Epoxy-Coat my Winter Application

[bmacz06]

Hey Fuzzy,
Thanks for starting this thread, the thorough details, and the 6 month follow up. After reading a ton I had narrowed down the list on floor coatings but I was still undecided. Your very detailed write up helped pushed me over the edge.

I finished my floor with Epoxy-Coat yesterday and it looks fantastic. If it looks close to this good a few years from now I will be very happy.

 

[fuzzymoto]

Glad to hear it worked out well...enjoy your floor.

 

[joshualbailey]

Welp, my floor has been drying for 1.5 days now and looks great. I wish I would have sprayed the entire floor with degreaser, because there were a few random spots (absorbed oils undetected at the surface?) where the epoxy separated (like soap with oil does) and didn't want to stick. Back rolling after 10 minutes minimized the problem to very small separations and the flakes and nonskid blend it right in. Also, we had a huge amount of Part B leftover, and ran shy of part A by one cup . Rich did a follow-up this morning with me on the application, and I mentioned this to him. At first he said that there should be a perfect 2:1 quantity of parts A and B. But I explained that I wasn't alone in this phenomenon, and that if it were truly 2:1, that even if I wasn't astronomically precise with the marks on the stick, there should not be 2 inches of part B leftover and a shortage of part A... I plan on scraping out and disposing the remaining epoxy and measuring how much water each container holds. Rich said that it does seem odd and that he'd check up on it. Hopefully this can be solved for future DIYers, as it degrades the perception of quality for the company. If not, I'm sure if you're careful with your measurements, even if you're missing 1 cup of Part A at the end and have ample supply of part B, then a 1:1 mix works just fine, it just reacts allot faster and doesn't cover as much area. However, if you have more Part A than Part B, only use up to a 1:1 solution. I'm afraid that if there is more part A than B, it will not react/cure completely, and you'll have one sticky mess. I also recommend pouring the epoxy 6 inches or less from the starting wall, unless it's a ledge (where epoxy can overflow). This saves time by not having to use the cut-in brush on that wall, and gives the edge a nice, consistent look (and no brush-strokes!). If you can't back roll perpendicular to the squeegee (b/c of not having spike shoes, etc.), then do it parallel, just back roll it twice each session to even it out. I didn't have spikes, and just back rolled twice whenever it called for it, and it looks great. One last tip, don't apply it at night if you have moths/bugs flying around (unless you're too lazy to wake up early in the morning to beat the summer heat, like me).

This new floor coating is part of a larger DIY garage renovation project. I've applied knock-down texturing to the walls, painted them, stained the utility room floor and interior garage foundation walls before applying the epoxy-coat. Putting up freshly painted trim today. I bought lumber for shelving, which I'm going to stain today and install tomorrow. I should have some pics coming by tomorrow or the following day.

 

[joshualbailey]

Hmm. I must be lacking in the brain-power department to solve this problem of why I had more Part B left-over... I filled Part B's container full of water twice, and dumped it into Part A's container, and sure enough, it's a perfect 2:1 ratio... The only conclusion is inaccurate measurement on my part, even though we held the stick as far down and against the sides as possible. Perhaps it was "parallax" that did me in. Perhaps the thickness of the measuring stick has some role to play in the mischief. Alls I know is, we messed up Maybe someday someone can shed some light on the situation if it continues to happen to people.

 

[joshualbailey]

One more conspiracy theory, you ready? I do recall part B's container full to the brim, because I spilled some of it when pouring it into the 6 gallon bucket... However, I don't recall how full Part A was, but I know it couldn't have been filled up to the brim, because there has to be room to move around when pre-mixing it with the drill attachment...

 

[fuzzymoto]

Not really sure what happened to me either. I just blamed it on the frenzied pace of the mix & pour and thet eye-balling the lines can make you off by a little each time and over the course of 10 batches it adds up. For me it only slowed the drying time. I did help with another application of a half-kit recently, but that application was one batch (i.e. dump all of part A & B together & mix) and it came out nice and dried very quickly.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

One more conspiracy theory, you ready? I do recall part B's container full to the brim, because I spilled some of it when pouring it into the 6 gallon bucket... However, I don't recall how full Part A was, but I know it couldn't have been filled up to the brim, because there has to be room to move around when pre-mixing it with the drill attachment...

Hi joshualbailey,

can you post some pics for us to see?

congrats!

 

[joshualbailey]

Sorry, it took an extra day to assemble the shelves in this heat . Here are some pics to enjoy I had to shrink them from 3008x2000 to 620x280, ensure they were less than 78.2 KB each, AND thin them down from 19 pics to just 7 , so excuse the clarity. These show the final stages of a 3 week garage renovation project involving retextured and repainted walls, painted trim, staining foundation walls and utility room floor, building shelves, and (of course) applying epoxy-coat to garage floor. Time to conquer a new deck and workshop!

 

[bino333]

Hi everyone... I'm new to this board. I came here for information on which product to use for our newly built garage. My husband loves his garage and I wanted to suprise him when he got back from a trip by coating the garage floor. I decided to use Epoxy Coat's product. I too was concerned about not using a clear coat and when I spoke with a sales person they did say that they had a clear coat but informed me that clear coats can amber over time when exposed to any UV lights. The product is glossy enough without a clear coat. I found the application was very easy to do and the floor came out beautiful. Needless to say I earned lots of brownie points with my husband when he returned!!!

 

[awakeinAZ]

Post some floor pics if you can!

 

[bino333]

Here are the only two pictures of my floor.

 

[fuzzymoto]

Looks great (and familiar)....nice job.

 

[jweisgal]

About to take the plunge - one question - for the part of the floor that sits outside of the garage, - its a bit chipped and has some additional concrete that is new (we widened the garage a year ago) what do I do to make it look clean and uniform? Do I expoycoat the outside part and if so, perhaps without the chips so it looks presentable from the outside of the house? And IF I do that - how do I keep it from having outside debris on it, or how do I keep the garage closed but not too closed?

 

[AlphaGarage]

About to take the plunge - one question - for the part of the floor that sits outside of the garage, - its a bit chipped and has some additional concrete that is new (we widened the garage a year ago) what do I do to make it look clean and uniform? Do I expoycoat the outside part and if so, perhaps without the chips so it looks presentable from the outside of the house? And IF I do that - how do I keep it from having outside debris on it, or how do I keep the garage closed but not too closed?

Check w the coating manufacturer to find out what concrete patch they recommend. To coat the outside strip, and if you do, whether or not to use flakes, is really a personal judgment call only you can deal with.

But here is a way to deal with the garage door... assuming you have a roll up door with tracks, before you start close the door on a small piece of wood, then take a pair of vice grips and clamp them on the tracks just below a wheel.

Or if you have have a tilt up type door you can disconnect the dolly, close the door on a small piece of wood, and use a vice grip on the dolly/chain/drive screw track just ahead of the trolley to stop further closure.

Then after you coat when you go to close the door it will stop the door from closing all the way and contacting the epoxy. With either style door you may first need to disconnect the door arm from the trolley so the hazard sensor doesn't automatically open the door when it hits the premature stop point. Of course, be sure to test before coating.

 

[tstrupp]

Very good thread Fuzzy! I was wondering if I should do mine this time of year also. But I live in OK and the floor temp seems to still be at about 50 degrees for the time being...... Not a heated garage, so I might not have much time to get it down.

Anyway it has almost been a year; how does the floor look now?

 

[fuzzymoto]

It's a little dirty (we haven't really cleaned it yet) but it looks great so far.

 

[ddrewyor]

Great thread Fuzzy and nice floor! I built my garage 8 years ago and I put down a two part epoxy I purchased from Home Depot. I remember that the box had an Armadillo on it, it claimed to have microscopic pores to let the moisture thru, and only one coat was required. It was not water based but because of the pores the floor could be damp when the coating was applied. Being **** retentive, I waited and applied the coating the next day. This was the toughest stuff I have ever seen! I have done woodworking, built cars, fabricated using welding\grinding\cutting torches, and spilled everything under the sun on it. The only damage was from some welding slag and where I stained it with the purple cleaner for PVC. I even chipped out some cement when a car slipped and the spindle took out a small piece of cement - with the paint still attached. Tough stuff. I went back two years later to buy a kit for my front garage and the product was not on the shelves. HD had Rustoleum and Behr coatings. I called Rustoleum and they said they had purchased the company I had formerly used. Never did the front garage because I just did not trust the Rustoleum tech support. Fast forward to now: my paint is starting to wear away in the back garage - no flaking or peeling, just getting thin and only in the high traffic areas. Still cleans up nice but some of the gloss is going away. I contacted Epoxy-Coat and I am going to get their product to recoat my back garage in the high use areas. No need in the other areas as it is like new where only foot traffic has occurred. I believe that the prep has alot to do with the quality\longevity of the job, but a quality product is essential. Your post has helped me decide that the EC product is the way to go. Great work on the floor, documenting the process and keep us posted. I am going to do mine in the spring and I will post my process and results as it is a recoat.
Dave
________
FALCON XR6 TURBO

 

[ddrewyor]

Great thread Fuzzy and nice floor! I built my garage 8 years ago and I put down a two part epoxy I purchased from Home Depot. I remember that the box had an Armadillo on it, it claimed to have microscopic pores to let the moisture thru, and only one coat was required. It was not water based, but because of the pores, the floor could be damp when the coating was applied. Being **** retentive, I waited and applied the coating the next day! This was the toughest stuff I have ever seen! I have done woodworking, built cars, fabricated using welding\grinding\cutting torches, and spilled everything under the sun on it. The only damage was from some welding slag and where I stained it with the purple cleaner for PVC. I even chipped out some cement when a car slipped and the spindle took out a small piece of cement - with the paint still attached. Tough stuff. I went back two years later to buy a kit for my front garage and the product was not on the shelves. HD had Rustoleum and Behr coatings. I called Rustoleum and they said they had purchased the company I had formerly used. Never did the front garage because I just did not trust the Rustoleum tech support. Fast forward to now: my paint is starting to wear away in the back garage - no flaking or peeling, just getting thin and only in the high traffic areas. Still cleans up nice but some of the gloss is going away. I contacted Epoxy-Coat and I am going to get their product to recoat my back garage in the high use areas. No need in the other areas as it is like new where only foot traffic has occurred. I believe that the prep has alot to do with the quality\longevity of the job, but a quality product is essential. Your post has helped me decide that the EC product is the way to go. Great work on the floor, documenting the process and keep us posted. I am going to do mine in the spring and I will post my process and results as it is a recoat.
Dave
________
Mazda history

 

[ddrewyor]

Sorry about the double post - it said I had to log in before posting, but I was already in.
Dave
________
CANNABIS COLLECTIVE

 

[fuzzymoto]

Happy to help Dave....good luck with the new floor.

 

[burger]

Quick question for you Fuzzy -- Did you re-use the same 6-gallon bucket for each batch of coating, or did you use a seperate bucket for each batch? What about the paint stick? Was that re-used? Thanks in advance... I'm planning to coat my floor this Sunday.

 

[fuzzymoto]

I used the same bucket. We moved fairly rapidly so I never had an issue with the previous coat hardening in the bucket. I would keep and extra bucket or two on had (as well as extra rollers) just in case. I re-used the paint stick also but had an extra on hand also. I also mapped out (with painters tape) roughly where each section would be so we didn;t end up rolling too thin...and be sure to make or buy spiked-shoes.

It's a little stressful to do at first, but in the end I actually had fun doing it.

One final warning. Part A never dries on its own. Anything you get just Part A on it will have Part A on it for life.....and it will be sticky for life. Don't wear clothes you value and put down a drop cloth for the bucket/mixing area.

 

[AlphaGarage]

Speaking of buckets... One thing to never do is to set the bucket down upside down in order to try get every last drop of coating down on the floor. What can happen is that some of the material on the sides, or bottom, of the bucket doesn't get well mixed, and it can drip down to the floor, where it will never cure properly.

 

[burger]

I used the same bucket. We moved fairly rapidly so I never had an issue with the previous coat hardening in the bucket. I would keep and extra bucket or two on had (as well as extra rollers) just in case. I re-used the paint stick also but had an extra on hand also. I also mapped out (with painters tape) roughly where each section would be so we didn;t end up rolling too thin...and be sure to make or buy spiked-shoes.

Thanks for the answer. I just finished drywalling and painting the walls, so I have a pretty good collection of 5-gal buckets!

I've already made "shoes" by running some drywall screws into scrap 1x6 lumber. I figure I'll tape them to my feet.

I also have a extra rollers and brushes...

One final warning. Part A never dries on its own. Anything you get just Part A on it will have Part A on it for life.....and it will be sticky for life. Don't wear clothes you value and put down a drop cloth for the bucket/mixing area.

So I have to ask... You've posted this warning a few times. What did you end up getting the Part A on?



Thanks,
Ed

 

[burger]

Speaking of buckets... One thing to never do is to set the bucket down upside down in order to try get every last drop of coating down on the floor. What can happen is that some of the material on the sides, or bottom, of the bucket doesn't get well mixed, and it can drip down to the floor, where it will never cure properly.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[fuzzymoto]

I got Part A on a tarp and bucket I wanted to use again. I actually sat the tarp and bucket outside, exposed to the sun and rain for 8 months....and it's still as sticky as ever. My wife also stepped in Part A and took three steps on the concrete floor hallway before she noticed the sticky-feel. We tossed the shoes and fortunately we have plans to cover the hallway w/flooring.

One last tip. Be sure the wood you use to make the spikes is sturdy. On my first attempt I tried a piece of particle-board and fortunately I tested the shoes, because the wood flaked off particles which would have made a mess of the floor.

 

[stumpy]

All, new to the forums, lot of good information here! Hopefully people are still watching this post. Fuzzy has did a great job on documenting his experience. I am in the process of trying to decide on a floor. The question I have is how big are the paint chips? I really like the look of the floors done by www.premiergarage.com specifically the Scotsdale 1/4 chip. But there floors are really pricey, and I would almost prefer to do this on my own...Plus the epoxy-coat looks like good stuff.

 

[jeff's classics]

Fuzzy's thread was the deciding factor for me on my selection of Epoxy Coat for my floor. I installed it a couple of weeks ago, and it looks great. Like one of the others here I missed a couple oily spots, so be sure to degrease EVERYWHERE even if you think there's no oil. It doesn't take much time, and my floor would be perfect if I hadn't missed those few spots. Luckily they don't show, especially with the cars parked inside, but I may purchase a touch up kit anyway and redo those spots.
Also, I did manage to scratch it a little with an engine stand holding a fully assembly AMC V8. One of the front wheels stuck while I turning it and the edge of the metal wheel dug in a little bit. Hard to imagine anything resisting that. A little of the shine has been worn off where the metal wheels rolled, but that may come back if I clean it up with some soap and a brush. Either way is OK with me, this is a working home garage, not a museum, and the floor looks great and is easy to clean with just water and a squeegee.
Also, I didn't use any chips and I really like the look. Search under Epoxy Coat to see pics I posted.
later
Jeff

 

[stumpy]

Thanks Jeff I appreciate the info.

 

[fuzzymoto]

All, new to the forums, lot of good information here! Hopefully people are still watching this post. Fuzzy has did a great job on documenting his experience. I am in the process of trying to decide on a floor. The question I have is how big are the paint chips? I really like the look of the floors done by www.premiergarage.com specifically the Scotsdale 1/4 chip. But there floors are really pricey, and I would almost prefer to do this on my own...Plus the epoxy-coat looks like good stuff.

Gosh I never measued the chips....my original close-up photo should give you some idea....they're all differen sizes in the bag...I'd say the largest are maybe 1/4 or so.

 

[stumpy]

Thanks Fuzzy. How heavy can you put the paint chips on? Can you apply the paint chips very very heavily? Your info on this thread has been great!

-Stumpy

 

[fuzzymoto]

Thanks Fuzzy. How heavy can you put the paint chips on? Can you apply the paint chips very very heavily? Your info on this thread has been great!

-Stumpy

You can put them on as heavy as you'd like. We did a 2nd project recently and put them on much heavier because it was a fairly wet environment. In the garage we put down chips and anti-skid. As I mentioned above I would have put down even more on some areas if I had it to do again. If you have snow on your shoes or slippy-shoes on and it's wet, it's pretty slippery in some spots. Not a big deal but a little snow on your shoes can make it like ice. I believe Epoxy-Coat's site shows a sample of light, medium & heavy chip applications.

 

[Taildragon]

Fuzzy,

Just wanted to thank you for your write-up. I went with your advice and made some spiked shoes (even though I thought I wouldn't need them) boy am I glad I did. Those came in handy. I had to walk across to flake some sections that weren't as evenly flaked as others.

One other bit of advice, is if your going to batch mix which I did is make sure you mix the part A first then (2 min) pour the first part A into the second part A then mix again (2min). This is because it is thicker at the bottom of the part A and almost gooey if you don't mix it first. Ask me how I know.


Something that worked for me was, before I coated the floor I put the garage doors down and took a sharpie marker and just lightly traced where the door contacted the floor. Then raised the door and taped off the floor with commercial painters tape and masking paper. This was because I didn't want the epoxy going under the garage doors. I'm planning on placing a barrier under the door due to a little water that is coming under the doors during heavy rains.

Justin

 

[eddy]

Wow! what a great thread.
Thanks to all.
Fuzzy, can you please let me know if the caulking of the grooves has had any effect on the EC finish. i.e. if it cracked or peeled.
I have some deep saw cuts in my garage and I am very perplexed. EC recommends the acrylic latex caulk. But I have also considered epoxyguard in my research and they recommend polyurethane caulking.
Any ideas?
Thanks

 

[fuzzymoto]

Hi eddy...we did the recommended caulking and we have had a few small spots where the movement of the slab has squeezed the caulk out. In all but one small spot it did not affect the EC, instead squeezing out at the ends of the grooves by the floor drain. In one spot near the corner it did manage to push out a small piece of EC. Given that experience I probably would not do the caulk, but with that said, I'm not sure what I WOULD do that would allow for movement and not squeeze out.

 

[eddy]

thanks for all your help Fuzzy!

 

[justgeorge]

Got a question for you guys after reading thru this thread (and registering): you talk in here about waiting 30 days to drive on it. The Epoxy-coat website says 1 day (under ideal temp and humidity). I can leave my wife's car and my truck outside for a few days, but I also store a landscape trailer and have neighborhood restrictions about having a trailer in my driveway. I'd probably be ok if it was 3 days but certainly not for 30 days - I already get enough letters from the association.....

I could do it in sections if I had to (3 car garage) but I'd rather do it all at once. So, during the fall when temps should be in the 70s to 80s will it cure in 2-3 days to push a 1200lb trailer onto it?

Thanks,
George

 

[stevenktt]

Fuzzy..You're killing me man. You gots to be on the Epoxy Coat staff. I just ordered the stuff for my garage floor so don't jazz on me for being another vendor. .....butttttt you are over selling the shi$$t. Its an epoxy and it will yellow without a top coat....just straight chemistry bro. Its not rocket science. Find a product at the best price and use it....thats what I am doing......don't look for magic it aint out there.
"C" epoxies yellow under UV and EC will tell you that
(as well as a highshool Chem class or an intenet lookup).....only way to delay it is to add a top coat or snuff out the sun. Look close man....your coating is yellowing :O).
Its been awhile since you installed it..am I right or are you in a heavily shade region of the US.

 

[54FordPanel]

Fuzzy, I enjoyed your post. I have a question for Fuzzy or anybody else that has used this product:
What do you think is the tradeoff between having more anti-slip compound in the mix, versus "sweepability" and "cleanability" of the floor? I am much more interested in being able to cleanly sweep up bondo dust and from what I've read, adding anti-slip makes it harder to sweep?

 

[DeltaBrad]

Not sure where this reply is fitting in sequence, but here goes. I just bought a new (to me) house, the "dream home" for my family. I contacted U-Coat-It, Wolverine (aka Alpha Garage), and Epoxy Coat. I'm a big DIY guy, but with this I was willing to pay to have it done right by people that have done it before. UCI got back to me right away, great guy, but wanted $4/sqft for my 900 garage and 400 workshop. Plus, that product is water based and finishes at less than 5 mil. Wolverine/AG contacted me fast with promises of a local installer (Clarkston, MI) and then NEVER replied to email (3 sent). Jamie from EpoxyCoat was last guy I found, and has been great so far. Price is VERY reasonable (better than UCI), and I'm a season ticket holder at the Palace of Auburn Hills (Detroit Pistons), and he did their floors. If it can hold up to THAT traffic, my garage and workshop floors should last longer than me. Install is next week, I'll post again after that.