Epoxy floor coating for machine shop?

[diamond]

First post here. Came over from the Hobby Machinist forum.

We are buying a house (Prescott AZ) and it has a nice shop building. I'm considering what to do to the existing concrete floor in the shop before I move my machines & tooling etc. in there while it's nice and open.

I mostly do metal machining for gunsmithing and hobby work. Cutting fluids, oils, and lots of metal chips will hit the floor. My existing shop has raw concrete (not sealed or anything) and it does not clean up well.

I really like the look of the epoxy floor coatings I've seen. I think they'd hold up well to the oils and such but I'm a little concerned about hot metal chips coming off the lathe or grinder etc. melting and pitting the flooring coating.

Any advice?

I also want to make sure its not too slippery when fluids do get on it. Some kind of grit or other additive would make sense but I want to be able to roll things like a pallet jack or engine hoist around on it with metal casters to move equipment around. I want a tough floor.

FYI I rarely do any welding or torch work. If/when I do I anticipate doing that outside the shop for ventilation anyway and not over the coated floor.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

-dave

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Dave:
A good epoxy with clear-coat or better yet....polyurea kit with clear-coat will serve you well.
Good luck!

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, we would recommend our SPGX one-part Polyurea. Superb chemical resistance.

https://armorpoxy.com/spgx-polyurea-coating/

Super easy to apply, and about 1/2 the cost of a multi layer epoxy system!

 

[Garage Flooring]

First post here. Came over from the Hobby Machinist forum.

We are buying a house (Prescott AZ) and it has a nice shop building. I'm considering what to do to the existing concrete floor in the shop before I move my machines & tooling etc. in there while it's nice and open.

I mostly do metal machining for gunsmithing and hobby work. Cutting fluids, oils, and lots of metal chips will hit the floor. My existing shop has raw concrete (not sealed or anything) and it does not clean up well.

I really like the look of the epoxy floor coatings I've seen. I think they'd hold up well to the oils and such but I'm a little concerned about hot metal chips coming off the lathe or grinder etc. melting and pitting the flooring coating.

Any advice?

I also want to make sure its not too slippery when fluids do get on it. Some kind of grit or other additive would make sense but I want to be able to roll things like a pallet jack or engine hoist around on it with metal casters to move equipment around. I want a tough floor.

FYI I rarely do any welding or torch work. If/when I do I anticipate doing that outside the shop for ventilation anyway and not over the coated floor.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

-dave

There are some tradeoffs here.

You could go with a sealer. It does nothing to make the floor easier to clean or make it prettier. It just helps to keep it from staining. The upside no damage from molten metal.

If you go with epoxy, no one can promise you that molten metal will not harm a coating, but floors are easily protected and most of the time grinding is not an issue.

Either way, you have an imperfect option. If it were me I would go with TruAlloy or Polyurea. For a shop with Poly we suggest 3 coats (The TruAlloy kits are 3 coats).

If you take your time and do the floor properly with a good product repairs to the clear, if needed, are relatively easy. For my money, I would do TruAlloy

 

[FJ4FUN]

If you want a "tough floor" it would be hard to beat Wolverine Coatings' LiquaTile 1143 CFLC. It's best-in-class abrasion and impact resistance eliminate the need for additional urethane clear coats and the cured finish offers twice the slip resistance recommended by the ADA without adding any traction additive.