Epoxy Primer Not Bonding, or Drying out??

[Silly_Joe]

Howdy folks.
I just put down a coat of Corotech's Epoxy Pre-Primer v155 onto my garage floor. It was purchased from Benjamin Moore in Ottawa Canada.

I did a full diamond grind to remove any and all old paint & Sealer. Sweeping, Vacuuming, mopping to remove all dirt and dust. The floor is clean and dry.
Before I put my 100% Solids Epoxy Base Coat (Epoxymaster) I decided that I would start with a primer first to make sure I get a good bond and don't lose all of my final product being sucked up by the concrete.

The issue I ran into was that after about an hour I started to see some hand print sized areas that looked almost dry. I left it and checked again 5 hours later and about 40% of the floor looks to have these dry spots and the rest was quite wet. I did touch one of the light spots and it is completely dry concrete. It really seems as if it was never covered. How is this possible when another area is still wet? I don't want to go and put another coat of Primer at +$100 a pop.

Please help as now I have only a couple of days to decide if I proceed and put my Base Coat Epoxy down overtop of it or not.

Note: I did mix the two parts (A&B) then left in the can for about 30 minutes before starting to apply it, as per instructions. The temperature was 55F, 13C.

I also wrote to the manufacturer and will call the BM store once they open. I just thought I would try here first as I've already picked up lots of info and tips in the past two months before starting my garage project.
Thanks for any help here.

 

[Shea]

What you are experiencing is normal and a testament as to why an epoxy primer should be used. These "dry spots" as you call them, are areas where the concrete absorbed much of the primer because it was more porous. It's not unusual at all for primers to have a patchy look like this. Your base coat will adhere just as well in these areas as the others.

You mentioned you have a couple of days to decide what to do.... Most primers allow a 24 hour window for re-coat. After that it requires roughing the surface up before re-coating. Are your wait times correct?

 

[Silly_Joe]

Thanks Shea. That is certainly good to hear.
I was most worried that I had tried to apply the primer to a floor that was too cold. As I was just below their recommended low temp of 55F.

I got a hold of the BM sales person. He basically told me the same as you. The manufacturer's white pages on this primer note a Recoat time of 16Hrs. – Max: 3 Days. -

I'll be putting down my base coat after almost 40hrs. If I need to scratch it up as you say, what is the best method?
-Would I be better to try and do it tonight? Only difference is that it would be after sunset. Temp is dropping to 50F overnight.

Doing this a month ago would've been ideal but not possible.

 

[Shea]

If they give you a max of 3 days, then no need to rough it up unless you go past that. Especially with the cooler weather.

You are better off applying in the warmer temps if you can. Make sure to store your products in the house where it is warm and only bring them out when you are ready to mix. Here are some cold weather application tips that might help you.

 

[jaye944]

what Shea says.

mine did the same think on the first coat, the concrete has sucked it up,
luckily I had 2 lots of base coat.

and yes, DOUBLE check the bonding time,

once you go past that, you'll need to rough it up,
I thought it was about 12 hours , no more that 24,

 

[thegarageguy]

that penetration or "dry spots" are a good thing. It's doing what is supposed to be doing...penetrating and anchoring to the substrate, rather than just sitting on the surface and doing nothing.

 

[CT2012]

Silly_Joe, can you post pics of how it turned out? Is the V155 clear or white?

I'm going to be using the same thing and Corotech 100% solids for epoxy hopefully this weekend.

 

[Silly_Joe]

Silly_Joe, can you post pics of how it turned out? Is the V155 clear or white?

I'm going to be using the same thing and Corotech 100% solids for epoxy hopefully this weekend.

I added a picture to original post above.
The floor's native dry colour is the gray areas. The darker parts are the "clear" primer (it actually has a bit of a yellowish tint).

The plan was to put the primer down, let it dry for a day (3-day max re-coat time) and then cover the now tacky floor with the final 100% solids Epoxy. So when the dry spots really did feel dry to the touch I panicked. Maybe a second coat of primer was all that was required??

In the end I went ahead and covered my "patchy" floor.
I bought Costco's product which is the EpoxyMaster system. It went on about three days ago and looks great.

However I did get three bubbles that formed up and pop overnight. Of the overall look of the floor you can't even notice them. But I know of them and as most folks on here will attest you want your project to come out perfect.
All I can tell myself is that had I not used the Primer then maybe I would've ended up with a hundred air bubbles.

I wish I could have put a second coat of the Epoxymaster. But it wasn't in the budget. Garage is 400sq.ft. and it got pretty thin near the end. Perhaps by Spring I will get another kit, sand up my floor, and cover it again. We'll see...



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[CT2012]

pic didn't show up.

i'm actually headed over to paint store now to get vf155.

am doing it based on your thread, so thanks for the heads up. after reading what u went through, i figure a primer can't hurt.

 

[CT2012]

Silly Joe I did the Vf155 coat today and got the same splotch look. All's fine (so far). That meant concrete sucked it up fairly quickly. It gave me some pause as if I needed to do it again, but hopefully not.

This stuff sure makes a stink in the whole house (also because I accidentally left the basement garage door open while doing the work). Woops.

 

[Silly_Joe]

Silly Joe I did the Vf155 coat today and got the same splotch look. All's fine (so far). That meant concrete sucked it up fairly quickly. It gave me some pause as if I needed to do it again, but hopefully not.

This stuff sure makes a stink in the whole house (also because I accidentally left the basement garage door open while doing the work). Woops.

Yup definitely some stinky stuff.

So how did everything work out for you in the end? I would love to see a picture of your final Epoxy project.
It's now one week later for me and I'm going to park on it tonight. I figured I'd give it a full 7 days to cure before I did.

 

[CT2012]

SillyJoe, pardon the delayed response. I haven't logged in for awhile.

Here's a few photos.

Yup definitely some stinky stuff.

So how did everything work out for you in the end? I would love to see a picture of your final Epoxy project.
It's now one week later for me and I'm going to park on it tonight. I figured I'd give it a full 7 days to cure before I did.

 

[Silly_Joe]

The pics look great. Nice work.
Right now my floor is covered in snow, ice and salt. LOL. But it is still holding up well. Matter of fact I had a "big enough" oil leak from my van last week. It was great to see it all pooled up nicely on the new floor. I just grabbed some paper towels and moped it up. Looks as good as new again.
Mind you, had it leaked like that 6 months ago onto the old flooring I would not be a very happy camper right now.

Cheers.