1AB JAG
Well-known member
Has anyone done a DIY with Epoxy Coat on an older floor and not done a diamond grind first? In other words just done the etch that comes with the kit. If so, how has it worked for you?
Epoxy Coat
- Thread starter 1AB JAG
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LW CONCRETE
Active member
Some people get away with it but ultimately you will find yourself in a situation where you see delamination occuring due to bad bonding, dirt or other contaminants, etc etc
A good diamond grind should insure a much better profile resulting in a significantly better material to surface bonding. Rarely if ever does an acid etch match up with either shot blasting or diamond grinding.
A good diamond grind should insure a much better profile resulting in a significantly better material to surface bonding. Rarely if ever does an acid etch match up with either shot blasting or diamond grinding.
I'll be doing it in the next month, but my garage hasn't been exposed to any heavy use or grease, etc.. I have a few small spots from changing the oil in my truck and storing of recycled oil. I"m going to degrease those areas till they are ok and then do an overall degrease and follow with the liquid etching. My garage floors are fairly smooth and only 6 years old. I'll start a before and after string and post some pics and comments when I get it rolling in about a month.
After much reading here and talking to some local contractors, I've decided to either have it professionally done or not do it at all. The contractors I spoke with are all on the same page as to DIY floors. "Its not a matter of if but when a DIY will fail" they tell me. They went on to say they get a lot of work re-doing failed DIY jobs.
fountainpenracing
Member
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
- Messages
- 13
Of course they're going to say that. They don't want you to do it yourself; they want you to pay them to do it. That may in fact be the right way to go, however, when they say "DIY" they mean poor work and bad products. There are great quality products out there, such as Epoxy-Coat, much discussed on this site. Also, the surface preparation must be done properly - diamond grinding, acid etch etc.
srt4geezer
Active member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2012
- Messages
- 39
Is a new floor OK to not diamond grind & just acid etch?
FreddiFiche
Well-known member
Sure, Just make sure that the concrete isn't too new. It can't be green. I think the rule of thumb is at least 30 days old.
I concur with the opinion that a properly etched floor gives plenty of bite for the epoxy. I am not nice to my floor. I drag stuff, drop stuff, and it just 'shrugs' it off. It still has the shiny clearcoat finish to it. When it does seem dull, I'll clean it, pad sand it, and put another layer of clear. (At the current rate of wear, I wouldn't expect in the next 5 years.
I think there are a lot of good vendors on the forum, with very good products, but I can only speak to one...Epoxy-Coat. Product has treated me VERY well. So much so, as it will be applied in the basement utility room sometime this summer.
IDASHO
Well-known member
I finished up an epoxy floor in our basement a few months ago.
Wanting to avoid fumes, I went with a citrus based acid etc. I didnt expect much (its just a floor in the house, no heavy traffic)
It did an amazing job. You could actually here it working when it was on the concrete, making a cool fizzing sound.
My epoxy choice was a non-solvent based.
But as the story goes, I wound up with solvent based..... and shinanigans ensued
Im lucky I didnt blow up the house, or kill everyone in it.... It took 4 days to air out.
Wanting to avoid fumes, I went with a citrus based acid etc. I didnt expect much (its just a floor in the house, no heavy traffic)
It did an amazing job. You could actually here it working when it was on the concrete, making a cool fizzing sound.
My epoxy choice was a non-solvent based.
But as the story goes, I wound up with solvent based..... and shinanigans ensued
Im lucky I didnt blow up the house, or kill everyone in it.... It took 4 days to air out.
FreddiFiche
Well-known member
snip...
My epoxy choice was a non-solvent based.
But as the story goes, I wound up with solvent based..... and shinanigans ensued
Im lucky I didnt blow up the house, or kill everyone in it.... It took 4 days to air out.
I'm confused....I've heard of water based epoxy, and true two part epoxy, but not solvent based. Is it like water based, just using a solvent to dry? (Rather than a true two part epoxy?) What products are solvent based?
IDASHO
Well-known member
"commercial" or "professional" epoxy coat systems are normally solvent based.
I used this stuff, in tan.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008JIQUO/?tag=atomicindus08-20
And am QUITE impressed. Once I knew that we didnt get asphyxiated, and the house didnt blow up.
I was high as a kite for a while though....
I used this stuff, in tan.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0008JIQUO/?tag=atomicindus08-20
And am QUITE impressed. Once I knew that we didnt get asphyxiated, and the house didnt blow up.
I was high as a kite for a while though....
csp
Well-known member
Just because a floor contractor repairs a lot of DIY jobs doesn't mean that every DIY job will fail.
I will be doing my Epoxy Coat floor in the next month. I have my kit and am just working on a couple of minor oil spill areas with a degreaser. I'm going over each spot a couple of times with a 1:1 concentration with water and taking a week in between to see how it fades with drying. Then I'll go over the entire floor with the degreaser and then start with the etching product I received with my kit. I would think with doing a good cleaning and making sure you are not grossly negligent by not cleaning any small problem areas, you should have good results. Time will tell, and so will I as I will post some before and after photos and comments of my flooring coating project.