OK.... no mater what product you use (regardless what they all say).....To get a great result on any type of coatings you
MUST do more than one coat.
do you paint your car with only one coat?
1st coat:
look at it as a primer coat.
put on very thin.. just to cover up the bare concrete.. its ok to have a very dull and rough finish. just as long as you have product covering the concrete.
after first coat has dried.. check for imperfections you missed during prep (cracks, divits etc) and repair. use caulk for fine lines, bondo for large divits etc. Use just enough to cover imperfection. take you time and do it right.
roller marks can be sanded down using 80-100 grit sand paper. do this lightly. clean up with vac and wipe down clean with denatured alcohal. Do not use alot of DA. just enough to dampen the floor or you will pull up the epoxy.
second coat and rolling techniqes:
you can do this much thicker.. after mixing... start from back wall and move to the door.
You need to haul **** but being carefull enough not to make a mess this is where having a partner (or two) will be needed. We use one guy to cut in and one guy to roll. while the one guy is rolling and the cut in guy is waiting, I usually have him throwing chips (see technique below)
Cut in all verticals before doing the floor.
horizontals:
Cut in with a brush the back and the sides. only cut in the sides about 5 feet. do the whole back of garage width.
pour a line of epoxy across the floor about 3' back from the back wall. the line should be approximately 6 to 8" wide.
start rolling in a zig zag pattern to spread the epoxy evenly acrossed the floor Up to where you stopped cutting in (5') or so.
After the initial spreading of epoxy, start from one side and "back roll" the epoxy by starting from the back wall and pulling the roller towards you (don't push roller back). Pick up the roller and move to the back wall, over lap the roller 1/4 of the width of the roller of the last line and repeat until you have gone all the way across the floor. when you move the roller try to feather the roller by putting less weight on the roller the 1/4 of the overlap. this will reduce roller marks. Repeat by cutting in another 5' or so and doing another line, zig zag and back roll.
Tip for the chips: always order more chips than needed (if you can).
the secret to getting an even spread of chips is to use spikes to walk over the epoxy and spread the chips like a fairy spreading fairy dust (yeah I know)
Shewin williams carries them as well you can order from
Midwest rake company
grab a 5gal bucket and fill it half way with the chips. after doing the whole width of the garage and about 10 feet back.
walk over the epoxy you just rolled with your spikes on and play fairy princes and lightly throw the chips in the air for them to fall down on you wet epoxy.
Be very carfull wearing the spikes because you can slip and gouge the epoxy If you do this just back roll over the gouge.
Do the whole floor this way. and when done rolling walk back over entire garage and flake where you have missed to get a more consistant chip coverage.
3rd coat:
Clear coat over chips using the same rolling technique as stated above.
This should give you the finish your looking for.
IT's only paint..... if you screw it up the first time. you can always recoat it again...
