Acrylic with no polish or stain?

[shocksystems]

Hello all:

I contacted someone to give me a quote for polishing my concrete floor. The floor was poured this spring and I have yet to park a vehicle on it. The floor looks good but I want to make sure it stays looking good and does not stain. I decided to look into concrete polishing because it seemed like the most rugged surface and I like the look in places like Home Depot where the floor has been polished.

After lots of challenges meeting up with the contractor (he seemed unable to meet times he agreed to, it was almost comical) he stopped by to look at the job.

He noted that the floor really does look fantastic considering nothing has been done to the floor since it was poured. He called it a "double burnt" finish job. He says that is rarely done these days. The contractor that did my floor is in his eighties (seriously) so that does seem plausible.

Based on the condition of the floor he recommended that he simply sand some areas and then apply 2 coats of a product from Stampcrete called "Ultra Sheen". He says that it will really make the floor look great, in addition he says that the product is incredibly durable. I think the product is an acrylic.

I like the idea of not having to polish the floor, because it really does look good the way it is, it would be great if I could just apply a product to protect it and make it look great.

I was disappointed with his price to do the floor. He expected it could be done over 2 days, it is a 750SFT floor. His quote was about $2,000. In addition I am not sure how durable the surface really will be.

Wolverine: I saw you comment in another thread that Acrylic coatings were not that durable and suggested a product of yours instead "BondTite 1101". Has anyone applied that directly to floors without acid staining the floor first? I assume it will protect it well, will it also make the floor look good? Can you comment some more about BondTite 1101 in general?

Thanks in advance to anyone with any feedback.

Cheers!

Jim

 

[awakeinAZ]

I can only help with one thing on your questions. I received 3 bids from 3 different companies regarding using Epoxy. The bids were all between $2.50/sq ft to over $4.00/sq ft depending on if you use water base or solvent base and what your flakes are made of and finally the top coat appearence. Over all your price per sq foot of cost does not look out of the ball park to me.

 

[SC-Eric]

Wolverine: I saw you comment in another thread that Acrylic coatings were not that durable and suggested a product of yours instead "BondTite 1101". Has anyone applied that directly to floors without acid staining the floor first? I assume it will protect it well, will it also make the floor look good? Can you comment some more about BondTite 1101 in general?

First, that price seems WAY too high for an acrylic!!! We can sell you some AcryliSeal 3401 (Standard Solventborne Acrylic) for about $375 that you can apply yourself!!! (We don't recommend it... but... it's in stock... It's that same stuff they use at Disneyland... we'll sell it to you if your budget is more important than your time) In general, acrylics are not 'long term' solutions for a garage floor. IF you do acrylic, you WILL need to do it again at some point. Hardly anyone does any prep before using this type of sealer. Let me know if you need it... it is in stock...

We ALWAYS recommend prepping a floor before applying BondTite 1101! We KNOW that there have been many people who have applied it to a floor without doing any prep and it has worked... BUT... I wouldn't. In my opinion, it's kind of like building a house... Don't skimp on the foundation! It's just like almost everything else in life, the more time you put in up front the less time you spend later.

Here is another option:
We have a prep solution that is pretty easy to use called OrganiPrep 921. This assumes that no one put any kind of a curing sealer on the concrete... if they did... you would need OrganiStrip 901. Anyway, you simply apply this material at about 100-150 ft2/gallon... let it sit for 15 minutes... scrub the surface with a deck brush... wait another 15-30 minutes... Rinse it off. As the name suggests, this material is all biodegradable and can be rinsed right into a drain or onto your lawn or bushes. We do recommend that you prewet the lawn, bushes and driveway with some water first. Basically, the OrganiPrep 921 self neutralizes when it is hit with water. The drawback of OrganiPrep & OrganiStrip products is the price. They are very expensive at $65/gallon. However, it is the fastest and most 'guess free' way to prepare a small floor. Once you do this, you can apply BondTite 1101 and even continue on with LiquaTile 1184 and flakes if you want...

One thing everyone should keep in mind... If you are going to build a garage... ALWAYS use BondTite 1501 (not 1101) as a curing sealer when the concrete is poured. The BondTite 1501 will NOT need to be scarified or blasted off prior to coating. All you would need to do before coating the floor would be to make sure that it is free of dirt, oil and such. The BondTite 1501 will strengthen your concrete and will also allow you to coat the floor within 24 hours if you really wanted to... that's right... you wouldn't have to wait 28 days!

Last... DO NOT use waterborne or solventborne epoxy products on your garage floor. Again, we can sell you those... it just doesn't make any sense. 1/2 of those products will evaporate into thin air! So, you have to put down twice as much to get the same dry film thickness. In addition, you will also have a porous suface since pours are created during the evaporation process.

FLAKES: Do NOT buy cheap flakes. Some companies are making their flakes or importing them from China! If they put lead in the paint on Thomas the Train you KNOW they are putting lead in the paint chips. It's just not worth it!

I gotta run... Good luck with your projects guys... I really do have a good time on here... I've been thinking about having a contest to see who can do the coolest floor... we'll talk more about that later!