Advice in choosing garage floor coating?

[mlb6d9]

Hi Everyone, and please forgive my newbieness in advance!
I bought my current 1983 house 3 years ago and was impressed by the condition of the garage floor. It has no cracks, heaving, or spalling - but does have some light to moderate staining. I've been parking outside in the winter because I don't want to track in salt & mag chloride and have the floor start to deteriorate.
I borrowed a 2600psi pressure washer, bought a special wand attachment (see attached), Prosoco Light Duty Concrete cleaner, and Prosoco Saltgard penetrating sealer. I mistakenly thought the cleaner would lift off most of what you see in the photos, and I would simply apply the sealer and could begin parking there in the winter. As you can see, the cleaner wasn't strong enough....
Since it was going to take more work and heavier duty cleaner to remove the stains, I began to think about simply painting the floor with that new DrylokE1, or Rust Bullet. It would make for a nice uniform appearance, and would make sweeping easier - while protecting against the salt, etc. However, it requires thorough stain removal as well for it to stick. So for laughs I got a price to have a guy surface grind and epoxy the floor. It will run $665 for a 13' x 21' floor, which also happens to be about the same price as what I'd spend on the material alone for the RB. So I'm debating between the DrylokE1 (the much cheaper option) or the Epoxy. What kind of success has anyone had with the DrylokE1, and was it worth the prep time? I like the simplicity it offers, as to application and touch-up when needed. Plus, I wouldn't have to move everything out of the garage for 3 days. I could theoretically do half the floor at a time could I not?
BTW - the garage gets used mainly for lighter projects. Not a lot of automotive work, no welding (yet), and doesn't see much spillage of solvents, oils, etc.
Your opinions will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Garage Flooring]

Hi Everyone, and please forgive my newbieness in advance!
I bought my current 1983 house 3 years ago and was impressed by the condition of the garage floor. It has no cracks, heaving, or spalling - but does have some light to moderate staining. I've been parking outside in the winter because I don't want to track in salt & mag chloride and have the floor start to deteriorate.
I borrowed a 2600psi pressure washer, bought a special wand attachment (see attached), Prosoco Light Duty Concrete cleaner, and Prosoco Saltgard penetrating sealer. I mistakenly thought the cleaner would lift off most of what you see in the photos, and I would simply apply the sealer and could begin parking there in the winter. As you can see, the cleaner wasn't strong enough....
Since it was going to take more work and heavier duty cleaner to remove the stains, I began to think about simply painting the floor with that new DrylokE1, or Rust Bullet. It would make for a nice uniform appearance, and would make sweeping easier - while protecting against the salt, etc. However, it requires thorough stain removal as well for it to stick. So for laughs I got a price to have a guy surface grind and epoxy the floor. It will run $665 for a 13' x 21' floor, which also happens to be about the same price as what I'd spend on the material alone for the RB. So I'm debating between the DrylokE1 (the much cheaper option) or the Epoxy. What kind of success has anyone had with the DrylokE1, and was it worth the prep time? I like the simplicity it offers, as to application and touch-up when needed. Plus, I wouldn't have to move everything out of the garage for 3 days. I could theoretically do half the floor at a time could I not?
BTW - the garage gets used mainly for lighter projects. Not a lot of automotive work, no welding (yet), and doesn't see much spillage of solvents, oils, etc.
Your opinions will be greatly appreciated!!

Judging by the photos here, I believe you and I spoke on the phone the other day and we discussed some options. I try not to comment on competitors products, I just always encourage people to read the data sheets: http://www.drylok.com/wp-content/uploads/DRYLOK-Masonry-DRYLOK-E1-Floor-Paint-Data-Sheet-LR216.pdf

Whatever product you go with, ultimately your issue remains. If the marks we discussed are oil stains and they are as stubborn as you have indicated, adhesion is going to be a major concern.

Also please make sure you analyze the wet film thickness, % of solids and dry film thickness (whats left when your floor cures) of whatever product you purchase.

 

[Shea]

Of all the 1-Part epoxy paints available, Drylok E1 seems to be a top performer when compared to the competition. That said, it's still just a latex paint with a little bit of epoxy added to make it more durable. 1-Part epoxy paints are not even in the same league as a decent quality resinous type coating.

It will lose gloss quick, you will need to touch up and repaint about once a year, and it will not protect your concrete from the deicing fluids you are worried about if you get any type of hot tire pick up, chipping, or peeling during the winter time. If you are OK with that, then it may be just fine for you. Not everyone wants to spend money on quality coatings and is why these paints are still on the market.

However, if you don't want to spend the time to repair or repaint the floor each year and if you want to make sure your concrete is properly protected from winter, the extra dollars spent initially will save you the hassles and expense in the long run.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Of all the 1-Part epoxy paints available, Drylok E1 seems to be a top performer when compared to the competition. That said, it's still just a latex paint with a little bit of epoxy added to make it more durable. 1-Part epoxy paints are not even in the same league as a decent quality resinous type coating.

It will lose gloss quick, you will need to touch up and repaint about once a year, and it will not protect your concrete from the deicing fluids you are worried about if you get any type of hot tire pick up, chipping, or peeling during the winter time. If you are OK with that, then it may be just fine for you. Not everyone wants to spend money on quality coatings and is why these paints are still on the market.

However, if you don't want to spend the time to repair or repaint the floor each year and if you want to make sure your concrete is properly protected from winter, the extra dollars spent initially will save you the hassles and expense in the long run.

So how would this compare to just using a good epoxy primer?

 

[Shea]

So how would this compare to just using a good epoxy primer?

OK, I'll take the bait... In fact I almost mentioned these but ran out of time.

Most epoxy primers are far superior in abrasion and chemical resistance, as well as stain resistance. In fact, many of the epoxy primers that are available are much better than the DIY epoxy kits that you can buy from home improvement centers. A comparison of the technical data sheets confirms this.

 

[mlb6d9]

Thanks guys for your input, and yes Justin we did talk on the phone a few days ago.
Shea - after you pointed out Drylok's vulnerabilities upon HTPU, I stumbled upon 'Drylok Concrete Protector' which is formulated to protect against salts, and can be used as a primer prior to the E1. So theoretically if I do incur HTPU, then at least I will have that layer of protection underneath and I can easily touch up. During the warmer months I only park in the garage in the event of a large hail storm, so I don't think HTPU will really be an issue for me.
The price I got for the epoxy coating is very fair, and I know that is the true way to go, but for convenience sake (not having to move everything out of the garage for 3 days (including a dozen sheets of 5/8" drywall)) and cost, I think I will give this a try. Things have been in disarray since I started cleaning the floor last weekend, and pausing to reconsider the coating. I'm done obsessing about it, and am ready to get this over with so I can reorganize and go on to other things. Worst case scenario, if it doesn't perform as expected I haven't invested too much money/labor in it to begin with and at that point I'll have the epoxy guy come grind it off and do his thing....

Whew!!
Thanks again guys ;-)

 

[Shea]

Glad you came to a decision. At least you know the facts now and what you are dealing with. And you are right, if for some reason it does not perform to your satisfaction you can always grind it off and apply something better.

Good luck and we hope you enjoy your floor!