Jaguar Fan
Well-known member
Many thanks to the pros, DIY-ers, and vendors who chimed in with advice.
Now it is all over except for the curing. (Cue the Carly Simon song, "Anticipation...")
This is about 1100 sf of garage in my new home.
First, I acid etched - but that wasn't enough to get the slab in good condition for epoxy; in several places, tradesman had contaminated the slab with who-knows-what and it was flunking a water bead test.
So then I used a 7" grinder to prep the floor - and the result was satisfactory.
I had about 210 lineal feet of control joints to fill. I used a control joint & crack filler that is 100% solids flexible epoxy paste - about like working with cold peanut butter. http://apfepoxy.com/product-epoxy-300-flex#.VTQZ2FXBzRY Then I used a grinder on the high spots.
The design is decorative, and mirrors the rectangular design in the driveway & courtyard & backyard hardscape: decorative concrete in light, medium & darker grey rectangles in a pattern. Each epoxy area in the garage has two colors of flakes: the light areas have white & light grey flakes; the medium color area has light and medium grey flakes; and the dark grey areas have medium & dark grey flakes.
I wanted a medium broadcast -- about 40 to 50 pounds of flakes for the slab.
First I primed the slab.
Next, I masked the dark areas, applied a dark grey epoxy & broadcast flakes.
Then the same for the light areas.
Finally, the medium color areas.
Finally, a clear coat that has UV absorbing qualities (to protect the underlying epoxy) with Shark Grip mixed in.
All the above I did myself -- with encouraging words from Mrs. Jaguar Fan such as, "If you goof this up, will a professional be able to salvage it??"
I did most of the work at night between about 9pm and 2pm on consecutive days, with a break because of very high winds blowing dust around Las Vegas (40+ mph winds).
Because I was doing it all myself without help, I opted for epoxies with a long pot life. 100% solids epoxies have a much shorter pot life, and while I really wanted to do it in 100% solids, at the end of the day, as a DIYer, I decided to be cautious and go with a high solids product with a 77% solids Devran 224v product http://www.international-pc.com/PDS/4690-P-eng-usa-LTR.pdf . It supposedly has a 6 hr pot life, but my experience was it was much shorter than that. I know I would not have made it with 100% solids.
For the clear coat, I used the compatible Devthane 379 http://www.international-pc.com/PDS/4410-P-eng-A4.pdf
Now it is time to let it cure. Then, its time to go get it dirty.
Now it is all over except for the curing. (Cue the Carly Simon song, "Anticipation...")
This is about 1100 sf of garage in my new home.
First, I acid etched - but that wasn't enough to get the slab in good condition for epoxy; in several places, tradesman had contaminated the slab with who-knows-what and it was flunking a water bead test.
So then I used a 7" grinder to prep the floor - and the result was satisfactory.
I had about 210 lineal feet of control joints to fill. I used a control joint & crack filler that is 100% solids flexible epoxy paste - about like working with cold peanut butter. http://apfepoxy.com/product-epoxy-300-flex#.VTQZ2FXBzRY Then I used a grinder on the high spots.
The design is decorative, and mirrors the rectangular design in the driveway & courtyard & backyard hardscape: decorative concrete in light, medium & darker grey rectangles in a pattern. Each epoxy area in the garage has two colors of flakes: the light areas have white & light grey flakes; the medium color area has light and medium grey flakes; and the dark grey areas have medium & dark grey flakes.
I wanted a medium broadcast -- about 40 to 50 pounds of flakes for the slab.
First I primed the slab.
Next, I masked the dark areas, applied a dark grey epoxy & broadcast flakes.
Then the same for the light areas.
Finally, the medium color areas.
Finally, a clear coat that has UV absorbing qualities (to protect the underlying epoxy) with Shark Grip mixed in.
All the above I did myself -- with encouraging words from Mrs. Jaguar Fan such as, "If you goof this up, will a professional be able to salvage it??"
I did most of the work at night between about 9pm and 2pm on consecutive days, with a break because of very high winds blowing dust around Las Vegas (40+ mph winds).
Because I was doing it all myself without help, I opted for epoxies with a long pot life. 100% solids epoxies have a much shorter pot life, and while I really wanted to do it in 100% solids, at the end of the day, as a DIYer, I decided to be cautious and go with a high solids product with a 77% solids Devran 224v product http://www.international-pc.com/PDS/4690-P-eng-usa-LTR.pdf . It supposedly has a 6 hr pot life, but my experience was it was much shorter than that. I know I would not have made it with 100% solids.
For the clear coat, I used the compatible Devthane 379 http://www.international-pc.com/PDS/4410-P-eng-A4.pdf
Now it is time to let it cure. Then, its time to go get it dirty.
