I recently complete the floor portion of my shop build, which is the last step before I can officially move in.
I picked the Legacy Industrial Hellfire kit because it seemed like a great value while having really good chemical and heat resistance. This is important as my shop is a hybrid woodworking/automotive repair/general hobby shop.
My shop is 28'x35' (960 sqft) and I ordered the 926-1100 sqft kit. The kit comes with enough product for 2 color coats and one clear coat. However, I was able to squeeze more coats out of it. More on that later.
My concrete guy finished the slab with a trowel machine and thus yielded a super smooth finish. I contemplated grinding it to prepare the surface for coating, but didn't want do deal with the slurry mess, so I opted for an etch. The slab was relatively new and had no stains, oil, or grease to speak of. I bought 2 gallons of the Legacy HD357 etch and applied as directed. I was sold on the "acid free" etch since my building is metal and I was concerned with potential rusting issues. It didn't etch as well as I expected though, and certainly didn't provide the CSP2 profile required in the Hellfire installation directions. So, off to HD where I bought a similar Rustoleum "Clean and Etch" product to try. The SDS of the HD357 and Rustoleum product details the same active ingredient. The Rustoleum product worked about the same as the HD357, which wasn't unexpected since they use the same active ingredient. The 2nd etch with the Rustoleum product yielded an incremental advancement toward the CSP2 profile, so I bought more and etched again. After 3 etch processes and a sore back from leaning over and scrubbing, the concrete was roughened.
On to the coating. As mentioned above, the kit I ordered contained ample product for 3 coats of color and 2 coats of clear. My coats went as such:
Color:
1st coat - Hellfire Color - plain
2nd coat - Hellfire Color - plain
3rd coat - Hellfire Color + 4oz/gallon Legacy Black pigment followed by broadcast of 6lbs of paint chips.
The kit contained 4 lbs of paint chips, but I wanted a bit heavier chip coverage so I bought 2 - 1lb bags of Rustoleum brand paint chips from Lowe's. The paint chips were identical in color variation and size as the chips included with the kit.
The hardest part of the project was applying a uniform coverage of chips. To aid me, I split the paint chips up in 8 equal amounts and placed them in ziplock bags. I estimated 1/8 size blocks of the shop and grabbed a bag once the last color coat of that 1/8th portion was applied. All of the YouTube vids about applying paint chips in a uniform manner are correct: The trick is to throw the chips up in the air and let them rain down like confetti. I still managed to mess that up in a few spots.
Clear:
1st coat - Hellfire Clear - plain
2nd coat - Hellfire Clear with anti-skid added - Final Product
The first coat of Hellfire Clear went on great. The second coat, however......it was really hard to tell where I had applied product already. I'm glad I had enough product for 2 coats because I know there's at least 1 coat of clear on every square inch of the slab; however I can't say the same for 2 coats ultimately.
Final thoughts:
The final product appears SUPER durable and looks pretty good, which is what I was going after. It's extremely hard and scratch resistant. I've rolled floor jacks and shelving units across it and there's no noticeable issues. So, I'm happy with the product so far; time will tell on the durability, but I have no complaints with the product now. It also really helps to have a rep on here that is ready to answer questions as needed, as well. Thanks, Scott.
Now to fill the shop.
I picked the Legacy Industrial Hellfire kit because it seemed like a great value while having really good chemical and heat resistance. This is important as my shop is a hybrid woodworking/automotive repair/general hobby shop.
My shop is 28'x35' (960 sqft) and I ordered the 926-1100 sqft kit. The kit comes with enough product for 2 color coats and one clear coat. However, I was able to squeeze more coats out of it. More on that later.
My concrete guy finished the slab with a trowel machine and thus yielded a super smooth finish. I contemplated grinding it to prepare the surface for coating, but didn't want do deal with the slurry mess, so I opted for an etch. The slab was relatively new and had no stains, oil, or grease to speak of. I bought 2 gallons of the Legacy HD357 etch and applied as directed. I was sold on the "acid free" etch since my building is metal and I was concerned with potential rusting issues. It didn't etch as well as I expected though, and certainly didn't provide the CSP2 profile required in the Hellfire installation directions. So, off to HD where I bought a similar Rustoleum "Clean and Etch" product to try. The SDS of the HD357 and Rustoleum product details the same active ingredient. The Rustoleum product worked about the same as the HD357, which wasn't unexpected since they use the same active ingredient. The 2nd etch with the Rustoleum product yielded an incremental advancement toward the CSP2 profile, so I bought more and etched again. After 3 etch processes and a sore back from leaning over and scrubbing, the concrete was roughened.
On to the coating. As mentioned above, the kit I ordered contained ample product for 3 coats of color and 2 coats of clear. My coats went as such:
Color:
1st coat - Hellfire Color - plain
2nd coat - Hellfire Color - plain
3rd coat - Hellfire Color + 4oz/gallon Legacy Black pigment followed by broadcast of 6lbs of paint chips.
The kit contained 4 lbs of paint chips, but I wanted a bit heavier chip coverage so I bought 2 - 1lb bags of Rustoleum brand paint chips from Lowe's. The paint chips were identical in color variation and size as the chips included with the kit.
The hardest part of the project was applying a uniform coverage of chips. To aid me, I split the paint chips up in 8 equal amounts and placed them in ziplock bags. I estimated 1/8 size blocks of the shop and grabbed a bag once the last color coat of that 1/8th portion was applied. All of the YouTube vids about applying paint chips in a uniform manner are correct: The trick is to throw the chips up in the air and let them rain down like confetti. I still managed to mess that up in a few spots.
Clear:
1st coat - Hellfire Clear - plain
2nd coat - Hellfire Clear with anti-skid added - Final Product
The first coat of Hellfire Clear went on great. The second coat, however......it was really hard to tell where I had applied product already. I'm glad I had enough product for 2 coats because I know there's at least 1 coat of clear on every square inch of the slab; however I can't say the same for 2 coats ultimately.
Final thoughts:
The final product appears SUPER durable and looks pretty good, which is what I was going after. It's extremely hard and scratch resistant. I've rolled floor jacks and shelving units across it and there's no noticeable issues. So, I'm happy with the product so far; time will tell on the durability, but I have no complaints with the product now. It also really helps to have a rep on here that is ready to answer questions as needed, as well. Thanks, Scott.
Now to fill the shop.