Epoxy-Coat Bubbles?

[bugman-74]

Hi all,
I just completed epoxy-coating my garage... I'm happy with the result, though it could've been better. Its not glass smooth, as there are a ton of little "bubbles" in it (no, not fisheye - these are actual mini-bubbles). What causes that? I used a different mixer from what came in the kit, and I'm thinking it introduced a lot of air/bubbles into the mix and it just dried like that? On the plus side, since I did not use the flake/aluminum oxide, the bubbles seem to add some grip, so maybe I wont slip Otherwise, the coating looks fine (for a garage), and it is still functional.

Also: I left a real nice stain in the road from the degreaser/muriatic acid. I'm sure the neighbors love me. I'm hoping a few rains and a street-sweeper will take care of it... Whoops!


Thanks,
--Eric

 

[GaryRoushkolb]

My floor had the mini-bubbles also. They'll wear down with time and use. Remember that welding and cutting ruins the appearance so be careful, My floor is covered with burn marks and I'm thinking of repainting the burned areas.

 

[snorvet]

I had millions of bubbles in my first coat. I sanded them down, put on a 2nd coat with no bubbles. I read somewhere that bubbles will occur if the concrete is warmer than the air. That could have been my situation.

 

[sneezer41]

prolly a little too thick a little too little ventilation

 

[toms73novass]

I have no bubbles that I could detect in my finish, however, I used plenty of flakes so.......

 

[jskco]

Depending on the epoxy it could be trapped air or it could be to thick and caused by trapped solvents. Personally, I would use a good aliphatic urethane over the top of it. Just make sure you use some anti-slip material.

Justin Krauss
GarageFloor.com

 

[TrixR4Kids]

Was the can shaken at the store or did you hand stir it? If shaken it needs a few days to settle down. I used a blow dryer to pop the bubbles on other products or used another dry roller to lightly pop the bubbles right after the paint was applied.

 

[Hammerdown]

It sounds like that size bubbles were introduced by the mechanical mixing. I try to avoid this as much as possible just for that reason. I just use a stir stick if I can and the product does not have an induction time. If it were outgassing from the concrete, the bubbles would typically be larger about the size of a dime and be on the surface, not imbedded in the coating.

 

[dds4]

Weird...I never had that problem.

Since it's self-leveling, surprising that the bubbles were still there from bucket to application on the floor.

 

[Hammerdown]

Epoxy can be very viscous and trap the air, so it it unlikely to escape through transfer (application) alone. Another way to incorporate bubbles like that is over-working the product. By rolling the product repeatedly or too quickly, air can be introduced and trapped in the coating as well. Although this would again usually result in a "bubbling" effect at the surface. Too high a temperature or a direct heat source could flash cure the surface of the coating, causing the vapors to be trapped. Excess humidity can sometimes cause this as well, although this would typically be found in combination with a "blushing", or dulling of the product.

 

[noyu]

Not sure if I am correct or not but a friend of mine is in the autobody business and he told me same thing can be happen when painting cars its called solvent popping.

It is actually the surface dries before the underneath and thus make the solvent (or whatever the material is) escape during the drying process.

This is a link for more info:

http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/reference/troubleshooting_guide/solvent_popping/index.cfm