Applying decorative flakes

[jekoz]

Help! I ran out of the vinyl decorative flakes while epoxying my garage floor.
There is one side that looks light compared to the rest of the garage.
The epoxy is almost dry now.

Is there anything I can do to add more flakes to the lighter side of the garage? Are there self-adhering flakes I can purchase somewhere?

Would appreciate some advice here!

 

[shaun oriold1]

Are you doing a top coat? If so, you can always put flake into that. Otherwise you're SOL.

 

[msgross]

Lowes has flakes, might not match though...


Hindsight is always 20/20 but You should have divided them up and split the floor into smaller areas... sorry to hear.

 

[jekoz]

I started applying in epoxy in smaller sections. So I'm not sure how I just ran out - probably was just too tired to be aware I won't have enough remaining.

I bought these flakes from home depot. Can't I apply new flakes over the epoxy and then apply some adhesive spray? I'm not sure if there are such sprays.

I was thinking of applying a top coat but now I'm not sure I want to deal with any headaches from that! I thought the surface would have to be rid of dry flakes before the top coat.

 

[shaun oriold1]

There is no such spray you can use to apply individual flakes. If you were to use some sort of 3m spray you're going to get a lot of adhesive on the floor, which will stay tacky for a while. It will pick up dirt quick.

You could in theory apply crazy glue to an individual flake, and place the flakes down, but thats crazy intricate.

 

[shaun oriold1]

I thought the surface would have to be rid of dry flakes before the top coat.

It does need to be clear of any loose flake. The flakes are dry to begin with, so I'm not sure what you're asking.

 

[jekoz]

Are there any good glues that can be applied to thin materials like these flakes more easily. Otherwise, just using the standard glue sticks would take me a very long time.

For the coating, I meant that if flakes were put on before applying the coating, wouldn't they just get absorbed into the coating material because they were never attached to the epoxy?

 

[shaun oriold1]

Are there any good glues that can be applied to thin materials like these flakes more easily. Otherwise, just using the standard glue sticks would take me a very long time.

For the coating, I meant that if flakes were put on before applying the coating, wouldn't they just get absorbed into the coating material because they were never attached to the epoxy?

Adding flake afterwards in impossible to the basecoat. You want the flake to absorb into the epoxy and be held there. Any flake you add afterwards will be less secure, and prone to braking apart. No matter what glue you use. Anything you do needs to only apply glue to 1 side of the chip ( nothing on the other side, and nothing extra on the floor) So you're basically going to need a tube of crazy glue and tweezers to to it if you want the best chance - basically I'm saying its impossible! And, you're going to need to place them onto the floor, while trying to make it look random too....

As for adding flake into the top coat, its doable. I'll sometimes squeegee out a top coat, and toss a few flakes in ( or sparkles if the cust wants) and back roll it to make sure they get coated properly. So you're adding the flake into the topcoat, not applying before.

I love full broadcast floors for a reason!

 

[jekoz]

Can you explain your process a bit more if not going with the glue idea?

If I'm understanding then...You would apply the clear coat first, then top with the additional flakes, and then reapply the coat? Would you reapply using a different kind of brush?

Did you just use a regular roller to apply the clear coat? I've heard that since the coat can't be seen it has a tendency to create swim lanes later on when it dries and settles if you overcoat?

 

[shaun oriold1]

Can you explain your process a bit more if not going with the glue idea?

If I'm understanding then...You would apply the clear coat first, then top with the additional flakes, and then reapply the coat? Would you reapply using a different kind of brush?

Did you just use a regular roller to apply the clear coat? I've heard that since the coat can't be seen it has a tendency to create swim lanes later on when it dries and settles if you overcoat?

You apply the topcoat - ideally with a squeegee. It goes down fairly thin. You're probably going to get 200 Sq Feet /gallon. While you're squeegeeing out the product, you can sprinkle a few flakes into the floor where necessary. Then right after, you back roll the topcoat, going wall to wall, not stopping, not lifting your roller in the middle of the floor. Maybe overlap 1/2 roller width.

You can see the top coat when you're putting it down. Its shiny usually. with your garage door open, you can squat down low to see where you missed & where you have too much.

If this is an option, you better overnight some topcoat as you need to do it with 24 hours of the base coat. IF that time is long gone, then enjoy your floor as is. To correct it now requires a lot more work

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

10-4. Clear it add your flakes, clear it again.


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[Wuaname]

Op, so how did it end up?