Black Epoxy Floor

[lpennington]

I just finished my garage floor with Black Tnemec Industrial Grade Epoxy and with mixed sized Tan/Beige Flakes. I must say I was surprised at how glossy the black epoxy was before the clear coat even was applied.

I still have to repaint the trim white then paint the walls some sort of tan or beige. Then I'll add white base molding to get the whole color scheme poppin'. This whole project was inspired by a garage that my wife actually saw online:

inspiration:

pics of my floor:

 

[KevDawg]

Love it! Nice work!
I love the black epoxy... E46M3 has another fine example.
Looks like you did a really nice job.

Not to mention the Gorgeous M5...
Seems like the "M" Boyz like the black epoxy, and I can see why!

 

[veedubman91]

that looks sooooo ****.

 

[zeecam]

Looks very nice, more details about the product please.

 

[PoPo]

That black is awesome! I think YOU just changed my mind back to black instead of gray!! Sweet man freaking sweet.

where did you get the epoxy at?

 

[Mr.Nutcase]

I would leave it gray, here is why.... if nuts/bolts fall, you will see them...

 

[TheIceMan]

nevermind.........

 

[AlphaGarage]

Mr. Nutcase - I really like that avatar picture! Is that an Austin Healey hiding under that pile of rust? Do you have a larger version of the photo.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Black might be ok for a "show" garage where no work is to be done, but if this is a working garage, you lose virtually all reflectivity from the floor, making work more difficult. Nice looking, I don't dispute that, but not for mechanical work.

Charles

 

[southpier]

have you walked on it when it has been wet?

my experience has been slippery

 

[mikeyr]

I agree, its too dark, will take too much light away from the work and as others have said, you wont find stuff when you lose it on the floor.

Looks GREAT, really looks good but I have a garage and don't have a showroom so no black for me.

 

[PoPo]

ok ok. I guess i'll go back to the gray. You guys made a good point, Im not displaying anything on my floor so I would probably hate it later on. Thanks for the solid advice.

 

[thegarageguy]

So you don't like black, its not good for a workshop, hey it's not your floor! The dude is happy about his black floor. Have you guys ever hear of of one mans garbage is another mans treasure. Hey Iv'e done orange, blue and white and every color combo in between. If a client asked for pink with purple polka dots I'll give it to him. Gray is boring and drab as hell. Especially a stain ridden one.

Enjoy your black floor

 

[BigDawgDavao]

I like it! When I did my floor I didn't have too many options as far as colors available to me and I did the floor and walls before finding this site unfortunately. Probably would have done a few things different.

I'm happy enough with the way it turned out but would have liked to put the flakes in it to give a little pizazz from the basic gray. Oh well maybe in a couple of years when I redo it.

Lighting is always an issue, but for me I figured I would get decent lights above the work bench where I will do most of the intricate stuff and then invest in a good quality trouble light for working under the hood, interior, etc.

As far as losing stuff on the floor, ya it happens, but normally I try to put some cardboard down where I'm working to help keep floor clean and scuff free, so wouldn't really be an issue if the floor was black.

 

[river1]

i have a grey floor and i still have trouble finding things when i drop them. i agree black would make it harder still but DAMN it looks nice!!

later jim

 

[cansari]

Looks great. I also almost went with black, but I did a sample on card board and I couldn't keep it clean, so I ended up going with an off-white.

 

[rugerlady]

The floor looks awesome. Enjoy it!

 

[SUPERCOAT]

Your floor looks great!

Doesn't the black show dusty tire tracks when you pull into the garage, though?

 

[PoPo]

I'd love to see a red or blue floor! That would be bad ***. Any one have any pics, Ah hell I'll just do a search and if I cant find it I'll start a new thread for Colored floors

 

[Todd.Brock]

If you ever loose a bolt, start the M5 and listen... Bolt?? what bolt???

 

[lpennington]

ok ok. I guess i'll go back to the gray. You guys made a good point, Im not displaying anything on my floor so I would probably hate it later on. Thanks for the solid advice.

Black might be ok for a "show" garage where no work is to be done, but if this is a working garage, you lose virtually all reflectivity from the floor, making work more difficult. Nice looking, I don't dispute that, but not for mechanical work.

Hey man, definitely do what works for you! I don't do any mechanical work in my garage, but it's not a showroom either. We just wanted to spruce up the garage a lil'. This was a project that originated from a clean up effort when my wife got tired of the boxes etc that were stored in the garage. I was actually thinking of a solid gray floor with aluminum oxide until I came across the Black floor with tan flakes. GJ has been very helpful with my planning for the garage.

have you walked on it when it has been wet?

Yes, it's not slippery at all ... in addition to the flakes, we have aluminum oxide (enough to meet ASTM tandards) on the floor for traction, so basically the traction would be the same if we'd had a gray or tan epoxy from the same company.

where did you get the epoxy at?

A certified professional ordered it from Tnemec's manufacturing facility in Baltimore which is about 60 miles from me.

**next up is an organization system**

 

[Keep]

That looks pretty sweet. Let us know how it holds up.

 

[SUPERCOAT]

I'd love to see a red or blue floor! That would be bad ***. Any one have any pics, Ah hell I'll just do a search and if I cant find it I'll start a new thread for Colored floors

Here's our Cobalt Blue. I'll do some checking to see if I can locate a good Firebrick Red floor, too.

And our Slate Gray (with a heavy broadcast)...

 

[86TURBOBUICK]

Your garage is on this website... http://cretoman.wix.com/concreteflooringcalgary#!

 

[sxk122]

That looks awesome!!!!

I'd love that floor in an entertaining space, but I'd go mad using it as a work area. As it is I get frustrated when I drop a small bolt on my gray floor with blue/ black flakes.

 

[nolimits76]

Love the black! Of course, that is my favorite color in general, so I might be biased.

First time I saw it was E46M3's floor. We got talking and he gave me the product he used. The topic of lighting came up. He mentioned he read an old lighting thread where a rule of thumb was 2.5 watts of lighting per SF of garage. To help combat the reflectivity of the floor, he went with 3 watts per SF and seemed very happy with the result.

Just saying there are 2 ways to skin a cat. Also, how you paint your ceilings and walls will have a great deal to do with how dark that floor is. Personally I'd do a bright white ceiling and a really light color grey on the walls. At least that is my own plan, as I also plan on incorporating a black floor of some sort (undecided on epoxy or tiles at this point). I can't recommend tan....my garage is currently that color....tan trim, tan walls, tan ceiling...ugh, I don't hate the color, but it looks so dark and drab. Can't wait to get it re-painted.

Again, nice floor.

 

[LIGOOMBA]

Supplier ? Where did you buy it from?
What was the cost?
What was the prep ?
Thanks
I think I found the epoxy I'm going to use !!

 

[MFolks]

If you decide to keep the black color, finding a dropped nut, bolt, or screw, might be easier by sweeping the floor with a broom, or directing a bright light at an angle, so the part casts a shadow. Maybe using a magnet to sweep the floor will work.

 

[mach1tim]

I know that I've come to this thread very late but that black floor is awesome! Gotta do it under the Mustang.

 

[HerestheBeef]

I know that I've come to this thread very late but that black floor is awesome! Gotta do it under the Mustang.

I guess I came into this thread super late as well but I agree with mach1tim, that floor looks awesome. Actually all the epoxy floors look great. Got me thinking as well for my own project garage. I've seen and heard of a couple Epoxy Coating places but want to check it out a little more. I'm in Michigan and now might be the only time to get it done between Freezes.

 

[rugerlady]

I guess I came into this thread super late as well but I agree with mach1tim, that floor looks awesome. Actually all the epoxy floors look great. Got me thinking as well for my own project garage. I've seen and heard of a couple Epoxy Coating places but want to check it out a little more. I'm in Michigan and now might be the only time to get it done between Freezes.

Where in Michigan are you? We have black, and are located in Michigan.

 

[NitroShark]

Supplier ? Where did you buy it from?

He posted Tnemec http://www.tnemec.com/ in the original first post.... same company I used. Look at the StrataShield Application and Installation Guide for your garage floor recommendations on their web page.


Shawn

 

[smithred67]

Wow! I really like the black floor!

 

[[email protected]]

Floor looks great!

We did a 3 car garage at our farm in black & white checkers 15 years ago. Today the clear has peeled, the white has yellowed and every scratch in the black shows the dirt. BUT it's been a good 15 years!

You will love the black! Just be safe when it's wet and watch the wife in heels on it!