Best Shop Floor Finish?

[alskdjfhg]

Hopefully in early January will be pouring 3200 sg ft, signed the contract tonight.

I'm sure there are other threads about this topic, but I'm wondering how I should treat the floors when done?

This is going to be a combined farm and machine shop. There will be oil spills, there will be diesel spills, forklift traffic will be high and there will be cutting and welding.

That being said, I was in a shop a few weeks ago that sees a similar kind of work. They finished the floors the same way the big box stores do (Lowes, HomeDepot, etc). Unfortunately the owner didn't remember exactly what they did, but it looks great.

Doesn't take oil, is as slick as glass, and even after five years of being worked without being polished again, it looks fantastic.

Do ya'll have any ideas what this floor treatment is? Concrete polishing?

I was planning on just power troweling the floors and then going with a sealant of some sort, but not sure how that would compare to those polished floors.

As usual, thanks for any and all info.

 

[matt_i]

BASF has a wild array of products that all start with "Master"....

https://www.master-builders-solutions.basf.us/en-us/products/masterkure

I used MasterKure 300 in my shop as a curing sealer. I thought most of it flaked off but its still there after closer inspection and a 2nd coat is possible. Ultimately its not a "high traffic" formulation but maybe good enough. My biggest worry would be oil penetrating the porous nature of the 'crete.

Maybe if you can find the FM "Facility Manager" for a HD or Lowes you could find out what they use as a coating.

Its also worth a few points about pouring a heavy duty floor. Pay close attention to compaction...rebar...vapor barrier....and curing sealer or moist-curing...saw-cutting 10'-12' squares the next morning. I poured 6" thick 4ksi mix with #4 rebar 16" o.c. 6" of 3/4" washed stone and a 10 mil vapor barrier.

 

[Know Wosad]

Tennis court paint is tuff stuff

 

[Sasquatch912]

Hopefully in early January will be pouring 3200 sg ft, signed the contract tonight.

I'm sure there are other threads about this topic, but I'm wondering how I should treat the floors when done?

This is going to be a combined farm and machine shop. There will be oil spills, there will be diesel spills, forklift traffic will be high and there will be cutting and welding.

That being said, I was in a shop a few weeks ago that sees a similar kind of work. They finished the floors the same way the big box stores do (Lowes, HomeDepot, etc). Unfortunately the owner didn't remember exactly what they did, but it looks great.

Doesn't take oil, is as slick as glass, and even after five years of being worked without being polished again, it looks fantastic.

Do ya'll have any ideas what this floor treatment is? Concrete polishing?

I was planning on just power troweling the floors and then going with a sealant of some sort, but not sure how that would compare to those polished floors.

As usual, thanks for any and all info.

Probably used that sealer and ghost shield.

I was thinking about epoxy but like you i will be welding and stuff..dont want to test $1000 epoxy against that.

 

[Jinks]

Tennis court paint is tuff stuff

Yeah, it takes BALLS to wear that stuff out......

 

[RPH]

Look at Ghostshield line of products. The 8505 solution is designed for bus garage environment. One of the vendors here handles the product. Used it in my shop and oil/water all bead up and can easily be rinsed off.

 

[James-W]

Yeah, it takes BALLS to wear that stuff out......

Cute. Made me laugh.

 

[alskdjfhg]

Ok thanks guys.

As much as I'd like that super super slick polished concrete floor, I think going with as slick a power troweled finish I can get and a sealant would work.

Reading about Ghoastsheild 8505, I like some of it's specs.

 

[RPH]

It's not slippery, that I can state. I have snow on it and still have foot traction.

 

[Garage Flooring]

8505 is a great product. Needs to go over a densifier and does not impact aesthetics at all. Its a great choice for what you are looking to do

 

[vettex2]

I prefer a clear coat

 

[73RR]

Take a look at L&M Seal Hard
http://www.sealhardfloors.com/moreinfo.htm

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

8505 is a great product. Needs to go over a densifier and does not impact aesthetics at all. Its a great choice for what you are looking to do

I Googled it and read several links, it looks like the right product for me when I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[RPH]

If you have a large area to cover, just get the concentrate 8505. Makes 5 gallons of finish.
Densifier is cheap and goes on quick. You can see the difference in the concrete once it dries. Things don't seem to penetrate. Once the 8505 goes on, oil and water just bead up.
It can be burnished if you want the polished look. Other than that my concrete looks the same as before spraying it.

 

[Garage Flooring]

I Googled it and read several links, it looks like the right product for me when I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thanks for sharing it.

Let me know if there is anything we can do to help

 

[Dr Stan]

This is going to be a combined farm and machine shop. There will be oil spills, there will be diesel spills, forklift traffic will be high and there will be cutting and welding.

After my concrete had cured around 3 or 4 months I applied an epoxy floor coating from Sam's as it had very high ratings. So far it has held up well (7 years or so) every where except for my welding area. IMHO any coating will not hold up against welding. At this point I wish I had left that area un-coated. The slightly off white coating I chose sure helped improve the amount of available light.

When I taught machining, welding, forging and casting at both the vo-tech and higher ed levels I had a variety of floor coatings. The one that held up the best was gym floor seal. It needs to be re-coated very one or two years, but is excellent when it comes time for sweeping the floor, cleaning up spills & oil, & when pressure washing the floor.

One suggestion about laying down an epoxy coating; wear old golf shoes when walking on the wet epoxy to apply the paint chips. The little divots made by the shoes will "heal up" before it drys eliminating any marks.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I like good old polished and sealed concrete. Just looks clean, and easy to maintain.

However, I also have become partial to plank wood floors near my benches - because they're a LOT warmer and easier to stand on for 8 hours.

 

[roc_on_the_rocks]

Let me know if there is anything we can do to help

I sure will Justin, just not ready yet.

 

[D45]

Best? Plain ole concrete

I would personally never waste time or money coating it

 

[hemifalcon]

Decent stuff from Legacy I used.. just shy of 3000 sq ft and about $1400 just for the material.. still had prep work with the concrete.. pm me if you'd like to know more.. you'll have the Armorpoxy, GarageFlooring and Legacy guys giving their sales pitch soon..




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[alskdjfhg]

Best? Plain ole concrete

I would personally never waste time or money coating it

Yeah no. Seen too many machine shops with that ubiquitous dusty ugly black floor.

Want to give myself some protection from that.

[ pm me if you'd like to know more..

PM sent

 

[Sasquatch912]

What about scratching the floor? I know especially with harrows and stuff....you can scratch it up. I am wondering too because my shop will be like yours...tractors and welding/cutting.

 

[edward charette]

Wax is easy to apply though not as durable as ploy finishes. it give slow luster and is susceptible to stains,need a regular upkeep and needs to be completely removed for applying polyurethane finish, Best thing about wax is it penetrates into wood and has mild odor

 

[Justanoldguy]

Best? Plain ole concrete

I would personally never waste time or money coating it

Way too dusty.
Spend forever sweeping it.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Decent stuff from Legacy I used.. just shy of 3000 sq ft and about $1400 just for the material.. still had prep work with the concrete.. pm me if you'd like to know more.. you'll have the Armorpoxy, GarageFlooring and Legacy guys giving their sales pitch soon..




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Nice looking floor

[This sales pitch intentionally left blank]

 

[hemifalcon]

Thanks.. And that half of the floor is the "rough" side..


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[A_Pmech]

Yeah no. Seen too many machine shops with that ubiquitous dusty ugly black floor.

Yeah, I've worked in too many dungeons owned by others to make my own shop a dungeon.

The hand wringing over scratching and burning epoxy is WAY over the top.

 

[Armorpoxy]

As a general rule truly polished concrete doesn't work well in automotive use since those floors are not super stain/fuel resistant. You can get that look inexpensively with our SPGX.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Decent stuff from Legacy I used.. just shy of 3000 sq ft and about $1400 just for the material.. still had prep work with the concrete.. pm me if you'd like to know more.. you'll have the Armorpoxy, GarageFlooring and Legacy guys giving their sales pitch soon..




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BUY LEGACY PRODUCTS! THEY DON'T ****!!
PITCH COMPLETE!

 

[vettex2]

Way too dusty.
Spend forever sweeping it.

I use a blower
I never sweep anyway

 

[alskdjfhg]

LegacyIndustrial,

HD40 has some specs I like, would there be anything your recommend to compliment it? Or just call it good with that alone?

This would be over a power trowled or lightly ground finish

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[milner351]

are the clear penetrating sealers most effective on a polished floor or do they also work well on an as finished power troweled floor?

Legacy vs ghost 8505? anything good from sherwin williams? I get a discount there

 

[Kevin54]

Decent stuff from Legacy I used.. just shy of 3000 sq ft and about $1400 just for the material.. still had prep work with the concrete.. pm me if you'd like to know more.. you'll have the Armorpoxy, GarageFlooring and Legacy guys giving their sales pitch soon..




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I just wanted to say.....that is a damn nice looking floor and building.

 

[hemifalcon]

I just wanted to say.....that is a damn nice looking floor and building.

Thank you sir.. still a lot ahead with finishing off the inside.. I spent the past few days putting some hours in putting up more insulation since it's been warm outside (high 20's...).. also gave another truck a home inside..




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[daniel999]

Polishing helps to bring back the lost shine on the floorings. It helped me as well.