Floor prep questions - fun for the winter doldrums or wait until spring

[Trrexhouse]

Hello everyone,

This forum has been great! I've read all the threads and now have the confidence to epoxy coat my garage floor. But after some back and forth I've decided to hold off and do it in the spring as many threads have suggested. The floor is aprox. 350 square feet and is pretty messy . Lots of stains , long hairline cracks ands LOTS of pitting . I expect a lot of prep work. I'd love to get started on all of that but would it be too soon if I plan to do the job in april/may? I assume the floor should be cleaned/etched prior repairing the cracks and pitting? If not I can do the repair work now and clean in the spring . As you can see I am excited on getting started so any advice would be greatly appreciated ! Thanks, Tim

 

[Edger]

Hi Tim,

Nothing wrong with cleaning and repairing now as long as you check with the manufacturer of the patching product that it will still cure in the cold.

At least it gives you a head start for getting the floor prepared and you have time to see if you did a good job to make sure the filling is strong before coating. Don't try to do too good a job unless it is easy, just work on the worst areas.

Cleaning and more patching will be required just before coating.

 

[Trrexhouse]

Good point . I would guess that the same would be true if that patch product was also an epoxy. So you suggest cleaning again prior to coating? Most of the floor damage was from the prior owner. I don't expect any grease, oil, etc to hit the floor from now till I install so I thought another clean would not be necessary .

 

[Edger]

Yes, it was the epoxy patching product I was referring to. It doesn't take much to clean so it would probably be safer to prepare again before coating. During patching and maybe grinding off the patching you can walk dirt and dust etc. into the surface. Purchase a cheap dust shroud and diamond grinding wheel, or hire one with vacuum to smooth off the patching. If you have a lot of small holes, cracks etc, it is hard to patch and leave it smooth without diamond grinding after. Also check with the manufacturers, but you probably need to grind the patching so that the epoxy top coat will stick because you will be doing it long before coating.

That may be a bit complicated, but as I said, it is difficult to do lots of patches and leave it smooth.

 

[Trrexhouse]

Yeah I have a lot of pitting so I would really like to start working on it little by little now. You didn't mention etching. Should I clean>etch>patch>grind now and clean>etch>apply epoxy in May or just save the etching to do once in May. Thanks for your advice. Tim

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Trex:
You could patch now and grind later when you are ready to coat.
Edger makes sense though, may pay to just take the floor over a week period when you are ready to pull the trigger. Less chance for contamination and repeated efforts.

 

[Trrexhouse]

Thanks for your reply. I have looked at a few products on your website. I figured I could use the hd-124 in this temp. (30-40 degrees). Then in the spring I would prep the floor(clean,etch) and grind it smooth at that point as edger said. Would that make sense? And Would I need to clean the pitted areas in order to use this product or maybe just put a grinder to them? Thanks, Tim

 

[Edger]

Trrexhouse,
As you are getting down to more specific products the answers should come from your suppliers, but often pits do not contain the dirt that is on the surface so if you vacuum the holes and they look clean it may be enough to patch them provided you grind the surface clean later.
What you do not want is to patch a hole and have it stick really well, but also cover the dirty top surface around the hole with the patching which might not stick so well and be a weak point under your coating.
So if you fill the holes without cleaning the top you will need to grind the top later to remove the excess patching and leave a clean surface.

 

[munkey]

Then in the spring I would prep the floor(clean,etch) and grind it smooth

You've said this a couple times, but you don't need to acid etch at all if you will be grinding the surface.

It sounds to me like your best plan would be to use something like a wire brush, wire wheel on a drill, etc. to clean the debris and dirt out of the areas that need to be patched, then apply your patching product. Then grind the surface all at once (which will help level out your patches, as others have mentioned) and rinse or vacuum the dust off and you are ready to coat.

 

[Trrexhouse]

Thanks, this is all good advice. I didn't consider a wire wheel. I will try that that.