My newly finished epoxy floor

[noyu]

First of all I have to thank you guys for all the help and advice I got from here otherwise I wouldn't able to do it myself.

I just finish my floor yesterday and I spend almost two weeks (working on and off waiting for the floor to be dry after etching and neutralizing, patch all cracks, grinding etc) here what it looks like now

I will wait a few more days before I start moving things back into it as well as our cars and hopefully will able to finish the walls and ceiling (patch up drywalls / paint etc).

Also, what color will go well with the floor finishing?I was thinking of light to medium grey with the red strip half way up the walls like many of you guys did but any suggestions?

Thanks again!

Cheers

 

[mhoffm911]

Looks good. What brand of epoxy did you use?

You could go with a tan color as well to match the flakes. Did you use extra flakes or just what came with the kit?

It looks like you have a broom finish on the floor?

 

[noyu]

Thanks for your compliements!

I use Devoe Coatings made by ICI, they are for industrial use and I just happen to find a place locally has some from unpaid storage / overstock etc and I got them really cheap.

I use the Devoe waterborne 4030 as primer and I use their Bar-rust 235 coating.

I have to purchase the color chips from another place which cost me $30 CAD for jar (3/4 pound) and I ended up using two jars, its so damn hard to find all these stuff up here in Canada and even HomeDepot don't carry it.

I did put a coat of clear top coat (Devoe coating also I think the product # is 379).

The marks in the floor you see is the trowel marks left from the power trowel the builder use, it wasn't look too bad before I put the coatings on but seems the gloss magnifies it so if I know this is going to be happen I would have rent an edgo grinder and grind it smooth first.

I ended up etch the floor 4 times to get the profile I like the entire floor was more or less like 100 to 120 grits sand paper, I just want to make sure there wouldn't be any future problem because I live in Toronto and we have pretty nasty winters with all the snow, ice and road salt so I rather safe than sorry.

 

[TrixR4Kids]

Looking good, nice use of chips..

 

[noyu]

Looking good, nice use of chips..

Thanks!

I have to give credits to my wife because she insist adding color chips and she sprinkles those on while I roll a section of a time because I didn't invest on a pair of spikes shoes (which I should) and its so damn hard to see when I apply the top coat.

I did missed a few spots but nothing big I check it while the surface is dry (dry to touch) and mix up the little left over that I save to coat those spots.

This is my first epoxy work and I learn a lot from you guys here and did gain some experience by doing it myself!

Kudo to the Garage Journal Board!

 

[GunMoto]

I just finish my floor yesterday and I spend almost two weeks (working on and off waiting for the floor to be dry after etching and neutralizing, patch all cracks, grinding etc)

Your floor looks great!! Kudos to putting in the required time to prepare the floor!!

I like your idea: gray about a third up the wall, with a red stripe across the top. Light gray to exactly match your floor color would look nice...but I would go with a darker gray to create some contrast from your floor. The ceiling and upper portion of your walls in white, so you can hang garage artwork if you like.

EDIT: Here's how dark gray with a red stripe looks (and yes, I'm still deciding what go with for my flooring, hehe):

 

[noyu]

Your floor looks great!! Kudos to putting in the required time to prepare the floor!!

I like your idea: gray about a third up the wall, with a red stripe across the top. Light gray to exactly match your floor color would look nice...but I would go with a darker gray to create some contrast from your floor. The ceiling and upper portion of your walls in white, so you can hang garage artwork if you like.

EDIT: Here's how dark gray with a red stripe looks (and yes, I'm still deciding what go with for my flooring, hehe):

Thanks gunmoto for your kind words!

Yeah, I have to admit that if its not you guys I might not work as hard because after seeing all the nice garage pics here and that's what motivate me to do a good job plus with the help from all the members here things getting less complicated!

I like both your idea and mhoffm911's suggestion, I think the grey upto half wall with the red stripe looks hot and sporty but the beige or tan is more subtle..................it is a tough decision!

At one time I was thinking of using venetian plaster that way I don't have to prep the drywalls as smooth as I will be painting but then I figure doing the entire three walls in the garage is a little too flashy.

By the way, what color is your floor?Any pics to show us?

 

[GunMoto]

Tell me about it! Every time I click another member's garage thread I'm motivated to get my garage in tip-top shape.

In contrast, while you're debating on color choice for your walls, I've been debating on flooring. My garage floor is still unfinished But as I'm typing this, I'm practically decided on epoxy! You did a great job on your floor, so I'm hoping I can do the same proper preparation.

I plan on going with a gray epoxy with no flakes. I keep foreseeing myself having a difficult time trying to find dropped screws, nuts and bolts among the appearance of the flakes. What are your thoughts (now that you see your own floor with the flakes)?

 

[noyu]

Well, my original plan was just use grey epoxy coating but my wife insist add some chips that's how I got into that.

Put it this way if this is more for a work shop type plain old grey is more practical (and less work involved because you need a helper to sprinkle on the chips (my wife did that) while you roll a section at a time (unless you invest on a pair of spike shoes so you can coat the entire floor and walk back on it and add the chips).

Also, you need to scrap off any excessive chips or lose chips because you don't want your top coat paint over any chips just sitting on the surface not stick well enough to the epoxy.

But if this mainly for storage or parking of your toys I will definitely go with the chips because with the epoxy itself its kind of semi-gloss finish but with the high gloss top coat and color chips its not just a floor anymore you can put furniture on it (LOL).

One thing I did learn from this is if you want high gloss finish definitely rent an edgo floor grinder and smooth out any groves or trowel marks first because even those that wasn't show that bad trowel marks seems like train tracks now after the high gloss top coat and it appears it magnifies them.

I remember reading a thread another member mentioned applying the clear top coat is a pain in the @$$ because its so damn hard to see where did you start and your end line is and I did missed a few spots after I check it several hours later (when its dry to touch but not cured) so I was luck to have small amount of top coat left over and mix those up quickly and roll on those missed spots.

These problems can be avoided if I have a pair of spike shoes so that I can still able to walk on it and check while its still wet.

If you ask me if I am going to do this again (next house) I will use color chips as well because its looks much better with chips than without it (I know how it looks while waiting the first epoxy coating to dry), even grey epoxy is great when compare to our original bare concrete floor but with the chips its just awesome but this is just me.

Cheers

 

[Charley varrick]

You can use old golf shoes to walk on the floor as you coat it . You could probably find some at a garage sale for next to nothing .

 

[GunMoto]

Well, my original plan was just use grey epoxy coating but my wife insist add some chips that's how I got into that.

Haha...I haven't even started prepping the concrete and my wife too, already says to me, "I think you should use the chips/flakes."

 

[noyu]

Haha...I haven't even started prepping the concrete and my wife too, already says to me, "I think you should use the chips/flakes."

Well, I did mainly because of her but when its done it looks nice and I like it so you might want to consider that too!

Like I said in my previous post if I ever have to do it again I wll add color chips too but its just me!

Let's get to work and show us some pics of your progress!

 

[T1704]

Looks great! I'd like a nice floor, but I can't justify the cost AND I'd be sick if I chipped or damaged it.

Great job!