Epoxy-Coat Floor Finished

[Gstring120]

Put the Epoxy-Coat down in one section at a time. Started with the left side and moved everything to the right. The left side is thicker than the right due to not having enough room to spread the epoxy out like it should have been. Almost ran out on the right side and had to spread it thin. Next time I'll clear everything out of the garage. Live and learn. Still pleased with results though.

 

[gabeancounter]

Great job. I am the process of doing the same thing. Is that the standard gray or a light gray custom color? Did you use any extra flake?

 

[Gstring120]

Thanks. That's the standard gray color with black and granite flakes. I bought extra flakes and had probably half left over.

 

[TheBanker]

Looks good. So you are happy with the product and everything? Doing mine soon and will probably use epoxy-coat.

 

[Gstring120]

Thanks Banker. I'm extremely happy with Epoxy-Coat and the customer service I received. The part of the floor where I applied the Epoxy-Coat first looks great! If I had had the option of letting everything set outside overnight I could have spread the epoxy out more like it should have been. Instead, I did as much as I could, then when the first side dried after forty-eight hours, I moved everything back to do the other side. I started running short of epoxy on the second side and had to spread it thinner to keep from running out. My garage is 20' X 20' and I ordered a full kit. This would have been plenty if not for my screw-up!

 

[Gstring120]

Here's some pictures of my floor before and after applying Epoxy-Coat.

 

[TheBanker]

still looks good. cant wait to get mine done.

 

[Gstring120]

Banker: Be sure and take some pics. Looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[TheBanker]

Will do. I will probably post so many pics you will get tired of them. It turns out I have time to do it this weekend but I haven't ordered the product yet so I will just clean and etch and hopefully get it done in one of the next two weekends.

 

[Rocker]

Brand new guy here...been checking the site out for awhile and appreciate all the good info. I bought one and a half kits of Epoxy-Coat in the "taupe" color and will plan to use the flakes. Was thinking of getting an extra thing of flakes from the Lowe's so I can go pretty heavy with them - I've seen some with the extra flakes thrown in and they look pretty good.

Just closed on the house today and went over there tonight and got the garage swept out, degreased, rinsed, etched, and rinsed out again. This is a two car garage with about a 9x8 work area on one side at the front of it. That'll be where I build my work bench and have my tool box, welder, compressor, and hopefully some shelves. I bought an extra gallon of muriatic acid (used 2/3 of it) and used the stuff they included with the kit as well. I never done one of these before and I'm a little worried that it didn't etch well enough, but I'd say it looks about like Gstring's "before" pictures - a couple of stains here and there but nothing bad. A rough surface is all it needs, right? It'll dry over night and I'll be doing the rest of the job tomorrow afternoon.

I'll post pictures once it's all done!

This is what I have to put in the garage:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3838213

 

[Jaguar Fan]

... It'll dry over night and I'll be doing the rest of the job tomorrow afternoon...

It probably will not dry over night. Concrete is quite porous so the surface may appear dry even though there is significant moisture inside the slab from your washing/rinsing/washing/rinsing/etching/rinsing/rinsing process. The way you know if the slab is dry is to tape a 1 square yard piece of poly down on the floor, sealing it with tape all the way around. Come back in a day, pull up the tape/poly and see what the floor looks like. If it looks wet, the slab still is not dry. If it looks dry, you are good to go.

Check with the manufacturer of the product you are using. They may require it to be *dry* in which case you are looking at a week. They may be fine with some moisture.

good luck

 

[gabeancounter]

gstring,
Did you just use the base coat or did you put the clear over it? Thanks for the extra pics. I received my shipment of expoy-coat today. So hopefully we can "git r don" this weekend. Really like the Harley theme and nice bikes! I always wanted one but a street bike in Altanta is scary. To many idoits on the road.

 

[Gstring120]

Gabeancounter: Thanks for the comments. I just used the base coat, but am considering buying the touch-up kit to repair my screw-up where I got the epoxy too thin on the second half.

 

[TheBanker]

Rocker,
Take some pics and let us see what you are doing. You can also give us a step by step and lets us know any problems or things to avoid. Or just what you learned.

 

[Rocker]

Here's what I've been working on. It was pretty chilly (around 45) for most of the time I was applying the stuff, and really, the lower temperature allowed it to stay workable a bit longer and that worked well for me since I work pretty slow - the whole application took me about three hours. I worked in three quart sets and the "During" picture below is after two three quart applications. I felt I was getting about the coverage that was intended and ended up with about 1/2 quart of extra hardener and no extra paint, though I could have probably consolidated what was left in the buckets and had maybe an extra 1/2 quart of that as well (out of a total of 1 1/2 kits), but I just wanted to clean up and get going.

I'm happy with the way it looks right now - very glossy and I'm really happy with the "Taupe" color. I went back and checked it today (haven't moved into the house yet), and it's still pretty tacky (about 18 hours after application). I'm assuming that's normal - hopefully it's a lot harder tomorrow. I read somebody's review that said they walked on it two days after - I know right now almost one day later that it still has a long way to go before you could walk on it. High temperatures are around 70 where I am.

I can't say yet that I'd really have done anything differently - I read through peoples' write-ups and the kit directions thoroughly...I just hope I did everything right and it cures and holds up like it's supposed to. I'll post a follow up once I'm all moved in and have the garage set up like I want. Glad to have the job done!

 

[TheBanker]

Damn Rocker, that looks good. I hope it hardens soon. I'm wondering since you had hardner left that maybe one of your ratios was a little off??? I think I am doing the Taupe color too. Waiting to see some samples.

 

[Rocker]

Yeah, I don't know - it was definitely "pretty close" with the ratios and with as much extra paint as I could have scraped out of there, I bet it would have been closer to equal parts of both...I guess I might have been slightly thin on the hardener. I'll have more to report over the next few days on whether that messed it up - I think it'll turn out OK. I'm not planning on putting anything in there until this Thursday.

 

[TheBanker]

It will be fine, just maybe a little more time hardening.

 

[TheBanker]

Is that taupe color more of a tan tint or grey tint or kinda maroon ish tint?

 

[Rocker]

The lighting was terrible and I didn't take the time to change the settings in my camera - but I would describe the color as a light khaki green-ish/gray-ish color and it looks pretty sharp in person. The tan would have been my second choice. When I go check on it tomorrow, I'll see if I can get a better representation of the color with the garage door closed and lights on inside.

 

[Gstring120]

Looks great Rocker! I measured carefully and had a small amount of hardener left over too.

 

[TheBanker]

Yeah, taupe can be so many different shades I think.

 

[Gstring120]

Rocker: The temp was in the mid-50's when I did mine. I kept a heater going day and night and was able to maintain about 65 degrees inside the garage. That could be why mine dried in two days.

 

[Rocker]

Oh, OK, good info - thanks a lot. I haven't been over there yet today, so we'll see what it's looking like. I'm hoping it'll be good to go with tools and a car on it by Thursday - expecting highs in the 60's here this week. Thanks for the help!

BTW, Hot Springs, AR is a nice place...went there a few years ago and it is a beautiful and fun town.

 

[gabeancounter]

Rockler,
Mine is doing the same way. It will harden. Mine is on at almost twice the rated volume. Not worried just needs time. I used the measuring buckets from lowes and it worked out perfect ratio. Your floor turned out great.

 

[Rocker]

Thanks a lot, man - sure enough - I went over and checked on it today and it is curing, which I was glad to see. Right now it's dry to the touch and just soft enough to where you can make a mark if you really push your fingernail into it. This is at about 40 hours after application. The pictures below give a pretty accurate representation of the taupe color. Again, very happy with it, just wish I would have gone heavy on the flakes! But it definitely looks like it'll be a great floor coating and when the work bench is built and the car and everything is in, I think the floor will really "tie the room together."

 

[Gstring120]

Very nice! You did an excellent job. That's something to be proud of!

 

[Rocker]

Hey, thanks a lot. I was over there looking at it today, and it is dry enough to walk on, but after PM'ing rugerlady, I think there's a chance I might have gone a little light on the hardener. It doesn't leave marks when you walk on it, but it's still pretty easy to scuff (did a test scuff with my boot where the work bench will be). I wonder if it'll ever fully cure to where it doesn't scuff easily? Right now, sliding anything like a floor jack or tool box across it would probably tear it up.

I was using two separate 1 qt measuring cups (two of part A and one of part B), but what I'm thinking is maybe I was letting more of the part A drain out after most of the pour and cut part B a little short. I guess we'll see what happens here.

 

[TheBanker]

Rocker, hows it going?

 

[ponjohn]

How is it that you can do one side then the other?

Does the second application adhere (chemically) to the first side?

Both floors look great.

Thanks-
john

 

[Rocker]

It's good to go now! I was still able to put a dent in it with a screwdriver a couple of days ago (one week after application), but now you can't even do that. I'm still not sure whether my floor seemed to take a little longer because of the cold temperatures around here or if I actually was a little off on my mixtures, but either way it's cured nicely now and I started building my workbench tonight. I'll still give it the rest of the week before I put my car, tool box, and everything else in there, but I have no doubts about it now! It really did turn out well and my only regret is that I didn't order extra color flakes - I just think these floors look the best with heavy flakes. I'm not too concerned about a clear coat or anything since I'll be dragging a floor jack and other heavy stuff around on it, but for what it is, I think it's going to work great.

I'll post another couple of pictures when everything's in later this week. Thanks for asking!

 

[gabeancounter]

Rockler,
Glad to hear everything cured up for you. Mine is hard as rock now. 1 week later. Really like the floor. Very easy to run a dust mop over for a quick clean up. I will have to be careful with it getting wet. Installed a sink in the garage over the weekend and a little water got on the floor. SLICKER THAN OWLLLLLLLLLL SH*&&! I guess it would have been a good idea to add the anti-slip but I will trade that for the easy clean up. Look forward to some pics on the storage and workbench. The floor makes you feel like you need special storage just to put your stuff back in there. Later BC

 

[ozarkstim]

I am relatively new and wanted to ask a question about Rocker's scuff marks. I completed my Epoxy-Coat floor project about 3 weeks ago. It went down pretty well and looks good. I went with the smoke blue on a a 3-car garage floor that is approximately 876 square feet. I did not add the clear top. Again, it looks good, but I also am getting scuff marks. They are more prevalent in the smoother areas. Rocker, were you able to clean them up? Do they still appear? I really love my floor and just feel like I am some scuff marks away from the perfect look. Thanks!

 

[rugerlady]

Rocker, glad to hear everything cured for you!
Ozarkstim, call me and we can discuss your scuff marks.

 

[Rocker]

I am relatively new and wanted to ask a question about Rocker's scuff marks. I completed my Epoxy-Coat floor project about 3 weeks ago. It went down pretty well and looks good. I went with the smoke blue on a a 3-car garage floor that is approximately 876 square feet. I did not add the clear top. Again, it looks good, but I also am getting scuff marks. They are more prevalent in the smoother areas. Rocker, were you able to clean them up? Do they still appear? I really love my floor and just feel like I am some scuff marks away from the perfect look. Thanks!

I can scuff it depending what what kind of shoes I'm wearing, but it's only on the surface like it would be on any other floor (the boots I wear for work are the worst), and the marks wipe away with no permanent mark to the actual floor epoxy.
I'm going to try putting my floor jack on it today (weighs about 120 lbs) and will be careful when moving because I just can't imagine it wouldn't scratch if you just threw it around? But I've had my car (Coronet - 3700 lbs) on it for the past few days and the floor seems as solid as can be. Really looks great in there.

 

[Rocker]

Rocker, glad to hear everything cured for you!
Ozarkstim, call me and we can discuss your scuff marks.

Well thanks very much for taking the time to answer my questions and for the reassurance when things were taking so long to cure because of the cold temps and a mixture that was "possibly" a little off! You can bet I've already been recommending you guys to friends who've been interested, and will definitely keep doing so. Hopefully a little business comes your way from it.

 

[racecar14]

New to the site today. Great stuff. A friend at work just told me about it. I built a shop this last year and coated the floor Gray with black and white flakes and put clear over the top. It really makes it smoother. http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cvh57nMWfNN5Sq5rbFhfhA?authkey=Gv1sRgCLDJ7ITvvN3BRA&feat=directlink