Finished - Norklad 200 w/clear

[scarab02]

Long time lurker finally ready to post.

After much reading, I decided that the Norklad 200 product w/the HPU747 clear would meet my needs. Final cost for this project was about $2.10/sqft (primer, epoxy, clear and some accessories). This is the second epoxy project I have completed; my first project (with another house) was using the Quickcrete epoxy from Lowes. I wanted to step up to a 100% solids epoxy for my next house. Lessons learned:

1. Wear spike shoes. I installed the coating by myself over a long weekend. Spike shoes allowed me to view the coating from all angles to make sure the system was applied evenly. Best of all, with the epoxy still tacky, I could broadcast the flake w/o fear of damaging the floor.

2. Wear a respirator. I know that other systems are rated low VOC (and I can't vouch for them). But the fumes from the epoxy and clear are quite strong. I certainly wasn't uncomfortable installing w/a respirator on and i could focus on the install ... instead of a headache. BTW - It took about a week for the fumes to die down w/my garage door open about six inches.

3. Plan ahead. Since I was installing the system by myself, i knew how I was going to apply the system before I started. This allowed me to maximize the pot life coatings.

Speaking of pot life: Norklad states a pot life of 30-50 minutes for the epoxy. That's about dead on. I was installing in 90+ degree heat (I am in AZ), I safely had each kit down in under 40 minutes from mix time w/o any issues.

Now on to storage, lighting and beefing up the electrical situation.

 

[JD in DFW]

Nice job dude!

 

[Zogman]

Nice Job Scarab. How did you prep your floor? As you commented on my thread, I will be doing mine with the same materials in a couple weeks. Thanks!!!

 

[starting]

looks great

 

[scarab02]

Zogman::

Regarding prep: I had a couple of nasty oil stains from the previous owner. Tried a concentrated mixture of Tide (mixed results) - the mixture removed a good deal of the stain but not all.

To the fun stuff... muriatic acid. I did a 1 to 4 mixture of acid for the initial etch, good solid scrubbing with a deck brush after the acid wash was down, then a water/baking soda rinse. Finished with a pressure wash. 24 hours later, the etch was right on the money.

Forgot another important lesson: Using an 18" roller is another lifesaver. I purchased an 18" frame from epoxy superstore with a couple of rollers. Made applying the coatings w/i the pot life much easier.

Best of luck with your application... and remember to post photos once your install is done.

 

[reggie]

very nice - wanna come do mine for me?

 

[rikmeister]

great job scarab

 

[tsanfilippo]

How has the Norklad 200 held up? Any hot tire issues. Was the floor slick, or did you use a no slip in the top coat? Any other issues, looking to put in on my Gar. floor this week.

 

[benwah]

Wish you would have hit me up, I coulda saved you some cash since you're in AZ. Next time! Floor looks great BTW.

 

[Notgrownup]

Looks good, can't wait to clear my Acid Stain as soon as it warms up....Welcome to the forum.

 

[tracer55]

Notgrownup do you have any pics of your Acid Stained concrete?

 

[scarab02]

@tansfilippo -

No issues whatsoever. As noted above, I did apply a Urethane clearcoat over the epoxy. Not sure that I would do the Urethane again, the clear takes quite a beating when you are dragging engine lifts/stands across the floor. The high wear areas show a little scuffing with the clear but the underlying coating is solid. I did not add any no-slip to the coating; I don't find it necessary.


I wouldn't change a thing about the product used or the way it was installed. 5 years later I still get comments on how great the floor looks ... and you can clean the floor with a trace of water, some degreaser and a squeegee.

Good luck with your install!

 

[benwah]

You made the right decision with the clear urethane. It's a sacrificial coating, meant to protect what is underneath it. Without it, some of those drag marks would be in your epoxy coat and possibly down to concrete depending on how extreme they are.

If you wanted to touch it up, sand it down enough to knock the gloss off and roll another coat on. Will look like a brand new floor.

 

[spectrum1c]

Could you give a 11 year follow-up on how it's held up?