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how to fix and match post fire pop-outs

dablack

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Jul 15, 2010
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Rusk, TX
I will have pictures after work today but I have cleaned off the slab after the fire and structually, the slab is fine. There are lots of 1/4" deep, 2" diameter pop-outs. It is like the moisture in the slab just popped the layer of cream up.

The slab had been acid stained and sealled with Legacy Industrial HD6600 Water Based Epoxy-Acrylic. Most of the slab still looks good and just needs another coat of sealer. My problem is what to do with the pop-outs. What can I fill the pop-outs with and can I then stain them to match the rest of the concrete?

What I'm hoping is that there is something I can fill the pop-outs with, do a light grinding on the floor to smooth out the patches, then stain the new spots, and then lay a couple of new layers of sealer.

thoughts?

thanks
Austin
 
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BFBOB

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If it were me, I'd fill the spots with Quik-Rok or some similar stud-setting cement product and call it good. Probably the right way is to chisel them out deeper, add an undercut all the way around, and then fill. Say, half an hour per divot. Worth it? You decide.

...of course, you could also just learn to live with them. (after mopping out the sealer where it will pool in them)
 

kd3pc

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I would use epoxy and try to color match it...some of the marine stuff is pretty decent and will not break the bank...and can be matched pretty easily, sandable and will last

best of luck
 

LegacyIndustrial

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deerfield, IL
Epoxy is a great product for pop-outs. However, it will not take the stain.
A cement based patch may take the stain. However, it will really take it and be a different color all together.
 

Vegaman_Dan

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Epoxy fill the holes, then epoxy coat the entire floor while you have the opportunity to seal it against further damage. Sealed floor will look better, perform better, and greatly reduce dust over the concrete surface. Plus it will make those patches completely vanish.
 

bigbadktm

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Fill it with tinted cement close to the color that is down, sand it smooth and flush, seal over the patches. With a preval sprayer and an acetone dye, fog over the areas to blend into the existing stain, then seal the whole floor. If you were in Southern CA, I could show you how to do this. Quick and easy way...fill with 100% solids epoxy
 
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dablack

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Rusk, TX
Thanks guys. I really don't want the patches coming loose so I'm thinking epoxy to fill. Does the epoxy come in different colors to get it close to the stained floor?

Didn't get pictures last night due to my wife's car breaking down 45 miles from home. Looks like the fuel filter is clogged or the pump is dead. Either way I wasn't getting any pressure at the schreader valve.

Austin
 
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LegacyIndustrial

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Thanks guys. I really don't want the patches coming loose so I'm thinking epoxy to fill. Does the epoxy come in different colors to get it close to the stained floor?

Didn't get pictures last night due to my wife's car breaking down 45 miles from home. Looks like the fuel filter is clogged or the pump is dead. Either way I wasn't getting any pressure at the schreader valve.

Austin

Natural, light and dark gray, tile red.
We have had folks add powdered dye to the natural, but those floors were black.
 
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dablack

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Do you have a picture of the tile red?

Never mind. Found a couple of pictures on your website. That might be an option.
 
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pauls_workshop

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Another idea: I just went through this myself but not due to fire pop-outs. The bottom of my garage floor under and just outside the garage door had numerous little pot holes from salt damage and freezing/thawing over the years, some up to 3/4" deep, most about 3/8" deep. I don't have epoxy in my garage (it is in my basement workshop floor) and not planning to do that. So I wanted to repair without starting over with a large section of the floor, but wanted to also match the existing cement color reasonably closely so it blends in. I also wanted it to be extremely strong and tough and not fail or pop out again.

What I did was first used my little 4.5" diamond wheel hand grinder from my recent epoxy job and squared all the edges of each of the little potholes. That took a while. Then, I got some 5000 psi cement mix and also some vinyl patch cement mix and some bonding glue too. Pressure washed and cleaned all the cement, then put the bonding glue all around each pop out. Then mixed up the cement with about 1 part vinyl patch to 3 parts cement and troweled it down well. I left this higher than the floor level from 1/8" to about 3/8". (Also, the 5000 psi mix has lots of pebble rocks in it. These would have been bigger than some of the popout depressions so would stick out if that is used. This is stronger than the smooth sand mix though, so what I chose to use for strength reasons.) Kept it damp with plastic sheets over it for 7 days to cure to higher strength (key is to cure to high strengh this way or with sealer, etc). Then, used my diamond grinder again and ground the whole area flat to the level it was originally. I'll say this turned out about 95% good, perfectly smooth and flat to the original floor, with just 2 or 3 small spots I have to touch up again that got pulled out after the final grinding, probably just with the vinyl mix only there. The color all blends in quite well with the original.

I'll go through winter season number 1 in coming months and see how it does next spring, but I think it is a permanent repair. If there are other popouts coming, I can always try the epoxy/sand mortor repair, perhaps sprinkled on top with cement dust to try to blend in, but wanted to try this method above first. If I were planning to epoxy over anyway, I would just use epoxy/sand mortor mix completely and in the first place. But not planning to do that to this garage floor, so this was my low cost DIY method.

The pure vinyl patch mix is also very good stuff, but this was too large an area to just do that, and my way will be much stronger with the 5000 psi cement mix present. For very small areas, people could just use vinyl patch. It blends in very well with existing cement. Of course, it won't stain the same as the original would if that were to be done later and would stick out as different.

I also know about cement resurfacer overlay products, but I used the QuikRete form of that some years back and it all partially flaked off, so I'm not keen on that product at all. Maybe some are better than that one - don't know, but they also change the color obviously, and not what I wanted here. - Paul
 
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JimVonBaden

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Depending on your budget, I would consider epoxy, then porcelain tile. That will ensure it never comes apart on you, and will last forever. You can epoxy it now, then tile it when you get the money later as well.

Jim :cool:
 
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dablack

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Rusk, TX
Budget is an issue. With that said, I have been looking for tile. I have done about three houses worth of tile. I would love to do that but wife loved the way the stain and seal came out so if I can get away with it, I will go that way.
 

JimVonBaden

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Budget is an issue. With that said, I have been looking for tile. I have done about three houses worth of tile. I would love to do that but wife loved the way the stain and seal came out so if I can get away with it, I will go that way.

Sadly, it is unlikely you will make it look as good as the first time with patches all over.

I will be watching though, and rooting for you!

Jim :cool:
 

bigbadktm

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you can also add the acetone dye powder to the epoxy to color it, but you can't add too much because it is very concentrated. Fill it with epoxy and use the Preval method, you can blend out from the patch with it.
 
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