epoxy coat advise

[jeff68bird]

ok epoxy coat on its ways. 1200 sq ft. ordered 2 1/2 premium kits of grey with clear + 1/2 kit extra of base just to be sure. going with light to medium flakes (black/white/and graphite) floor is correctly prepped thanks to advise on a previous thread. i have read lots of threads on mixing dos and donts.i think iam ok there. i was looking for some advise on application.

1st has anyone had any problem with filling the expansion joints. epoxy coat recommends acrylic chalk. i have 1/8 inch saw cuts and the floor is over 2 years old . anyone regret filling them in or have any problems with reaction or peeling/cracking or chipping. picked up 2 kinds of chalk. 1st is dap brand concrete & morter filler and sealant. flexable ,paintable and waterproof. 2nd is also dap acrylix latex chaulk plus silicone.also paintable,flexable and waterproof. suggestions??

2nd as far as application is it 10x10 or 10x12 per 2qt to 1qt. for 9.7 mil i have read both. temp in garage next weeked end i will be keeping around 65-70 with leaving the heat on so is it easyier to do double batches and do 6 sections or keep them single and do 12.can keep it any temp that works best with the doors down. i will have someone mixing for me but i will be rolling myself with 18 inch roller. any dos and dont come to mind??

3rd where is the easyest place to make a clean line at the front of the floor where the garage doors are. does the epoxy tend to seep past the tape or can you get a clean line with the tape. anyone have any pictures of where they taped it.??

would like to do everything i can to make it as flat and level as possible when i apply it so any suggestions from people that have used epoxy coat would be helpful.

 

[jeff68bird]

this is the chalk i was going to use. doesnt say acrylic but it does say latex and paintable. anyone use it.

 

[repomannwp]

FWIW, I filled my control joints with SikaFlex SL, which I got at Home Depot. I caulked with slight overfill, and then I used a 4" razor tool to slice it off level after it cured. I found later than using a hand grider with a diamond cup wheel worked even better in leveling the control joints. I'm epoxy-coating it Monday, I'll let you know how it goes. I saw one report that DAP is not the best product to use, but I can't vouch either way.

On making a line, I'm opting to coat out to the control joint that sits about 4" past where my garage door comes down. Everyone reports some amount of yellowing in the sunlight but I just think it will look bad having an arbitrary line where the door comes down. I've seen a product you can glue down to the ground where your garage door contacts the floor to give a threshold that may be a good option as for a natural transition from epoxy to bare concrete.

 

[jeff68bird]

Thanks good luck on Monday hope it goes ok.

 

[54FordPanel]

I just used regular old DAP painters caulk, paintable acrylic latex like Epoxy-Coat recommended. I don't know about the silicone in the acrylic....as long as DAP says it's paintable it should be fine. I don't think you need the special concrete stuff.

The 1st time I put down an epoxy floor, I way over estimated the "self-leveling" properties of Epoxy-Coat. I have really deep troweled-in expansion joints (not saw cut) in my shop. I filled the joints, but not really to a level dead even with the floor. Epoxy-Coat will not fill out low spots, like a self leveling floor compound. So take the time to fill the joints to the exact level you want. What you see as far as a gap/level is what you get when you're done.
The 2nd time I did it, on the house garage, I had saw cut joints, I filled them more carefully to dead level with the floor, and they disappeared. They say Epoxy-Coat is self leveling, but it will not 'fill' low spots.

It will bleed under a tape line, because the floor isn't smooth and level.
For a perfect tape line, the best painters trick is to lay down a tape line where you want it, then run a thing bead of latex painters caulk right on top of the line between the tape and the floor. Smooth with your finger. Then coat on top of the line before it dries completely. Pull up the tape before it dries completely and you'll have a perfect line.

Make sure your spike shoes are out of the box and put together before you start. I made that mistake and had a panic attack, trying to put the shoes together before the stuff dried.

Don't panic, mixed it very thoroughly just like the instructions say, and put it on the floor. You have time, it won't dry before you get it rolled out. Don't leave it in the bucket. Read the instructions 3 times before you start. I did double batches both times. It helps to have somebody helping, and my wife helped both times.

Epoxy-Coat is a very good product, I've used in on 2 floors, I'm very happy with it, and I've recommended it on this forum many times.

My floor is not as glossy 2 years down the road as it was, but I don't care. It does what I put it down for, which is to make spills and messes no big deal, and make clean up easy. If you really care about gloss, maybe consider a glossy clear on top.

When I put it down, I was sure I would never mop a garage floor. But I do it frequently now when I clean up.

 

[jeff68bird]

thanks for the tips.the concrete chaulk does say paintable so i would like to use it if no one thinks it will be a problem. interested trick on the tape line might try that. as far as the gloss later on as long as it all still looks uniform it wont both me at all if it dulls down a little. i would have liked a semigloss anyway but couldnt find anything as good quality as the epoxy coat in semigloss.