Garage floor system being installed today - question on topcoat please

[Mattb1]

I have an epoxy company installing a floor system today in the garage: part of it gets sun.. They are about to do a full chip broadcast and then applying 1 layer of polyaspartic top coat. In the past, I have seen garages that are quite rough due to the topcoat not being thick enough over chip, I prefer it higher even if more slippery. He said if I would like a higher profile of that, they recommend after the full chip to do a clear epoxy topcoat and then do the polyaspartic finish coat.

Won’t the clear epoxy eventually yellow? Especially with sun? Thoughts / concerns?

Thank you

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi, the topcoat won't do much to the texture, as all topcoats are thin by design so the prep of the floor before topcoating is important.

A clear epoxy will amber, don't do it. The secret to a 'not rough' floor is that it needs to be well scraped with metal floor scraper, or better to use a rotary or square floor sander to knock down the millions of sharp fleck edges, then vacuum well. Make sure they use a small size aggregate nonskid in the topcoat. Check the texture before topcoating so it is to your liking.

 

[Shea]

I have an epoxy company installing a floor system today in the garage: part of it gets sun.. They are about to do a full chip broadcast and then applying 1 layer of polyaspartic top coat. In the past, I have seen garages that are quite rough due to the topcoat not being thick enough over chip, I prefer it higher even if more slippery. He said if I would like a higher profile of that, they recommend after the full chip to do a clear epoxy topcoat and then do the polyaspartic finish coat.

Won’t the clear epoxy eventually yellow? Especially with sun? Thoughts / concerns?

Thank you

A full color flake floor will not be flat at the surface. It's going to have a dimpled or bumpy texture that should still feel somewhat smooth to the touch when you run your fingers over it. It should not have flake edges sticking up or feel sharp and rough. You are correct at about the epoxy. It will eventually amber at some point if it gets direct sunlight.

The key to a successful full color flake floor is how well they scrape and prep the color flakes before the clear coat is applied. The good installers will run a floor maintainer with a sanding screen or a green scrub pad over the surface after the initial scraping. It does a good job of knocking down high spots and sharp edges that scraping may have missed. Plus, it helps to smooth out the flakes somewhat. If they do that, you shouldn't have any issues. If they do that and apply a second coat of polyaspartic, it would be even smoother.