help with sikaflex

[moparman3775]

OK i am starting to epoxy my garage floor, got it all precleaned, degreased & ready this past weekend, waited 2-3 days after cleaning & acid etching it.. Put down the sikaflex in my saw cut joints to level the floor for easy sweeping! Waited 2 hours or so, sealer was tacked up as they call it, so i went ahead with my Devoe pre-prime 167.. The sikaflex got all winkled up & rough looking???

Where did i go wrong? or will the sikaflex harden & level back out?

 

[nate379]

I have never worked with SikaFlex, but as with any other caulk I have used, I'd give it 12-24hrs to set up.

 

[moparman3775]

From the original color chip site!

SIKAFLEX-1CSL

Cure: tack free in 1-2 hours. (you can coat over with your epoxy once it is tack free)The 1CSL is a single component, self-leveling, premium-grade polyurethane sealant with an accelerated curing capacity.


I guess i didn't use epoxy but the pre-prime????????

 

[flooringchemist]

Preprime 167 is 100% solids epoxy

 

[moparman3775]

Yea i just seen that this morning after doing some research online.. I haven't a clue what went wrong then! I hope i don't have to dig that stuff out & redo it!! That doesn't sound fun.

Maybe I'll go home from work today & it'll be all level & smooth.. LMAO Yea right it never works that way for me!

 

[Hammerdown]

I doubt that the caulking would level out, but who knows for sure. That would be great if it did. It sounds like the primer "bit" into the caulk, and because it was not fully cured there was some wrinkling. You see this a lot when you re-coat to early with paints or epoxies with a solvent based coating. According to the MSDS of the Devoe pre-prime 167, it is a combustable product and contains VOC's, so it is reactive and will chemically "attack" other coatings, softening them up to form a bond. If you are not happy with the way it looks I would scrape it out and prime the area first, and then fill it in with the caulk. Allow it to fully cure before actually applying the color coat of epoxy or similar coating.

 

[ELS]

Just did my floor two weeks ago and had the preprime 167 wrinkle my sikaflex also. I was pissed. Talked to Original Chips Company and the guy told me not to get the preprime 167 on the sikaflex. The solvent based epoxy and clear are ok to coat over it and don't wrinkle it. Just the preprime.

I just waited until the sikaflex was dry enough, cut a v-notch with razor knife, the laid another light bead down the center to fill it back in. Then waited to skin up and epoxied right over it. Came out fine. I did mine in two parts so I did not have the same issue on the other side. Just cut in around the sikaflex filled joint then moved onto the next step.

Here are the final pix. I did not fill the joints to the top, but rather about 1/8"-1/4" below surface.

 

[moparman3775]

yea thats what i found out today from ryan @ OCC also.. Sorta doing mine the same way, but belt sanding the high spots smooth & filling back in with a thin layer of sikaflex.. It wont be perfect but i'm hoping the epoxy will help hide it & fill it in some more.. Its just a garage & gonna have a Dragcar(17" slicks) on it soon, so It's bound to get used & abused...

ELS............Man your floor came out great... I'm in michigan also..

 

[TonyF]

yea thats what i found out today from ryan @ OCC also.. Sorta doing mine the same way, but belt sanding the high spots smooth & filling back in with a thin layer of sikaflex.. It wont be perfect but i'm hoping the epoxy will help hide it & fill it in some more.. Its just a garage & gonna have a Dragcar(17" slicks) on it soon, so It's bound to get used & abused...

ELS............Man your floor came out great... I'm in michigan also..

How well does belt sanding the concrete work? That might be a good touch if it works well

 

[ELS]

MoparMan,

Thanks for the positives. I actually epoxied over the wrinkled sikaflex before v-notching it out and laying more in. To be honest, you really had to look hard to see it since it camouflaged with the heavy broadcast chips over it. I knew it was there and still bothered me, that's why I redid mine. I just touched up all the unpainted areas when I did the other half of the garage and lightly sprinkled chips back over the bad areas. Let it all cure and then brushed clear coat over it while also doing the other half. With a heavy chip broadcast it's hard to see, I am sure a light broadcast would show way more defects.

Can't tell I ever had a problem. OCC should pay for the additional tubes of Sikaflex though, that stuff is expensive.

Post some pics when done.

 

[moparman3775]

well it seemed to sand ok, i am only worried about the sikaflex dust causing a problem with the pre primer adhesion.. we'll see how it holds up.. I'll be clearing it tonight i believe. Was told not to clear yesterday cause of the rain & humid weather.. today sounds better... LOL
I'll get some pics soon.. Its a black base with blue, red, white, silver metallic & dark grey chips. used all 15lbs of them on my 768sq ft floor.. so its pretty heavy i think?? not full but not light broadcast either..

 

[ELS]

Your color combo sounds really cool. Can't wait to see it. I also laid down 15 total lbs of flakes on my 680 sq ft. OCC considered it heavy broadcast.