Finished the prep stage, but am having a few problems...

[tlg165]

We spent all day yesterday prepping the garage and let it dry overnight. I checked it this AM and have a few questions for the experts.

We are using the Quikrete product.

Our garage is about 6 months old and has not had a car parked in it. The floor was relatively clean with a paint splatters (from when we painted the walls) and some glue residue from the contractors. In the prep stage we were able to scrape these on the surface, but it still left a residue stain deep in the concrete


We used the bond-lok product; however we were unable to remove a few of these paint splatter and glue stains. So my questions are, will this be an issue when we apply the epoxy? Should we do something else before applying epoxy? Has anyone else had a similiar issue and was able to apply the epoxy without problems?

Also, we have a hairline crack a few feet long. The crack is about 1/16 inch (no bigger). Does this need to be repaired before epoxying? If so what should I use? How long should I wait after repairing to apply the epoxy?


Thanks so much for your help!

 

[AlphaGarage]

Not very familiar with that exact product, and as usual you really should contact the distributor for info, but I'll take a stab at general points...

As long as the coating can seep into the concrete you should be okay, check first by dripping a bit of water onto the questionable spots, if its absorbed, then you're probably okay. You don't need to lift and make all the stains and spots disappear, that's one of the reason to use an epoxy - to cover up all that stuff. But if there's any doubt, hit the spots with a angle grinder to remove the surface gunk.

If the crack is thinner than a dime's edge there's a good chance that the epoxy will fill it in without you needing to do anything else. Obviously the more viscous the epoxy the more likely it will fill. If you're using a thin coating, or if the crack is too wide, or if you expect the crack to enlarge, then you might want to consider using a filler product first. Use a filler compatible with the epoxy coating. If you use a 100% solids epoxy filler then you can usually coat over it right away.

As always be sure to read your product labels and instructions since specifics do vary from product to product.

 

[tlg165]

Thank you for your reply!

For the filler, it looks like my local stores do not carry an epoxy filler. Do you have any thoughts on something like the DAP Concrete Patch in the tube?