Black Epoxy Floor....Why (not?)

[47ford - 1.5ton]

I've only found a few pictures...let alone no companies within my price budget ($300-400ish)

Anyone rocking Black epoxy floors in their garage? (Lighting will NOT be an issue in my shop.... lets just say that...)

 

[mrniceguy]

Well if you work on your own vehicles, it could be a nightmare to find bolts even with abundant lighting. I have a hard enough time with my gray floor lol....But a friend of mine has a decorative concrete biz and just did his downstairs in a black epoxy with multiple reflector color to accent it. I was nearly speechless, it was so gorgeous.

Jeremy

 

[Edger]

That is good if lighting is not an issue because visibility will be an issue.

A very dark floor contributes significantly to the glare and gloom problem where most things have a very bright side (facing the light source) and a very dark side (facing the floor). This is in contrast with a light colored floor that reflects lots of light upwards and sideways so that things do not have a very dark side due to upwards reflected light so they are more visible and visibility is not as harsh.

Due to the shine of the floor some light is reflected, but it too appears harsh.

Probably the best for visibility is a white roof, near white walls and a light grey floor with a diffusing light source like fluorescent tubes.

Apart from glare and gloom, a black floor might look very stylish, but if you want to work on building motors or something like that it would not be a pleasant environment.

Here is a link to a paint chart I found that gives the light reflectance of each color to the right of the sample. http://www.rinnon.co.nz/Images/DuralloyColourCard.pdf

I think I remember from a flooring chart I used when epoxy coating industrial floors that about the best light grey reflected around 50%. Very dark grey was close to zero.

 

[Family Man]

I am getting ready to start my floor. The slab needs to cure for another week or two first.
pics here--> http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/album.php?albumid=1754

Here is another member who did his floor in black with multi color flakes.http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=100316

I thought it looked great, but I agree with others that trying to find a dropped screw or bolt would be a nightmare. Solid color for me. My wife wants me to do a very dark red. Still not sure.

 

[Edger]

I read about a canteen where workers ate lunch and they started to argue about the temperature of the air conditioning. After lots of trial and error it was set 2 degrees lower than what it had been set at for years. Just before all that began they gave the area a facelift and painted the walls Orange which made people feel warmer.

Apparently colors do affect our moods and feelings, red can heighten emotions and stimulate the appetite, blues and greens are calming and cool etc. There is loads of information about it on the internet around "color and lighting in the workplace" because there are many books written about it.

Just something to keep in mind.

By the way, did you notice the light glare and dark shadows in the above pic. I love the work, looks great, fantastic job, but difficult to do detailed work under. Fine if you are not overhauling engines etc., then again the type of camera can make a huge difference.

 

[Brentocool]

Black would be sweet!! But it will scratch up and look like **** after awhile. I have a dark Red Brick color and it has scrathes on it. But black

Epoxy scratches white