White Wolverine floor in a working shop

Hello All,

I've been lurking here for a long time, and I recently completed (well, 75%) my flooring project. My desires for the floor were quite different than most people here who are doing these showplace home garages. I rent a 1700 sq ft. warehouse that I operate a race car shop out of, so my main concerns were price (I don't own the place!), hardness, chemical resistance, a bright white color, and easy install. What I didn't care about: visible cracks, super-perfect gloss and flawless smoothness, perfect edges, and color CHIPS! I can't stand chips in a working shop, they just make it hard to find things you drop and reduce the reflected light under cars.

I had to coat about 1500 square feet, and the amount of stuff in the shop dictated that I do it in sections in order to have a place to keep all my ****. I put as much as I could into the office, and put the rest in the back. I did the middle 50% in one shot first (a pending lift install dictated this strange order) and just finished the rear 25%. I'm waiting for another weekend to do the front 25% so it can dry while I'm not there.

Fred at Alphagarage was quite helpful as others have said, and I'd recommend Wolverine to anyone looking for a floor coating. I did a lot of research on various coatings, and Wolverine provided a very good value and high quality. When I started researching epoxies, I had mostly dismissed them because they are a 'premium' brand, and I'm trying to do this cheap. I almost went with the epoxyguard from Costco, since it is cheap and 100% solids. However, when I got closer to ordering and priced out all the options, the Wolverine turned out to be quite competitive price-wise with other similar-spec products.

I used a Bond Tite primer coat, and white Liqui-tile top coat. That's it. I just masked off the walls and an inch of the floor (so I could just roll right up to the tape - no tedious edge brushing for me)

Prep: I had originally rented a Blastrac shot blaster from United Rentals (about $300), but the morning of my prep, the machine was DOA with an electrical short. With everything packed into the office and the remaining **** all emptied out into the parking lot, I had to scramble and find an alternate. I ended up with an EDCO twin disc grinder ($100/day or so), but nobody in town had diamond inserts on a Saturday. I ended up doing the prep with the coarsest stones they had, which was only marginally effective. I basically scuffed the whole surface, but I really didn't feel like it went as well as the shot blaster or diamond stones would have. It was a very frustrating day. Obviously if this was my home shop, I would have just packed it up and waited for the machine to be repaired; unfortunately running a business means I can't afford to sit idle for a couple of days. The upside is that my slab is in very good shape, with minimal stains, spots, etc, and has never had a coating on it. I felt a lot better when I went to apply the first section of Bond Tite (fairly thin as epoxies go) and you could just see it penetrate right into the concrete. I think this is one advantage of having a clear primer instead of going straight to an opaque color - you can definitely see what you've covered, and see that it's doing something.

Notes: The Wolverine instructions are pretty self-explanatory, but I learned a couple of things that would have made my first pour easier. 3 things, all dealing with distributing material:

1. Spike shoes - I think they are mandatory, even if you aren't doing chips or clear coat. When pouring out material from the bucket, it was hard to gauge how much was being distributed around the area I was working in, and I quickly realized I needed to push some epoxy around with the roller. That was very difficult without spikes. I just made some with a piece of MDF and some drywall screws.

2. Notched squeegees - didn't have one for the first section, and wished I did. I purchased one to do the second section, and it made a world of difference. Evenly spreading epoxy with an 18" roller is very labor intensive, and hard to make look good. By comparison, the squeegee glides easily over the surface, and makes it simple to evenly distribute epoxy over a large area. The backrolling becomes a trivial task and was way less work. I bought a 5-mil (bondtite) and 10-mil (liquitile) squeegee from flooramerica.com, but I think Fred may start carrying them as well. Also, the Liquitile is QUITE thick, and as a result is even harder to spread with a roller than the bondtite.

3. I figured out that drilling a couple of 3/4" holes in the bucket lid and putting the lid back on after mixing makes it much easier to pour out the 3 gallons in a controlled fashion. Instead of erratic, wide splashes of epoxy, you can just turn the bucket over and slowly walk around the area drizzling out smaller lines of epoxy. This means you have to do less spreading and it's a lot easier to gauge how much material you've distributed and where. See pics below.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but overall I thought the project went well, and the Wolverine products, being 100% solids, had very little odor and were pleasant to work with.

I simply masked off the sections with masking tape, so there is a slightly visible seam between the sections. If I was concerned about it, I would have just slightly dry-rolled the edge and overlapped the next section without using any masking tape.

Questions and comments welcome.

Andris

Very cool.

When I build my next shop, I'm doing the same. Solid color, either white or very light gray.

So far mine has held up well, I had some ATE brake fluid that sat on the floor for 2 days (didn't notice it) in a rather large puddle that did no ill effect. Usually brake fluid is pretty nasty stuff on most things.

Man that looks nice , I think you just sold me on the white. Let us no how it holds up.

You sir... regardless of what other threads may say.... are my hero.

Ive been looking at the solid white floor for quite some time. Was hoping to have it done sometime last year. 2009 is the new goal.

I think its brilliant. I've been somewhat convinced to do the chips, but was planning white base with white and light grey chips for texture, but not so sure i need the texture after seeing another solid white floor.

Nice job Andris!

Your experience is one of the reasons that mechanical profiling isn't always on the top of the list. If you're fortunate enough to find the right piece of equipment, odds are they won't have the right media to go along with it.

Nice work on the impromptu shoes! Time to shop your design around...



They do come in handy when applying the coatings, and are almost a necessity if you're using any flakes.

Good idea on the lid holes - we'll definitely add that to our tips list.

We do have notched squeegees, although they're pro caliber and most folks balk at the cost ($30 for the 16" frame, and $12 for the 16" rubber), now the frame is top notch and last forever, but for someone who is doing just one project they're overkill. I do think we'll have a more appropriate priced set pretty soon.

The squeegee does help with the LiquaTile 1184 - unlike a lot of other epoxies out there LiquaTile has a high percentage of ceramic content. That does give it great strength and impact absorption qualities, but it also makes it heavy and pretty viscous.

Which reminds me of another tip to add - do not use a cheap drill motor to mix our LiquaTile 1184! A couple of folks reported that they burned out a couple of drills during the mixing.

Using flakes does add a bit of texture, but the texture is similar to embossed roll out kitchen linoleum. If you expect a lot of water or other spills you should consider using a more aggressive texture additive.

As far as using white... This is one of the great features that most people don't consider when making their floor treatment decision, but they appreciate it a lot after it's all put down and they're messing around in the garage - light reflection. If you opt for one of the lighter shades of gray, or a lighter color, all of that light bouncing off the floor and onto whatever you're working on can make a huge difference in enjoyability and productivity.

Golf shoes work pretty good if you have a pair.

Oh I have a few questions:

1. I don't see an explanation for how the Bond Tite primer goes on? Is it a paint thickness or the same heavier thickness as the Wolverine, hence requiring spreading via notched squeegee?

2. The Bond Tite looks very glossy. Did it dry like that? Or did you apply the white top coat while it was still tacky? If dry, how long do you have to wait after spreading/rolling it before you can paint the top coat?

3. How long does the top coat take to dry to be fuly ready to be used?

4. I have a 75-80 year old, small two car garage with years of ground in dirt and of course some spills. It also has some repairs already done to it (seams that will show) and some cracks I NEED to repair. Did you find anything good for filling wider cracks, say 1" wide? I planned on using an ordinary quikcrete type crack filler from Home Depot, but there has to be better products on the market.

Answers very much appreciated. This coating would do wonders in my old garage, though I would be tempted to go with a light gray or possibly tan.

Which reminds me of another tip to add - do not use a cheap drill motor to mix our LiquaTile 1184! A couple of folks reported that they burned out a couple of drills during the mixing.

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I was able to mix the Liquatile fine with my corded Craftsman Pro 3/8" drive drill, but the IntegraFlex killed it. Literally. Smoked.

Had to go out and get a 1/2" drive drill for the IntegraFlex.

Dan in Pasadena said:

Oh I have a few questions:

1. I don't see an explanation for how the Bond Tite primer goes on? Is it a paint thickness or the same heavier thickness as the Wolverine, hence requiring spreading via notched squeegee?

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The BondTite 1101 primer less viscous than the LiquaTile, plus it goes down at 5 mil instead of 12 mil, so it's easier to move around.

However as the primer it is being applied to a rougher surface, so that does balance out the equation a bit.

2. The Bond Tite looks very glossy. Did it dry like that? Or did you apply the white top coat while it was still tacky? If dry, how long do you have to wait after spreading/rolling it before you can paint the top coat?

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It does cure like that, and yes, it is quite glossy. Which is one of the reasons it's often used as the clear coat, also at 5 mils.

You can apply the next coat as soon as you're able to walk on the existing coat without leaving a shoe impression, often referred to as "tack free,"and it should be within 24 hours of the previous coat.

The time to tack free can vary quite a bit depending on numerous factors. It's usually 4 - 8 hours, but can be as long as 20 or so hours. Generally the colder and more humid it is - the longer till tack free.

3. How long does the top coat take to dry to be fuly ready to be used?

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Foot traffic within 24 hrs., gently drive on within 48hrs, full cure in 6 or 7 days. Always check hardness before moving onto new coating.

4. I have a 75-80 year old, small two car garage with years of ground in dirt and of course some spills. It also has some repairs already done to it (seams that will show) and some cracks I NEED to repair. Did you find anything good for filling wider cracks, say 1" wide? I planned on using an ordinary quikcrete type crack filler from Home Depot, but there has to be better products on the market.

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Quickcrete is not the best because it does a poor job of adhering to the existing substrate, plus it has zero flexibility. Not a big problem if things never move again, but that's usually not the case.

Fill the cracks with a flexible, quality epoxy, like our IntegraFlex 921. It's self priming, sticks to surrounding material, remains somewhat flexible, has good elongation properties, and is compatible with our other epoxies.

It's used on highway expansion joints, runways, and garage floors. A one gallon kit will solve about 160 cubic inches of crack trouble.

Answers very much appreciated. This coating would do wonders in my old garage, though I would be tempted to go with a light gray or possibly tan.

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Both fine and upstanding colors, your garage will look great with either one!

Dan,

The Bond-Tite goes on just like the Liquitile - pour it out and roll/spread with a squeegee. It is thinner than the liquitile and goes on at about 5 mils thick. Liquitile goes on at 10+ mils.

The bond tite is very glossy wet or dry. In the pictures, it is dry to the touch when I applied the white, but not totally hard. I would apply bond tite in the afternoon or evening and you could carefully walk on it the next morning and apply the liquitile. If you use spike shoes like I did, the bond tite is still soft enough to scratch through while you are applying the white.

I applied the white top coat in the morning, and you can easily walk on it the next morning. However, it isn't fully hardened yet. I waited until the 3rd morning to start moving cars and equipment on it. (72 hrs) Steel-wheeled engine hoist still leaves slight marks when carrying something heavy (like an engine) but this seems to be getting better each day. My floor is going to get marks, scratches, burns, etc. over time, so I'm not too concerned.

I see that Fred has already replied while I wrote this, but I'll post my comments anyways.

Andris

Hi,

The garage looks great!

I'm not sure about that Island Tan Fred... it looks like Peach on my screen... lol...

Oh... BE CAREFUL when you walk on the cured BondTite 1101 with the spiked shoes... it can be slicker than you'd think...

WolverineCoatings said:

Oh... BE CAREFUL when you walk on the cured BondTite 1101 with the spiked shoes... it can be slicker than you'd think...

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I would just like to reiterate this point.

Had the LiquaTile & chips DONE! Done for the night, saw a moth fly in. Stepped in to snag it, lost my balance when I reached for it, and slipped.

So much for keeping the dead moth off the floor.

WolverineCoatings said:

Hi,

I'm not sure about that Island Tan Fred... it looks like Peach on my screen... lol...

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Good catch - it's corrected

Fred,

If mechanical profiling isn't always at the top of the list, is there another acceptable way to prep the floor?

Bojans said:

Fred,

If mechanical profiling isn't always at the top of the list, is there another acceptable way to prep the floor?

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Profiling the concrete is an essential step to coat concrete floors. Even a new floor that’s never had any traffic, has never had anything spilled on it, and is clean as the day it was finished, should be profiled. A coating works best if there are small holes, nooks, and crannies to flow in and lock onto, what profiling does creates those small voids on the concrete surface. Chemicals do that by dissolving some of the components in the concrete while leaving other elements untouched.

There are several chemicals available, each has benefits and disadvantages.

Probably the most common chemical used is muriatic acid, also known as hydrochloric acid. It is readily available, it’s inexpensive, and it’s usually effective. Essentially you spread it on the floor, wait a short period of time, and rinse it off. Its downsides are that it is a caustic and nasty chemical. It can erode and otherwise damage metal, it smells bad, it can kill vegetation. On the health side you need to be aware that it is toxic, it can easily burn skin and blind if spilled or splashed. Some people and animals are very sensitive to its foul and strong odor. Before you choose it as your etching agent familiarize yourself with its properties. If it’s your choice be sure to carefully follow all directions and pay heed to each and every warning.

There are buffered forms of hydrochloric acid, and even some formulas based of completely different chemistry, which reduce, and in some cases fully eliminate, the negatives. These are a bit more difficult to source and are more expensive. For example Wolverine Coatings OrganiPrep 921, which is not based on muriatic acid, is as effective as muriatic acid but has low odor and no toxic or hazardous air pollutants. It’s commonly used when the floors are around animal facilities (many critters are far more sensitive to chemicals than we are) like zoos and aquariums, food preparation areas and human care facilities like hospitals and nursing homes.

So bottom line if you have a garage with an 8 month old floor that has been sealed and had car traffic but no oil spills could I get away with an acid profiler as oppsed to grinding the floor?

Bojans said:

So bottom line if you have a garage with an 8 month old floor that has been sealed and had car traffic but no oil spills could I get away with an acid profiler as oppsed to grinding the floor?

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Probably not, since we need to count the sealer as a "spill," albeit a controlled one. There are sealers that will be removed by some acids, although most won't. But you may not need to break out the grinding machinery just yet

OrganiStrip 901 is a low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound), water-based paint remover that will effectively lift most epoxies, urethanes, lead based architectural coatings, and powder coatings. It's recommended for use on nearly all substrates including steel, aluminum, masonry, wood, and, of course, your garage floor.

It contains no TAP’s or HAP’s (Toxic or Hazardous Airborne Pollutants) and is easily cleaned up with soap and water or denatured alcohol.

Do you know what brand of sealant was used on your floor?

Cool thread, the forum has me thinking about the floor, and yes I have decided on white@!