Armor Chip

[OldracerJones]

Allright, I've read most of the articles concerning floor coatings and have decided I will use a 2-part epoxy, non-water based, with fleck. I've researched many and the Armor Chip seems to be the best. 19mils thick, four color fleck, with a top coat. The kit comes with everything you need to install and prep.
My request is for comments on this brand and if you have experience with them, please let me know.

 

[Garage Flooring]

There are a lot of great products out there. Many of the manufacturers and distributors are part of this forum. Finding a good system is only half the battle. Take a look at some of the posts over the last few days. Take your time and prepare the floor right!

 

[harlemga]

I have purchased the Armor Chp from Armorgarage and installed it in a 2400 sf shop with the flakes and "forklift duty topcoat".

1 I was told it would ship Fedex - part of the order did - light stuff like the spikes and squeegee and some of the coating materials. The remaining materials were shipped common carrier to a local freight depot and I had to go and pick up the stuff. I wouldn't have minded as much but it took two days to find out it was shipping common carrier and it was aggravating because I was given the wrong pro number and initially couldn't find where the coatings were. Eventually it got squared away with some help from Armorpoxy and everything ordered was delivered(picked up).

2. The initial shipment shipped from Armorpoxy with some of the cans with the Armorpoxy labels. The rest were labelled Armorgarage. No big deal - it's the same coating.

3. It was applied to fresh concrete - cured about 9 months. It was power trowelled so I eventually figured out the right combination of muriatic acid to get the right prep. Prepped with 4000 psi pressure washer utilizing a high pressure water broom after neutralizing and subsequently washed again with a pressurized 20" floor scrubber after it initally dried.

4. I used the water based primer prior to application of the basecoat. The primer really soaked into the concrete and covered some hairline crack patches very well. The primer increased the buildup on the mils slightly and allowed the squeegees to last a little longer. After about 600sf the squeegee serrations tend to disappear. You can get identical squeegee's at Midwest Rake. I'm a strong believer in using the primer (I've worked in the pulp, power and chemical industies and have seen a lot of items coated for corrosion - primer is almost always used for adhesion)

5. Application of the basecoat was done in 100sf increments for (6) 400sf areas between saw cuts. Watch the cautions on the product data sheet relative to temperature because it's pretty accurate. I did it myself - strongly recommend you have someone help during the basecoat application. The first (2) 100sf sections I did are not as good as the remaining as I hurried too much.

6. If using the "antislip"/wear resistant material on the topcoat - mix it in a 5 gal bucket with the large paint stick. And keep mixing each time before you pour some into the tray. Mix it fairly hard and make sure you scrape the bottom of the bucket each time because it settles to the bottom fairly quickly.

Now: Would I use an Armor Chip type system again. Absolutely. The coating itself appears to be manufactured by National Polymers (including drop ship address on pallet) and is private labelled for Armorgarage/Armorpoxy (who are somehow related). It's a good coating based upon the product data sheet and has already demonstrated to me it can withstand the dropped items.

I would however consider some of the other suppliers from pricing perspective.

There are other suppliers including at least one on the forum which appears to be the same (product data sheets match those on the National Polymers website.) and who also deliver as stated.

 

[OldracerJones]

Thanks for the very good information. When you stopped one section and started anther did you just feather it in?

 

[harlemga]

Yes - feathered during backroll in about a 12" section of unsprinkled previous section. Got to be quick on backroll if doing by yourself. Takes about 15min to spread 100sf, backroll and sprinkle - this was the timing after the first couple sections - after getting the feel of it. Sprinkle lightly to desired coverage even if its medium to heavy. Look at it from several views away from section being covered to assist in determining where to sprinkle next. Primer stopped outgassing of concrete - no bubbles anywhere.

 

[thomapa1]

I just received my Armorclad/Armorpoxy kit. IMO, it was cheaper / about the same as other products but appeared to have better quality (final mils). I bought the kit, @$525 shipped, received it quickly in one box. I am grinding my floor now - I should be ready to spread/apply by this weekend.

 

[thomapa1]

To echo Harlemga comments...I diamond ground my floor as prep, then realized that the now porous floor would likely absorb more of the epoxy. Armorclad recommended priming first and claimed that this is how they always do their floors (diamond grind then prime). So I had to order 2 gallons of their primer for another $150. My issue is that I wish the need for the primer was more evident on their 'kit to complete a garage' order page. So now I'm up to $675 for their kit.

 

[harlemga]

If your much over 400sf - make sure you apply the primer as thin as possible or you may run out. The concrete I coated was very porous and I had to work at making sure I didn't run out. After about the 3rd 400sf area I had the coverage figured out and had a tad (50sf estimated) left on each of the areas.

 

[OldracerJones]

UPDATE - Six Years Later Re: Armor Chip

I decided an update was due on how the Armor Chip held up in a private shop with two car builds going on, welding plasma cutting, wood working and chemicals including oil and grease, bleach, paint and lots of mud and dirt.

The floor coating is having issues. The first spot to fail and the one that failed the heaviest is around the office chair and the workbench stools. The paint cracked and flaked off in small spots, now numbering in the dozens. The next fail point was me; moving my pressure tank, air compressor, etc., cause scratches in the floor which to my surprise never grew anymore.

90% of the floor is in pristine condition, shiny and solid. The 10% that is bad is in the major traffic areas like around the workbenches, welder, bead blaster and are real bad. So bad I've been thinking about having it redone next year.

I wanted it to last 10 years, it will last at least 7 years and it looks like the technology has continued to advance so maybe the new floor will the final floor.