Epoxy-coat - 1 section still tacky

[DustinW]

I just layed some Epoxy-coat down 2.5 days ago and I have one tacky section. After research I'm confident it was b/c of a mixture error or trying to remove all the material from tha batch (banging it on the floor removing some inactivated material). The 10x12 section is tacky throughout. Medium pressure will leave a fingerprint.

Has anyone else had this happen and how long I it take to cure???
I did call in and was advised to wait 1 week to see if it hardens.
I'm also worried about the durability bring affected.

The other sections completed were dry and walkable between 3 or 4 hours after flaking.

If the epoxy does not cure::::
I have plenty of product left (except the 2.5 lbs of flake per 100 sq ft)... If it remains tacky after a week to 10 days, would I be able to topcoat without removing the lightly tacky epoxy???

Thanks!

 

[DustinW]

some pics..
I had quite a bit of loose concrete that I removed creating a ton of spalling on this newer concrete. The 1st picture here shows only about 1/4 of what I ended up removing. Then I put about 2.5 coat of epoxy-coat (let dry in between each coat about 4-5hrs) only using a squeege to fill in the spalled areas. This did not work as well as the harder you pushed with the squeege to remove the epoxy from the smooth surface, the movre was removed from the spalled areas. I ended up renting a floor maintainer but I used a 3x21 belt sander on about 150 sq feet to remove all excess and create a smooth surface for the finish coat.
This took me a long time sanding with 36-50 grit but I wanted the finish coat not to reflect any flaws from the spalled spots.

I have more pics on my other camera I plan on uploading later once I have them on my computer...

 

[DustinW]

final pics...
I used 14lbs of flake over 650 sq feet.
The top right section of the 3 pic shows the first section I completed.
** Lesson learned on tossing the flakes... You definately want to toss them straight up in the air OFF THE CEILING IF YOU CAN TO CREATE THE MOST UNIFORM COVERAGE. Spiked shoes are also something I would not go without.

I also had to problem with the epoxy curing too quickly in all the areas. I mixed single batches for all but the last 2 sections in front of my 2 car door entrance. It worked out better for the flake coverage without the overlapping you would have throwing the flakes in the single batch sections where the adjacent square would get more flake coverage on that edge.

MY PROBLEM SECTION on the 3 pic is the right middle where it is still tacky.

 

[rugerlady]

Hi Dustin,
Who did you talk to at the office today? As long as it is progressing, it should cure. If it was still at a gooey stage then I would say to scrape and start over on that section. Call me if you need more help with this.

 

[Edger]

The tacky part will probably be that way permanently.

I made that mistake once of overturning the tin with the same result, another time I experimented with an automatic epoxy mixing machine that went wrong and delivered the wrong part A:B ratio for our pot to paint the edges with the result that the edges were permanently soft and discolored.

A couple of months later I had to apply paint stripper to all the edges, scrape it all off with a blade, wash it clean and reapply.

 

[DustinW]

Hi Dustin,
Who did you talk to at the office today? As long as it is progressing, it should cure. If it was still at a gooey stage then I would say to scrape and start over on that section. Call me if you need more help with this.

Christine,
I believe I talked to Jennifer in the morning. I was told to wait a week. I've tried to search and see what others experiences were with the tackiness drying, but many of the post/info I found were never followed up with a conclusion.
I finished the floor about 10:30pm on Friday and then checked on it at about 1:30-2am Saturday and all sections were dry and walkable besides the problem (tacky) section. It was never gooey where a footprint would show an impression, it just shows ridges in your fingertips. It may have slightly became less tacky over the last 1.5 days. I have read that warming temps could help the dry time so I'm keeping my garage doors open in the afternoon to get the West sunset on the slab.

I'm really hoping that the epoxy will harden. And then I would hope that the floor's durability would not be comprimsed versus the other properly cured sections... any idea on this??

 

[DustinW]

The tacky part will probably be that way permanently.

I made that mistake once of overturning the tin with the same result, another time I experimented with an automatic epoxy mixing machine that went wrong and delivered the wrong part A:B ratio for our pot to paint the edges with the result that the edges were permanently soft and discolored.

A couple of months later I had to apply paint stripper to all the edges, scrape it all off with a blade, wash it clean and reapply.

Edger,
Do you remember how long you waited for them to cure when it was still tacky after a day? Did you use a 100% solid like me (epoxy-coat.com)?

 

[Edger]

Used 100% solids Sika floor epoxy and the edges never properly cured. I think after 72 hrs that is all that is going to happen unless it is below say 40 degrees when it may take another 48 hrs.

The theory is that the molecules in the hardener and the molecules of the epoxy don't like each other and hate to mix so you have to bash them together with a power mixer to make them react and harden.

If you put the one part on the floor and some mixed over it, the first part will not cure. If like me you did not have a mix in the approximately correct proportions - mine was way out I discovered because the A side pump did not work properly, then it will remain soft.

I hope it does not come to that, sounds like you did a good job otherwise and the finish looks great.

 

[rugerlady]

I have had countless customers that were off slightly on the mix ratio. What we have discovered over the years is that if it has progressed past the gooey stage (which yours has) the epoxy will continue to do the molecular crosslinking and will eventually harden like the rest of the floor. The only thing needed at this point is a bit of patience.

 

[kyles974]

this riminded me when I was painting a classic car when I was around 20yrs old. My girlfriend, now wife, call me up and told me she was pregnant. Well, I figured out later I had must of forgot to add the hardner to one of the coats of clear. The paint/clear coat took about a week to dry, but it ended up being one of the best paint jobs I had ever done. The paint dried so slow, I had no "orange peel" whats so ever.

....kinda off subject, but thought it might make you see that all I could do is have patience for the paint to dry and it ended up almost flawless!!

 

[DustinW]

I have had countless customers that were off slightly on the mix ratio. What we have discovered over the years is that if it has progressed past the gooey stage (which yours has) the epoxy will continue to do the molecular crosslinking and will eventually harden like the rest of the floor. The only thing needed at this point is a bit of patience.

Thanks Christine, I really hope that is the case. The question is how much patience i will need - Could you give a general timeline before I could park a car on it ONCE IT cures and hardens like the rest of the floor? I would guess at least a week once "I think" it has hardened. I'm going to go a week on the other cured sections before I park a car on it, even though it says 3 days.

 

[rugerlady]

One week is the safest bet, after waiting all that time you really don't want to pull a car on it and have it pull up. Call me if you want to discuss it some more and we can see how it is progressing.

 

[DustinW]

Progress report:
8.5 days later it has firmed up a little but you can still leave a fingerprint with heavy pressure. It seems some spots are more dry and less tacky then others, but the tackiness has gone down.

 

[Edger]

Interesting.

 

[DustinW]

Also, If you leave any kind of print it will lose the gloss.

 

[thegarageguy]

scrape, grind, solvent wipe and re coat

 

[DustinW]

I parked the car on it last Friday after 5 weeks with no traffic. Seems to be good and firm up.

 

[gatchel]

Glad to hear you dodged a bullet.