Almost ready to put epoxy down, few last questions

[ddewey78]

So, been killing my self prepping the floor for epoxy, Im almost there. Just a few last minute procedural questions. I went with legacys HD garage system kit, so im sure Scotty will be along to fill me in. But in the mean time, anyone else thats used it, feel free to chime in.

Primer looks fairly straight forward, mix and roll out of a paint tray right? I am doing about 420 sq/ft, so should I mix it in 2 batches, or one? I have two gallons, so was going to do one and one.

Epoxy is where i am a bit at a loss. From reading the instructions it appears as i am supposed to mix it, then dump it on the floor in ribbons, how many? how spaced apart? will I need a squeegee to spread it, or should the roller work? I plan to mix it in 4 batches due to the short pot life. Edging and cutting in, mix a batch and pour the entire edge and brush, or cut it in as I work? Should I mix both part A's for color uniformity?

Urethane top coat, Only have one gallon, was going to mix it all at once, seeing as it has an hour pot life. Its the commie "California safe" urethane. Little confused as to the "dry roll" method the instructions recommend.

Also, what can I expect fume wise? I have a respirator, and plan to use it as needed. But do I need to turn off the pilot light on the water heater? If so how long before I can re light it? I am planning to do this next week, we are leaving to ride dirtbikes thurs-monday, so I took wednesday off to do most of the work, I am planning to prime Tuesday night, epoxy Wednesday morning, and clear Wednesday evening. I figure this gives it 5 full days to cure before we return home.

Any input is appreciated!! thanks a bunch, this website has been invaluable!! without it I would have a box store roll on epoxy that I would be forever mad about!!

 

[INTMD8]

I did this a few weeks ago so I'll tell you what I can.

I was doing 300-400sqft at a time myself. (girlfriend helped edge in primer and epoxy).

I would mix your primer in 2 batches personally. Make sure to mix it thoroughly, do not scrape mixed material out of the bucket and time yourself. 3 minutes seems like an eternity when you are feeling the pressure of time. I definitely would have been short on mixing time if I wasn't keeping track. Try to keep it uniform. At first I was putting it on too thick and I had some outgassing bubbles in that area. (whether or not that's why I don't know, my only guess). I poured the primer out. Only thing I worked from a tray was the Urethane.

As for pouring it out, I would visualize the area I was trying to cover sq/ft wise and pour about a one inch wide ribbon around the perimeter, a few feet inside the perimeter and walk around in a circle as I continue to pour it out until I'm out of material.

Pretty easy to roll it out. I would quickly try and get it spread out then back roll a few times in different directions. (I did not use a squeegee and never have so no basis of comparison as to which is easier).

Fumes were not bad and did not bother me at all as far as the primer and epoxy. Not sure how your Cali safe urethane will be but the stuff I used the fumes were very strong and I used a respirator. (could smell nothing with the respirator).

 

[ddewey78]

whoops, meant to put this in flooring, but thanks for the input

 

[Fixnair]

I put the paint chips down & then regretted doing it. It looks nice but every time I dropped s small part, it would disappear amongst the paint chips. It was very hard to find. If I had to do it again I would leave the floor plain grey.

 

[ovrrdrive]

I put the paint chips down & then regretted doing it. It looks nice but every time I dropped s small part, it would disappear amongst the paint chips. It was very hard to find. If I had to do it again I would leave the floor plain grey.

When I did mine that's exactly why I didn't use the paint chips and everyone thought I was crazy. I like the solid gray floor personally.

 

[ddewey78]

I'm not doing heavy or full chips, going very light with them