elmariachi
Active member
This is a continuation of this thread.
I just finished laying the epoxy in the 2-bay side of the garage. I used Devoe's Pre-prime 167, Devran 224HS epoxy, desert sand flakes from Original Color Chip, followed up by Devran 379UVA clearcoat. Because I have so much junk, I did the 2-car bay first and then once I move all my junk over I can then do the 3rd bay. Now that I have the process down I should be able to do the 3rd back in 2 or 3 days.
Prep was a PITA, I truly obsessed with it for over a month and wound up having to hand grind the floor. I also etched it just to be sure and pressure-washed 3 times. I have no doubts I had good porosity and opportunity for a solid bond.
I am very happy with the results. For someone who has never done this, I think it turned out wonderful. The exterior of our home is tan stucco and I wanted an interior that was neutral enough that should I ever sell the house, a prospective buyer wouldn't pass because of the garage. But I also wanted something bright and enjoyable to work in. So I used a light khaki on the cabinets, an eggshell white on the walls and ceiling, and I chose the color "Pillar" from the ICI Paints/Devoe color deck as by base coat. The desert sand flakes give it a nice contrast with my dark cabinet tops and will hide dirt very well. Some notes from the job:
1. The Devoe product sheets are very accurate with regard to product application/prep/pot life/usage etc. and their 1-800 tech support are very helpful and knowledgeable. The stuff is more than the Home Depot stuff but not near as pricey as the $3500 a local contractor wanted. With a jobber discount I will have about $500 in the entire 3-bay floor job when I am done with bay #3.
2. On the advice of the tech support guy at ICI, I used the 167 pre-prime on the 2-bay versus thinning the 224HS for a first coat. Because the 224 is so thick, if I were doing it again I would skip the pre-prime and go with the thin first coat as a primer. I can see some small imperfections that would have likely been covered by a thin first coat. The pre-prime was like water and just soaked in, offering zero build value.
3. I was forced to apply the 224 with a 1/2" nap roller and at 65 degrees, it left a bit more texture than I expected, but I am very happy with it. It gives it a bit of tread and with the flakes and clearcoat down, its a perfect garage floor. Not too smooth, not too rough. But beware, this stuff is sticky and will cause a long-hair roller to shed. We caught it early enough to use another roller that was prepped with Xylol and spun to remove the loose fibers. One coat of epoxy was more than enough and the coverage estimates from Devoe were spot on.
4. With my home-made spiked shoes on, I used a hand-held lawn fertilizer spreader to broadcast the flakes and it worked great. Beware not to tip it forward and let all the flakes fall out in a clump. I used the 1/4" flakes but wish I had taken the time to sift them first. I guess during shipping a lot of them were pulverized into smaller flakes. So I was expecting nothing but 1/4" flakes but I got everything from small particles to 1/4". Again, its not a bad thing, it helped give it a richer full coverage look. The desert sand mix contains quite a bit of black, so will probably be forever trying to discern between a flake and a speck of grease/oil/dirt.
5. After letting it dry for 2 days, I twice used a very stiff bristle brush from home depot to scrape off the excess flakes, vacuuming after both times. Then, I put the three kids on the floor with razor blades and had them "shave" off anything sticking up.
6. I rolled on a first coat of 379 with a 9" wide 1/4" nap roller and let it dry. Beware, the 379 has a powerful odor, so ventilation is a must. After letting it dry a full day the kids hit it again with the razor blades, just to make sure none of the flakes were protruding upward too much. I then blew it off with the blower and rolled on a second coat of 379. Now that the second coat is dry, I can barely feel the slight texture of the flakes with my bare feet, but the floor is basically very smooth and completely sealed. A few more days to dry and I'll be ready to move everything back in the garage.
I am planning on ordering and installing a black 4" industrial vinyl baseboard over the winter. The Shelby Cobra kit is on the way so I might let Sweetie do the baseboards instead. All in all, I am 100% pleased with the outcome and highly recommend the Devoe products.
I just finished laying the epoxy in the 2-bay side of the garage. I used Devoe's Pre-prime 167, Devran 224HS epoxy, desert sand flakes from Original Color Chip, followed up by Devran 379UVA clearcoat. Because I have so much junk, I did the 2-car bay first and then once I move all my junk over I can then do the 3rd bay. Now that I have the process down I should be able to do the 3rd back in 2 or 3 days.
Prep was a PITA, I truly obsessed with it for over a month and wound up having to hand grind the floor. I also etched it just to be sure and pressure-washed 3 times. I have no doubts I had good porosity and opportunity for a solid bond.
I am very happy with the results. For someone who has never done this, I think it turned out wonderful. The exterior of our home is tan stucco and I wanted an interior that was neutral enough that should I ever sell the house, a prospective buyer wouldn't pass because of the garage. But I also wanted something bright and enjoyable to work in. So I used a light khaki on the cabinets, an eggshell white on the walls and ceiling, and I chose the color "Pillar" from the ICI Paints/Devoe color deck as by base coat. The desert sand flakes give it a nice contrast with my dark cabinet tops and will hide dirt very well. Some notes from the job:
1. The Devoe product sheets are very accurate with regard to product application/prep/pot life/usage etc. and their 1-800 tech support are very helpful and knowledgeable. The stuff is more than the Home Depot stuff but not near as pricey as the $3500 a local contractor wanted. With a jobber discount I will have about $500 in the entire 3-bay floor job when I am done with bay #3.
2. On the advice of the tech support guy at ICI, I used the 167 pre-prime on the 2-bay versus thinning the 224HS for a first coat. Because the 224 is so thick, if I were doing it again I would skip the pre-prime and go with the thin first coat as a primer. I can see some small imperfections that would have likely been covered by a thin first coat. The pre-prime was like water and just soaked in, offering zero build value.
3. I was forced to apply the 224 with a 1/2" nap roller and at 65 degrees, it left a bit more texture than I expected, but I am very happy with it. It gives it a bit of tread and with the flakes and clearcoat down, its a perfect garage floor. Not too smooth, not too rough. But beware, this stuff is sticky and will cause a long-hair roller to shed. We caught it early enough to use another roller that was prepped with Xylol and spun to remove the loose fibers. One coat of epoxy was more than enough and the coverage estimates from Devoe were spot on.
4. With my home-made spiked shoes on, I used a hand-held lawn fertilizer spreader to broadcast the flakes and it worked great. Beware not to tip it forward and let all the flakes fall out in a clump. I used the 1/4" flakes but wish I had taken the time to sift them first. I guess during shipping a lot of them were pulverized into smaller flakes. So I was expecting nothing but 1/4" flakes but I got everything from small particles to 1/4". Again, its not a bad thing, it helped give it a richer full coverage look. The desert sand mix contains quite a bit of black, so will probably be forever trying to discern between a flake and a speck of grease/oil/dirt.
5. After letting it dry for 2 days, I twice used a very stiff bristle brush from home depot to scrape off the excess flakes, vacuuming after both times. Then, I put the three kids on the floor with razor blades and had them "shave" off anything sticking up.
6. I rolled on a first coat of 379 with a 9" wide 1/4" nap roller and let it dry. Beware, the 379 has a powerful odor, so ventilation is a must. After letting it dry a full day the kids hit it again with the razor blades, just to make sure none of the flakes were protruding upward too much. I then blew it off with the blower and rolled on a second coat of 379. Now that the second coat is dry, I can barely feel the slight texture of the flakes with my bare feet, but the floor is basically very smooth and completely sealed. A few more days to dry and I'll be ready to move everything back in the garage.
I am planning on ordering and installing a black 4" industrial vinyl baseboard over the winter. The Shelby Cobra kit is on the way so I might let Sweetie do the baseboards instead. All in all, I am 100% pleased with the outcome and highly recommend the Devoe products.
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