Best (affordable) spalled concrete fix pre-epoxy

[DIYdad]

Hello everyone,

So for starters I decided to epoxy my 2.5 car garage floor. The previous owner applied some type of thinset to the concrete to address the spalling/pitting but must have either not prepped the surface properly (and also did a pretty crappy job of coating) because it started to bubble and flake, also sounded almost hollow when tapped.
So to start I chiseled off a majority of the thinset and then took to the entire floor with a dimabrush diamond grinder. Got down to bare concrete and evened out most of the spalling to a reasonable level.

Now is where I am stuck, I have a POD rented to hold all my junk from the garage and the budget is kinda tight. (to save money I didn’t rent a floor grinder I did it all by hand with a 7 inch grinder) I know I need to address the concrete first prior to epoxy.

I know that a epoxy re-surface will 100% bond and ensure a great finish product but the price is WAY out of what I can afford. I was recommended by a buddy to use Legacy Industrial 5ton, but when pricing it out I was looking at almost $600 not including primer which from Legacy would set me back an additional $300.

I’ve read that you can use Rapid Set Cement All with flow control and set control and it can take a epoxy topping. Also I’ve read that some have had success with Ardex. Although I worry about cure times with these products (I’ve heard some need 30 days cure time) and that puts me at odds with my POD rental time

So basically my question is this, what solution will be the best yet most affordable product to fix my concrete?

For reference I plan on using Rust Oleum epoxy shield or RockSolid.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Rapid set can be used and can be coated but it’s expensive and would need an epoxy primer with sand broadcast for adhesion, plus you need to put it down at at least 1/4” so you have enough material on the floor so it won’t flake off, and this is all very expensive even before you coat it.

Repairing and recoating is a fairly expensive undertaking. Some pics would be helpful for recommendations.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Hello everyone,

So for starters I decided to epoxy my 2.5 car garage floor. The previous owner applied some type of thinset to the concrete to address the spalling/pitting but must have either not prepped the surface properly (and also did a pretty crappy job of coating) because it started to bubble and flake, also sounded almost hollow when tapped.
So to start I chiseled off a majority of the thinset and then took to the entire floor with a dimabrush diamond grinder. Got down to bare concrete and evened out most of the spalling to a reasonable level.

Now is where I am stuck, I have a POD rented to hold all my junk from the garage and the budget is kinda tight. (to save money I didn’t rent a floor grinder I did it all by hand with a 7 inch grinder) I know I need to address the concrete first prior to epoxy.

I know that a epoxy re-surface will 100% bond and ensure a great finish product but the price is WAY out of what I can afford. I was recommended by a buddy to use Legacy Industrial 5ton, but when pricing it out I was looking at almost $600 not including primer which from Legacy would set me back an additional $300.

I’ve read that you can use Rapid Set Cement All with flow control and set control and it can take a epoxy topping. Also I’ve read that some have had success with Ardex. Although I worry about cure times with these products (I’ve heard some need 30 days cure time) and that puts me at odds with my POD rental time

So basically my question is this, what solution will be the best yet most affordable product to fix my concrete?

For reference I plan on using Rust Oleum epoxy shield or RockSolid.

Order the Resin-Only, get your sand at Lowes or Home-Depot.
Good luck.