Fredartic
Well-known member
I heard that some has sealed the floor with color and it's very nice. What do you think?
Is the sealer better than Epoxy?
- Thread starter Fredartic
- Start date
I used the colored sealer in a Gull Gray color. I don't know if it's better or not but I looked at "down the road". If for any reason I have to redo my floor all I have to do is clean it and apply new sealer. The stuff I used is a Xylene based product made by Butterfield. There will not be removing the old epoxy and no prep involved. I'm sure the more expensive epoxy's are good but if you read enough on this site you'll see where some have had failures with epoxys. I had 780 sq. feet of garage. I put three coats on in one day and the total cost of the sealer was $308 including shipping to my local concrete supplier from Aurora, IL. That was for 7 gallons and I have about 3/4 of a gallon left which I can use for "touch ups" if needed. The sealer will be good stored in the can for 2 years as long as it's stored properly. I'm happy with the way mine turned out.
shocksystems
Well-known member
Can you post a picture of the floor with the sealer?
trovato
Well-known member
That looks great! What was the condition of the concrete before you did this? This is their "color guard" product? Did you use an airless sprayer like they specify? How slippery is it when it is wet? I see that they mention the possibility of adding a nonslip additive. I've got to find some place where I can see what this looks like in person.
I put a Xylene base sealer on my garage floor. The first time I put it down after a acid wash with an overnight dry. Held up pretty good for a couple years. I then put two more coats down to give a fresh look. a few months later I started using a mechanics seat with hard casters, doing detail work on vehicles. The stain could not take the point load from the wheels. I am over 200 lbs and the casters are cheap. If I had to do it over again I would make sure all casters are rubber, I prefer the yellow. I finally spent the money for a racedeck floor. The stain held up ok overall, but I could not put an epoxy or urethane over the stain. The rep at the paint store said it all had to come up if I wanted to upgrade to a harder finish. So I covered it with racedeck. I hope this helps....Good Luck
That looks great! What was the condition of the concrete before you did this?
The floor was 3 years old, no oil stains , but was coated with a clear sealer that I removed using a EDCO concrete grinder. After grinding the floor had a 120 sand paper feel like most floor coating companies like to see before coating.
This is their "color guard" product?
Yes, the color is their "Gull Gray". It's actually lighter colored in person
Did you use an airless sprayer like they specify?
No I used a paint roller 3/8 inch nap. I had problems with air bubbles forming with the roller so I buffed them out with my floor scrubber and the black course pad. Then mopped the last two coats with a janitorial type commercial mop with bucket and wringer.
How slippery is it when it is wet?
No worse than it was before which wasn't bad at all. It's basically the same kind of sealer I had except colored now.
I see that they mention the possibility of adding a nonslip additive. I've got to find some place where I can see what this looks like in person.[/QUOTE]
The floor was 3 years old, no oil stains , but was coated with a clear sealer that I removed using a EDCO concrete grinder. After grinding the floor had a 120 sand paper feel like most floor coating companies like to see before coating.
This is their "color guard" product?
Yes, the color is their "Gull Gray". It's actually lighter colored in person
Did you use an airless sprayer like they specify?
No I used a paint roller 3/8 inch nap. I had problems with air bubbles forming with the roller so I buffed them out with my floor scrubber and the black course pad. Then mopped the last two coats with a janitorial type commercial mop with bucket and wringer.
How slippery is it when it is wet?
No worse than it was before which wasn't bad at all. It's basically the same kind of sealer I had except colored now.
I see that they mention the possibility of adding a nonslip additive. I've got to find some place where I can see what this looks like in person.[/QUOTE]
So you start out by saying you put on a Xylene sealer and then you changed it to saying the stain didn't hold up? There's a big difference in a sealer and stain.
Could be you put it on too thick; sealer is a case where more is not always better.
Not sure, paint rep said 4 coats would be fine. The sealer was only a problem where I used the mechanics seat alot in one area. The sealer let go from the concrete,and not between coats. Rep said he seen that problem before. He suggested stripping and replacing with urethane. Too much work for me so I used that as an excuse to go with tile. I think the root cause was the cheap hard casters. I pulled my vehicle in with hot tires once, was at the track. Tires left black marks, but the sealer did not lift. I was pleased overall how the sealer held up.
trovato
Well-known member
Wow, I'm surprised that worked so well for you. Their instruction sheet says "Color Guard Cure and Seal must be applied with an airless sprayer. Use of a roller, brush or hand pump sprayer is not advisable." Can't argue with success though.