix companies recommended using Simple Green to degrease old concrete that was to be stained assuming it still had enough free lime to accept a stain. Since you are not staining the lime is a moot point but the Simple Green is great since it is environmentally friendly and won't kill your lawn as you hose it out the garage onto your lawn. Use a stiff Nylon broom or better yet rent a floor polishing swing machine with a nylon brush attachment. Get a large squeegee on a broom stick so you can push the excess out the overhead door and help out the small "bird baths" in the low spot so it dries faster. Box fans help dry it out too. My floor would sweat during weather changes prior to doing the application and now shows no signs of it. Plan to apply when you know you won't be getting the sweats as others recommended. Epoxy in the cracks and holes but don't go too thick. I did mine half and half cause I had nowhere to put all my stuff. Be sure to toss the flakes up and broadcast them to get them down evenly. You will get the hang of it. Don't use too many or you will be searching for lost parts. The stuff does not cover as much as it says. I did 2 coats perpendicular to each other. One of the best things I did in my garage. Good luck.

 

Oh yea I forgot to tell you in my first post. DO NOT do this bare foot. However I'm starting to like the gray toes. But it will get some odd looks at the public pool.

 

Had mine done by a Pro shop, (1.90/ sq ft, 2010) looks good, holding up well, wish I would have taken his suggestion on adding some flake/grit, very slippery when wet, have a couple shop type floor mat to wipe shoes in the winter. Some of my friends have used Menard's floor epoxy without much success, thinking their cleaning process was not good enough. When watching the pro guy cleaning and painting/roller my floor, he wore a hepa/hazmat type resperator and the fumes were Bad, chased me out of area.

 

I sprayed some cheap white latex paint in my home garage when I first bought the place like 13 years ago and overspray got on the floor, even in the heaviest traffic areas, or with grinders and tools and acid I have never been able to get that paint off. It really makes me wonder how those epoxies can not stick.

My home garage is just for parking, I think I'm just going to paint it a concrete grey color, if it gets scratched up it will hopefully blend in somewhat, it looks like dogshit now so anything would be an improvement. I've also heard good things about DryLoc.

Some of the slick looking floors in this thread are really beautiful though, it's like you guys build cars in a hockey rink!

 

A very long time ago we used to paint concrete shop floors with oil based exterior paint, then they started marketing floor paint which was basically the same thing.

I have used the standard epoxy floor paint with the little sprinkles, use the company's cleaner first. I would stay with the same company for everything and I don't like the sprinkles. LOL

 

I used a floor protector from True Lock, it seals and hardens the surface. It's not cheap but neither was my slab 24x60

 

I'm done diddly dicking around with roll-on coatings. The one exception, if cost is a factor, might be the clear polyurethane, mentioned in a previous post, to help with drips or spills. I'm in a lifestyle situation in a subdivision with a home owner's association and can't easily do any major projects. But I do have a 3-car garage with a small workbench in an alcove. If I ever get ambitious and clear the garage out to do the floor, I'm going with ceramic tile.

 

We coated the shop floor prior to machine installation. U-Coat-it. Best decision and money I spent in facility prep.

 

I did my garage about 8 years ago with U-Coat it, it has held up pretty good to wear but it has discolored from gas and even where the dog had thrown up on it. U-Coat it is way over priced, if I was to do it over again I would go with one of the cheaper Lowes or Home Depot products.

 

Been outside doing this over the last few days in 2 part Epirez Supatuff HD so some tips
1. I got it all over me, have a good hand cleaner nearby (I use Wurth) epoxy is real sticky shit.
2. Do a trial area, I did and I was applying way too thick, I now use 1/2 as much as I was on the trial bit
3. Thin it, I've been using Methylated Spirits (that's the Australia language name) as paint thinner can damage the epoxy.
4. Clean the floor then do it a few more times. then once more just before you start to paint.
5. Warn your better half that door knobs may be sticky.............and maybe a few other things.

 

I'm leaning towards hardwood flooring in garage when I determine I will only use the bar area of garage and leave the tools and hotrod be.
I do like the single colour epoxy covers,,,the sprinkle or speckle would be too busy for my eyes.
There are no shortage of threads on failures of floor covering applications so choose your product wisely. Some here obviously have had great success.

 

I used ArmorPoxy in both my shop and garage, specifically their Armor Ultra 100% solids product. The stuff is awesome. VERY strong, dries hard as a rock, looks great. They're also the nicest company to deal with. I recommend them highly.

 

I have covered my shop floor with a liberal coating of oil, trans fluid, paint and blood. It's holding up well

 

Oil base battleship gray floor enamel here. Wears off but re-coating the floor every few years gives me a good excuse to clean the garage.

 

Rustoleum Epoxy product. First clean as much as possible .Then etch. Two part floor epoxy and did it in sections. This stuff was done about 15 years ago and has held up great!. I have spilled all kinds of things on it and nothing has eaten it off. The thing I like the most is it is so easy to sweep and shows where you need to do that a whole lot better than bare concrete.. I clean up oil with brake clean and it goes very fast. I have slid equipment over it tons of time and unless there is a very sharp edge,it never has dug in. Most of my stuff has been put on wheels now so that also helps.

Spend the time and money and you cant go wrong. And hey, the wife may want to hold a baby shower in there cause it looks so good.........

 

I've spent a few years doing garage/ shop floors. We use poly aspartic coatings, as they last better than any epoxy. Most suppliers will not sell them to non professionals, as mixing ratios are critical, and safety is paramount. Biggest thing for a long life finish is prep, so we shotblast everything. Grinding can work ok, but chemical prep is the most difficult to know if it's clean enough or neutralized enough. Like block sanding a car, when you think it's done, do it again. Thinning your first coat of whatever product you use, will help bonding dramatically, (like primer) and with whatever product you use, follow the recoat time as for some it's critical. We use a non skid additive in our final coat, and that keeps the finish safe to walk on when wet. A good tip too, is to try to keep a wet edge as you apply, and cross roll when possible to lose roller marks


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What particular line of coating did you use? Gary