Hi All,
I'd debated over my floor coating for the last year since the slab was poured. Epoxy was my original thought, but as time and budget are tight, I decided on a densifier and sealer. Also, I do like the look of epoxy floors, but frankly, it is not real high on my priority list- I'd rather buy a TIG welder or more tools with the money saved. I know the acrylic sealer won't last too long, but at least I can use the garage for a while and re-evaluate whether I want to invest in something better. I will have a total of $300 into products to do my ~950 square foot shop. Also, I was able to do this without having to grind/etch, which was a big deal since I have nowhere to put all my cabinets, lathe, tools, etc. I didn't find a great deal of info on the forums regarding densifiers and sealers, so here is my writeup:
Products: Legacy HD36 Densifier, and HD6415 Gloss Sealer. Customer service was good, and Scotty answered my questions quickly via PM. It was a bit hard to get somebody on the phone as I always got the voicemail, but I also understand that's part of keeping overhead low. To be fair, I didn't leave messages because I'm in and out of meetings and labs all day and in all likelyhood we'd be playing phone tag if somebody called back during the day. No big deal though- I would buy from them again any day.
Why the densifier and later the sealer? I like the idea of a densifier being a more or less "permanent" thing that penetrates into the concrete. If my sealer application was bad, and it all peeled off or wore away quickly, at least I'd still have densified concrete under it. Also, the HD36 is cheap. So if it's overkill, it isn't grossly expensive overkill.
Densifier application: I prepped by pressure washing everything, and also used a diluted CLR solution to get rid of some rust stains (more on this later, I think it was a mistake...) For applying the HD36, I started with a garden sprayer. A really cheap one. Found it hard to control the rate of application and got some pooling. I think the cheap sprayers don't atomize real well, and put out a round stream vs. fan pattern, so I abandoned that method quickly. Ended up rolling it on with a 3/8" nap roller.
The product has the consistency of water. With a proper sprayer (an $80 one vs. the $15 home store model), I'm sure it would have been easier. After a couple days time, I didn't notice any difference in the appearance, and it's not like water beaded up or anything, so not really sure if it is working or not. I do know that the densifier was there and I assume it worked properly due to the lack of dust, etc compared to before. I used 1.5 gallons on 700 square feet.
Gloss Sealer: I waited about a week after densifier before applying sealer. For prep, I just used the leaf blower to get all the dust/dirt out of the garage (I had left the doors closed the whole time so it didn't get too dirty in there). I went straight to the 1/4" nap roller for application, and that worked well. The consistency of the sealer is thicker than water, but not quite as thick as a latex paint. Somewhere in between.
Application was straightforward, but when the label says that it will accentuate flaws in concrete, they aren't kidding. I knew this would be the case, but every little surface spiderweb or place where porosity of the concrete was different turned up darker. This did lighten up once it cured, but as I was putting it on had me a little concerned.
On the spots I cleaned the rust off: As the CLR is probably an etching solution, those spots turned out WAY darker than the rest of the floor. I couldn't see this before applying the sealer, but I would have been better off leaving the rust stains and just seeing those vs. the huge dark spots where I scrubbed with a wire brush. Oh well, I'm not so much about looks as just protecting the floor. But anywhere that something had sat (i.e. the marks from a pallet I had my compressor on) and changed the surface of the concrete, it was very noticeable once sealed.
Took about 1.5 gal of sealer to do 700 ft^2 of floor, and I really like the sheen. I could use another coat I'm sure to bring the gloss up, but I really am satisfied as-is. Took about 3 hours before I walked on it in 70 degree temps. It was actually easier to use/apply than I had imagined, taking about 1 hour to cut in edges and roll the 700 square feet. I still have another 250 square feet to do once I move all my tools/cabinets off it.
All in all, I have about $300 into it, and took me maybe 3.5 hours to do total for the densifier and sealer (including pressure washing, vacuuming, blowing out debris, etc.). I was in a bit of a rush as temps are starting to drop and I really want to park in here this winter, but have many other priorities to get taken care of before the snow flies. This was just the ticket, and we'll see how it holds up in a year or so.
OK- if you're still with me, here are some pictures...
I'd debated over my floor coating for the last year since the slab was poured. Epoxy was my original thought, but as time and budget are tight, I decided on a densifier and sealer. Also, I do like the look of epoxy floors, but frankly, it is not real high on my priority list- I'd rather buy a TIG welder or more tools with the money saved. I know the acrylic sealer won't last too long, but at least I can use the garage for a while and re-evaluate whether I want to invest in something better. I will have a total of $300 into products to do my ~950 square foot shop. Also, I was able to do this without having to grind/etch, which was a big deal since I have nowhere to put all my cabinets, lathe, tools, etc. I didn't find a great deal of info on the forums regarding densifiers and sealers, so here is my writeup:
Products: Legacy HD36 Densifier, and HD6415 Gloss Sealer. Customer service was good, and Scotty answered my questions quickly via PM. It was a bit hard to get somebody on the phone as I always got the voicemail, but I also understand that's part of keeping overhead low. To be fair, I didn't leave messages because I'm in and out of meetings and labs all day and in all likelyhood we'd be playing phone tag if somebody called back during the day. No big deal though- I would buy from them again any day.
Why the densifier and later the sealer? I like the idea of a densifier being a more or less "permanent" thing that penetrates into the concrete. If my sealer application was bad, and it all peeled off or wore away quickly, at least I'd still have densified concrete under it. Also, the HD36 is cheap. So if it's overkill, it isn't grossly expensive overkill.
Densifier application: I prepped by pressure washing everything, and also used a diluted CLR solution to get rid of some rust stains (more on this later, I think it was a mistake...) For applying the HD36, I started with a garden sprayer. A really cheap one. Found it hard to control the rate of application and got some pooling. I think the cheap sprayers don't atomize real well, and put out a round stream vs. fan pattern, so I abandoned that method quickly. Ended up rolling it on with a 3/8" nap roller.
The product has the consistency of water. With a proper sprayer (an $80 one vs. the $15 home store model), I'm sure it would have been easier. After a couple days time, I didn't notice any difference in the appearance, and it's not like water beaded up or anything, so not really sure if it is working or not. I do know that the densifier was there and I assume it worked properly due to the lack of dust, etc compared to before. I used 1.5 gallons on 700 square feet.
Gloss Sealer: I waited about a week after densifier before applying sealer. For prep, I just used the leaf blower to get all the dust/dirt out of the garage (I had left the doors closed the whole time so it didn't get too dirty in there). I went straight to the 1/4" nap roller for application, and that worked well. The consistency of the sealer is thicker than water, but not quite as thick as a latex paint. Somewhere in between.
Application was straightforward, but when the label says that it will accentuate flaws in concrete, they aren't kidding. I knew this would be the case, but every little surface spiderweb or place where porosity of the concrete was different turned up darker. This did lighten up once it cured, but as I was putting it on had me a little concerned.
On the spots I cleaned the rust off: As the CLR is probably an etching solution, those spots turned out WAY darker than the rest of the floor. I couldn't see this before applying the sealer, but I would have been better off leaving the rust stains and just seeing those vs. the huge dark spots where I scrubbed with a wire brush. Oh well, I'm not so much about looks as just protecting the floor. But anywhere that something had sat (i.e. the marks from a pallet I had my compressor on) and changed the surface of the concrete, it was very noticeable once sealed.
Took about 1.5 gal of sealer to do 700 ft^2 of floor, and I really like the sheen. I could use another coat I'm sure to bring the gloss up, but I really am satisfied as-is. Took about 3 hours before I walked on it in 70 degree temps. It was actually easier to use/apply than I had imagined, taking about 1 hour to cut in edges and roll the 700 square feet. I still have another 250 square feet to do once I move all my tools/cabinets off it.
All in all, I have about $300 into it, and took me maybe 3.5 hours to do total for the densifier and sealer (including pressure washing, vacuuming, blowing out debris, etc.). I was in a bit of a rush as temps are starting to drop and I really want to park in here this winter, but have many other priorities to get taken care of before the snow flies. This was just the ticket, and we'll see how it holds up in a year or so.
OK- if you're still with me, here are some pictures...
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