Well, finally finished my dad's new shop floor on Sunday night. Tried to attach pic but it's too big and I tried for 20 mins to resize on 2 different websites! It was a long way around due to a chip mixup with supplier, but looks great now that it's done!
Products were as follows:
buyrhino.com - click on Concrete Solutions - then click on Color Flake System
Epoxy 200 - crack filling
Epoxy 500- primer
HP Urethane Color - Base Coat
Chips- custom blend made by Torginol
HP Urethand Clear Topcoat (2 coats)
Heres my list of tips for those who have time to read it all:
1) Check and double check ALL material before you start anything. (this applies to any project). Open boxes, spread out chips, match part A/B quantities, etc.
2) Grind the floor - nothing else will do the job right. Yes, it's a lot of work but if you don't - that's why your floor will fail IMO. Use a drywall dust bag inside your shop vac and the mess is minimal.
2) Wear goggles and a mask - most of these chemicals are absorbed through your eyes and inside of nose -not by breathing. Nytrile gloves of course also. If you won't wear the mask/goggles all the time - use when mixing at a minimum. I wore them for the whole job.
3) Coverages from manufacturer are estimates at best. We found the Rhino/Concrete Solutions products to vary. The Epoxy 500 primer went way further than estimated. The urethane base coat over primer was right on the money (3 gallons did 900 sq ft). Chip estimates varied greatly depending on who you asked from 75# to 200# for our job. We bought 150# and used approx 115 applying liberally as you should. Top urethane coat over full chip takes a lot of material. We had an extra gallon by chance and barely made it by using it. So 4 gallons for 900 ft. The second top coat (highly recommended) was fine covering with the 3 gallons.
4) 3 guys was a must for base coat/chips - but 2 of us did all other work.
5) Use a good roller cover - Purdy 1/4" nap worked for us - and wash/dry it first and remove any remaining nubs by dabbing with duct tape.
6) We mixed urethane in 1.5 gallon batches and calculated approx. area it should cover so we knew we were close on coverage. Dump whole batch on floor at beginning and spread across with squeegee.
7) We ended up having a custom chip blend made to match as supplier who told us he could match another vendor's color - actually couldn't. So, lesson learned there is choose color from your supplier's chip selections or just have your own custom blend made to begin with.
8) As with any job, the finished product is only as good as the prep work underneath. We spent WAY more time grinding cracks, filling them, and grinding the surface properly than we did applying 4 coats of material and chips.
9) Use a leaf blower to remove excess chips before and after scraping
10) Use rubber kitchen spatulas to make sure you get ALL the material out of each of the cans. I bought about 10 at Dollar General and tossed them after each use. Mix thoroughly per mfg direction - each product varies.
that's all I can think of now- sure there is more. Ask with any questions. This is my second floor, but I had good input and equipment loaned from a friend in the business. It's a lot of work but sure will look great when shop is done!
Products were as follows:
buyrhino.com - click on Concrete Solutions - then click on Color Flake System
Epoxy 200 - crack filling
Epoxy 500- primer
HP Urethane Color - Base Coat
Chips- custom blend made by Torginol
HP Urethand Clear Topcoat (2 coats)
Heres my list of tips for those who have time to read it all:
1) Check and double check ALL material before you start anything. (this applies to any project). Open boxes, spread out chips, match part A/B quantities, etc.
2) Grind the floor - nothing else will do the job right. Yes, it's a lot of work but if you don't - that's why your floor will fail IMO. Use a drywall dust bag inside your shop vac and the mess is minimal.
2) Wear goggles and a mask - most of these chemicals are absorbed through your eyes and inside of nose -not by breathing. Nytrile gloves of course also. If you won't wear the mask/goggles all the time - use when mixing at a minimum. I wore them for the whole job.
3) Coverages from manufacturer are estimates at best. We found the Rhino/Concrete Solutions products to vary. The Epoxy 500 primer went way further than estimated. The urethane base coat over primer was right on the money (3 gallons did 900 sq ft). Chip estimates varied greatly depending on who you asked from 75# to 200# for our job. We bought 150# and used approx 115 applying liberally as you should. Top urethane coat over full chip takes a lot of material. We had an extra gallon by chance and barely made it by using it. So 4 gallons for 900 ft. The second top coat (highly recommended) was fine covering with the 3 gallons.
4) 3 guys was a must for base coat/chips - but 2 of us did all other work.
5) Use a good roller cover - Purdy 1/4" nap worked for us - and wash/dry it first and remove any remaining nubs by dabbing with duct tape.
6) We mixed urethane in 1.5 gallon batches and calculated approx. area it should cover so we knew we were close on coverage. Dump whole batch on floor at beginning and spread across with squeegee.
7) We ended up having a custom chip blend made to match as supplier who told us he could match another vendor's color - actually couldn't. So, lesson learned there is choose color from your supplier's chip selections or just have your own custom blend made to begin with.
8) As with any job, the finished product is only as good as the prep work underneath. We spent WAY more time grinding cracks, filling them, and grinding the surface properly than we did applying 4 coats of material and chips.
9) Use a leaf blower to remove excess chips before and after scraping
10) Use rubber kitchen spatulas to make sure you get ALL the material out of each of the cans. I bought about 10 at Dollar General and tossed them after each use. Mix thoroughly per mfg direction - each product varies.
that's all I can think of now- sure there is more. Ask with any questions. This is my second floor, but I had good input and equipment loaned from a friend in the business. It's a lot of work but sure will look great when shop is done!
