I used this site to gather information and prepare for my 2 car, 400 sq ft suburban garage epoxy floor so now its time to give back...
The worst part about going after a project like this is emptying the garage. Unless you've just moved in, chances are your garage is full of JUNK. You've not only got to clean all this junk up, but you've got to find a place to keep it for a month while you put the magic touches on your new garage epoxy floor. I wish I had made better decisions to deal with all my stuff. Even though the weather has been clear, nights are cold with lots of condensation, dew, and frost.
After you get the garage all cleaned out the concrete floor has to be properly prepped for the new epoxy coating. I did two separate acid etching sessions with plenty of pressure washing and sweeping. I did two etches because the first etch with Phosphoric acid at 3 to 1 ratio didn't result in a rough surface. My second etch I did 1 to 1 ratio with Muriatic acid instead.
Once the floor was clean and rough to the touch, I filled my expansion joints with backer rod and a flexible sealant. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not buying the Integraflex with my Liquatile and Bondtite order. I just didn't think about it. The problem with my route is the expansion joints still show clearly and they are soft to the touch because my sealant cured like a soft caulk. Also I used a backer rod that was a bit too big and it pushed some of the sealant up too high. Waiting for everything to dry and cure was so frustrating!
First a bondtite coat, the next day the liquatile coat and flake with a vinyl graphic, followed by a clear coat of bondtite on the third day. Each coat was applied with squeegee, a 18" nap roller, and spiked shoes so you can walk on top of the epoxy. Big thanks to this site and Fred at AlphaGarage for the all hours tech support!
Bottom line lessons and tips:
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The worst part about going after a project like this is emptying the garage. Unless you've just moved in, chances are your garage is full of JUNK. You've not only got to clean all this junk up, but you've got to find a place to keep it for a month while you put the magic touches on your new garage epoxy floor. I wish I had made better decisions to deal with all my stuff. Even though the weather has been clear, nights are cold with lots of condensation, dew, and frost.
After you get the garage all cleaned out the concrete floor has to be properly prepped for the new epoxy coating. I did two separate acid etching sessions with plenty of pressure washing and sweeping. I did two etches because the first etch with Phosphoric acid at 3 to 1 ratio didn't result in a rough surface. My second etch I did 1 to 1 ratio with Muriatic acid instead.
Once the floor was clean and rough to the touch, I filled my expansion joints with backer rod and a flexible sealant. One of the biggest mistakes I made was not buying the Integraflex with my Liquatile and Bondtite order. I just didn't think about it. The problem with my route is the expansion joints still show clearly and they are soft to the touch because my sealant cured like a soft caulk. Also I used a backer rod that was a bit too big and it pushed some of the sealant up too high. Waiting for everything to dry and cure was so frustrating!
First a bondtite coat, the next day the liquatile coat and flake with a vinyl graphic, followed by a clear coat of bondtite on the third day. Each coat was applied with squeegee, a 18" nap roller, and spiked shoes so you can walk on top of the epoxy. Big thanks to this site and Fred at AlphaGarage for the all hours tech support!
Bottom line lessons and tips:
- must address good storage for your garage JUNK. The whole epoxy process takes 2-3 weeks.
- if you want to fill cracks or expansion joints, do some research or just buy Integraflex
- use the right tools (18" roller and spiked shoes) and follow the directions closely
- I used 10 lbs of flake and a screen printed vinyl graphic of the CA state flag
- wait 3-4 days after final coat before you go checking out your work!
