Epoxying an old garage floor

[jmarkwolf]

When we built our house 26 years ago we didn't think to seal the attached 2-1/2 car garage floor. Now after all these years the concrete is spalled and salt encrusted.

I'm thinking I want to clean and epoxy the floor to arrest any further degradation.

Would power washing prior to etching be advised?

Any other prep tricks?

 

[BigGarage]

When we built our house 26 years ago we didn't think to seal the attached 2-1/2 car garage floor. Now after all these years the concrete is spalled and salt encrusted.

I'm thinking I want to clean and epoxy the floor to arrest any further degradation.

Would power washing prior to etching be advised?

Any other prep tricks?

I degreased my floor first and then used the acid etching and then just washed with a hose and a stiff broom. I think you need to get the acid off very well to not cause problems so wash last. Or you could wash twice. I was priming & painting my floor though, not using epoxy.

Dennis

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

26yrs of cars, salt, water, oil, etc., etc.- you'll probably need more than just a powerwash and etch. The spalling will probably require grinding- better than patching. Then you can move on to the cleaning, degreasing, etching, etc.

 

[Augus7us]

I did my 1200 sq ft shop and like above I would grind before doing epoxy. I’d also use something that is 90%+ solids.

 

[Kaizen]

you should ask this to be moved to flooring so the pro's can weigh in as well. No epoxy will not fix the mess. And grinding might just not be worth it depending on the depth and damage. suggest posting up some good pics. might need to chip out the damage, degrease and such, patch, then grind the whole thing before doing epoxy.

 

[jetnow1]

I did my better half fathers garage floor several years ago, washed it with the recommended cleaner, then did it again, then used muratic acid to clean it even deeper, then washed it again with citric based cleaner. Rinsed several times, finally painted it.
The garage had 50 years of old cars parked on it, it still looks good. the more time spent preparing the surface the better the results will be.

When I did my own garage it was new construction but I ground it smooth first as the finish work on the slab was not smooth enough for my standards.

 

[Garage Flooring]

When we built our house 26 years ago we didn't think to seal the attached 2-1/2 car garage floor. Now after all these years the concrete is spalled and salt encrusted.

I'm thinking I want to clean and epoxy the floor to arrest any further degradation.

Would power washing prior to etching be advised?

Any other prep tricks?

Etch or grind for a system with some solvent. Grind for 100% solids.