Legacy Industrial HD Epoxy Floor

[bigmack]

Found the forum and Legacy while searching for garage flooring options as I'm sure many others have.

I'm getting ready to put down Legacy's HD epoxy in my 450 sq ft garage with their urethane top coat. Yay! I just finished grinding the existing layers of paint off down to bare concrete.

I had a couple questions -- I could email them directly, but perhaps others may benefit from the answers too. I'm in Florida - hot, humid and rain pretty much everyday in Summer.

1. The ground surface is now fairly smooth. The 7" diamond cup seems to make it smooth where the 4.5" leaves a lot of swirls behind. I'm planning to acid etch anyway just to be safe. Any issues with this?

2. Is there a time window for putting down the epoxy over the standard primer or can it be done a few days after?

3. If it rains within 12 or so hours or so after putting any of the coatings down -- primer, epoxy, top coat -- will that cause any issues? It's inside, of course, but many other systems seem to say it's not good if it rains during or soon after installation regardless.

4. With heat and humidity in mind, will I be good laying down the first 1.5 gallons and then going back on it with spiked shoes to lay down the flake, or should I do it sooner while I roll? Or in other words, about how much time do I have before it sets up so flake won't stick?

5. There's a 2 inch step down where the garage floor meets the driveway, which is inside when the door is closed. Should I take the epoxy over the edge and cover the face or end at the edge? More a concern of wear as tires roll over the edge than looks.

Thanks for any input. Can't wait to get this done!

 

[bigjon]

I’d wait for Scotty to answer the product specific questions but for 1 & 5 I’ll give you my opinion. Don’t acid etch as you’ll introduce water to the slab and have to wait for it to dry and it will require neutralising. I would coat the lip. If their epoxy doesn’t hold up to that I’d be disappointed. I did mine (primer, high solids epoxy, flakes and 2 X clear poly) and it’s exterior and holding up fine.

 

[bigmack]

Thanks for the reply. I was going to powerwash anyway. Didn’t think drying out would be an issue. Might have to rethink that one. Thumbs up on going over the edge!

 

[Shea]

It's not uncommon to confuse the proper profile with how smooth it may feel after grinding. If it will absorb a couple tablespoons of water real quick then you are good to go. Test more than one area. Don't power wash it either. Just take the shop vac to it real good. The previous post about introducing water was spot on. A few tablespoons here and there for the water test will not amount to anything.

Once you put the primer down, you will have 10 - 24 hours, weather dependent, to get base coat applied or you will have to degloss the surface with sandpaper. I would not start the application process if you are expecting rain within 24 hours of the last coat. Legacy's instructions are explicit on temperature and humidity during installation. You can find their instructions below.

http://www.legacyindustrial.net/pdf/HD-SDGARAGEKITINSTRUCTIONS.pdf

 

[bigmack]

I’ll never get this done waiting for 24 hours without rain! OK, 2nd on no washing/etching. Very good to know, thank you! I will try the water test. Primer window also very good to know.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

I’ll never get this done waiting for 24 hours without rain!

You may need to wait until the non-rainy season. Seriously.

The humidity can affect the chemical reaction of the epoxy resin & hardener such that it does not cure correctly, in which case you have an ugly mess. Read those instructions carefully & follow them carefully.

 

[bigmack]

Should give me plenty of time to vacuum up! lol

 

[Jcau25]

Mack - sounds like you've put a lot of work into your floor. The last thing you want to do is put down epoxy. It's not going to last, and there is an additional fee to remove old coatings before a professional coating company will coat your floor. You want a Polyurea floor. I know a great company in Florida you can contact if you're interested.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Mack - sounds like you've put a lot of work into your floor. The last thing you want to do is put down epoxy. It's not going to last, and there is an additional fee to remove old coatings before a professional coating company will coat your floor. You want a Polyurea floor. I know a great company in Florida you can contact if you're interested.

Epoxy is a terrific coating. If you have had failures, look to your preparation.
An epoxy coating can also be combined with polyurea for a hybrid system if desired.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Found the forum and Legacy while searching for garage flooring options as I'm sure many others have.

I'm getting ready to put down Legacy's HD epoxy in my 450 sq ft garage with their urethane top coat. Yay! I just finished grinding the existing layers of paint off down to bare concrete.

I had a couple questions -- I could email them directly, but perhaps others may benefit from the answers too. I'm in Florida - hot, humid and rain pretty much everyday in Summer.

1. The ground surface is now fairly smooth. The 7" diamond cup seems to make it smooth where the 4.5" leaves a lot of swirls behind. I'm planning to acid etch anyway just to be safe. Any issues with this?

2. Is there a time window for putting down the epoxy over the standard primer or can it be done a few days after?

3. If it rains within 12 or so hours or so after putting any of the coatings down -- primer, epoxy, top coat -- will that cause any issues? It's inside, of course, but many other systems seem to say it's not good if it rains during or soon after installation regardless.

4. With heat and humidity in mind, will I be good laying down the first 1.5 gallons and then going back on it with spiked shoes to lay down the flake, or should I do it sooner while I roll? Or in other words, about how much time do I have before it sets up so flake won't stick?

5. There's a 2 inch step down where the garage floor meets the driveway, which is inside when the door is closed. Should I take the epoxy over the edge and cover the face or end at the edge? More a concern of wear as tires roll over the edge than looks.

Thanks for any input. Can't wait to get this done!

I think we spoke regarding your questions...
If need more info , email [email protected]

Thanks and good luck!!

 

[Jcau25]

Epoxy is a terrific coating. If you have had failures, look to your preparation.
An epoxy coating can also be combined with polyurea for a hybrid system if desired.

How long do epoxy coatings last?
Are they UV resistant?
What chemicals harm epoxy coatings?
How well do they handle hot tires?

Why would I want to mix products? Why I just use the superior Polyurea in the first place?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

They can last 20-30 years, traffic and application dependent. Even then they can often be topcoated and given new life.

They are very chemical resistant.

Epoxy has a better relationship with concrete. It typically dries slower allowing the resin to penetrate further.

Epoxy is generally low smell, so great for applications where this is an issue.

Epoxy offers much greater build in one application. You can apply 100% solids epoxy in one 30 mil pour.

Try that with any solvent based or water based resin, love to see the cracks, crevices and bubbles you will have created.


In Orlando, our install company installs all floors with an epoxy primer and base coat. We clear with urethane, Polyurea or Polyaspartic for varying reasons.

Hot tire: see poor prep.
Uv: topcoat with pigmented urethane or Polyurea, problem solved. Only an issue if you leave your garage door open.



Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[bigmack]

Finally had 3 days without rain and put down the epoxy yesterday. All of Legacy's products worked great.

I am, however, super unhappy with my flaking job. So much so I'm considering re-doing the entire thing. $$$$ It's very heavy in spots and clumped up where there is a vertical face step-down.

Is there any way to fix this issue without having to grind again to bare concrete?

Could I use a diamabrush or something less aggressive to remove the flake and put down another coat of epoxy?

Ugh!

 

[Shea]

The key for applying color flakes when not doing them to full refusal is to toss them very high, almost as if you are bouncing them off the ceiling. This allows the flakes to separate as they fly up and then they float down and disperse in a fairly even manner. When dealing with vertical surfaces, it's best to mix a small batch for the vertical surface first. Apply the epoxy and then toss the flakes at the surface from a distance. Sweep up the loose flakes on the floor and then continue with your epoxy application.

If you want to correct some areas where you don't like the flake dispersion, sometimes you can apply a new coat of clear, toss new flakes to your liking, and then lock them in with another coat of clear. This tends to only work well if you were doing a light to medium flake application to begin with.