Anyone use straight epoxy without grit & flakes?

[bugman-74]

All,
I am getting ready to epoxy-coat my 2 car (20'X19') garage. I'm not particularly fond of the flakes. In my factory at work, we have epoxied floors with no flake - and I prefer the look (though it can get slippery when wet). Has anyone applied epoxy-coat to their garage with no flakes (have pictures?). Would you have done it again?

Thanks,
--Eric

 

[boiler7904]

Welcome to the board.

I think it would depend a lot on the color choice. A light solid color will show a ton of dirt, dust, road salt, water spots, etc. In addition to helping hide dirt, the flake also adds some slip resistance.

I did a dark red color and briefly considered skipping the flakes. Ended up doing the flakes and don't regret it.

 

[jimmys5600]

I just did a new garage floor,24x24,used straight epoxy, I too do not care for the flakes. I do alot of mechanical work and it is easier to spot a dropped nut or bolt without the flakes.

 

[bmwpower]

No grit. No flakes here.

 

[bugman-74]

Thanks for the reply's!

The color will be epoxy-coat's standard gray.

I am in sunny southern Arizona - so we dont see any roadsalt.

Every shop and hangar I have ever been in has been straight epoxy, so I guess I have just gotten used to it that way. I dont know how epoxy-coat looks in comparison to the commercial epoxy coatings I have seen, but I would think it is a fairly close match.

Darn, I still cant make up my mind... Maybe I will go ahead and set up the flakes, and force myself to make the decision right after I roll it on.

--Eric

 

[timgr]

JMO - the flakes will look dated in a decade.

I'm leaning toward solid color with grit, but I have not decided yet.

 

[SteveL]

I used a solid light grey Benjamin Moore two part epoxy about 10 years ago with no grit or flakes and it has held up well. Only mistake I made was cleaning it with straight Simple Green a few years back and it took all the gloss off. It does show dirt and water spots, but it is a garage, right?

I added on to the garage and will be re-coating the old floor along with the new addition with the same stuff in a month or so. Cool part about the Benjamin Moore stuff is that you can have them tint it to what ever color you want. They also offer a clear top coat as well, although I did not use it.

 

[toms73novass]

I decided to use the flakes for their ability to hide imperfections that arise and the slip resistance. Epoxy-coat is glass smooth after it self levels.

I have a brand new floor and it was almost glass smooth before the epoxy and would have been a skating rink (with just a hint of water)with just the acid etch that was required in my case. I chose to use the flakes and alot of them. I have heard that the abrasive in the kits wears out in about 5 years.

Also, I do fabrication and I will have welding blankets down but if a hot ember gets on the floor I do not want it to stand out. I chose the taupe with brown, black, white and tan flakes just for that reason.

 

[PhantomEB]

Even though theres no way I can see me wanting flakes one bit, I kinda like that desert camo kinda look.

As for straight color, it would be a medium or dark grey.

 

[JohnZ]

Mine was done seven years ago in light gray epoxy with a light sprinkling of fine silica sand, and doesn't look a bit different than it did the day it was poured. No slips, no falls, no problems.

 

[michael Mccoy]

This ex-Navy guy did a 2 car garage in a very pale beige. After swabbing and painting decks aboard 2 aircraft carriers I did not want to see another grey deck for as long as I live. Mike