My Rustoleum Epoxyshield Pro project starts...

[gotta56forme]

After unloading my garage this past week (not all that hard since I hadn't really moved into it yet), I vacuumed it well yesterday, and today I washed the floor with Simple Green. Tomorrow, I will do the muriatic acid etch then wait a 4-5 days before rolling out two coats of the Dune Beige colored epoxy. Here is a photo of my washed floor.

I have an attached garden shed/compressor room which can't be seen, which gives me a total of 930+ sqft to do. I'm thinking of flaking/chipping the garden shed, but the garage floor will not be.

Couple of things extra I did to prep:

* My shop vac motor detaches to make it a (leaf) blower. I used it blow out the trusses, top plates, etc before vacuuming out the garage. Wanted to get any dust, wood chips, spider webs, dead bugs, etc down, so they didn't come down on my wet epoxy.

* I used a cold chisel to run around the perimeter and clean up the joint between the floor and stem wall. Some concrete 'boogers' were along this edge, and I pictured them breaking loose when I am rolling out the epoxy.

* I borrowed a trick I read about here, but instead of moving my garage door bottoming sensor, I used a clothes pin on it to get it to stop about a 1/2" from the floor.

* Because of the garage's positioning on the alley, it acts like a natural 'vacuum' when the big door is up and the prevailing wind blows. I washed away the dirt on and around the door to keep it from sucking into the garage while I do this floor project. I will do maintenance washing before the epoxy days, and will probably even wet the concrete in front of the doors to help prevent the dirt from sucking in onto the wet epoxy.


Stay tuned...

 

[SimpleManLance]

sounds like you got it well thought out. have you thought about leaving your garage door about a foot up and taking painters plastic and taping it to the bottom of the door then to the concrete in front of the garage to completely seal off the garage from the outside. then using the side door to mix and go in and out when putting down the floor. just an idean

 

[gotta56forme]

I have now put down two coats of the Dune Beige Rustoleum Epoxyshield Professional. My temps were in the 60's for two days which meant I had to 'cook' the mixed epoxy (per the instructions) for the 60 minutes (not the 30 minutes for temps over 70 degree). This also gave me lot's of time to work with it. I had about 950 sqft to apply (includes 4" of stemwalls). I was slathering it on pretty thickly. I used 2&1/2 kits (5 gallons) for the first coat. I almost could have gotten away with one coat if it were not for the one thin spot I had; and the numerous pinholes that didn't fill in. I did the 2nd coat 24 hours later, and again mixed up 2&1/2 kits. The floor didn't seem to want/need as much epoxy for the second coat; I had a 1/2 gallon left over). Again, I was laying it on pretty thick, this time taking my time to fill the pinholes the best I could that didn't get filled on the first coat. Shortly after starting the second coat, I figured out the trick to fill the pin holes, instead of 'rolling' the roller back & forth, I would wipe from side to side once or twice. This would usually fill the pinholes. If not, I would 'wipe' with the roller again until it did. The other thing I figured was an asset was buying and using the 18" roller that has been recommended here. It may be more of an up front expenditure, but application goes on alot faster. This gives you time to work with the minor issues that may come up, especially if you are applying in higher temps than what I did. (Heck, I will use the 18" roller to paint the garage when the sheetrocking is done) My neighbor gave me a tip just before applying the second coat that almost eliminated the roller marks (when I remembered to do it). Start the paint/epoxy coated roller about 6" to the side of the wet paint/epoxy. Roll it forward or back applying pressure to the roller edge closest to the wet paint (with the opposite roller edge off the floor 3-4"). Roll out the paint working your way into the wet paint, but apply pressure to the roller edge farthest away from the wet edge. Also work at a reasonable pace with the roller. If you try to roll it out too fast it will sling paint/epoxy that will leave noticeable 'drops/drips' in the coat. I had this in the first coat but was mindful of them for the second coat and masked the first ones well, while avoiding creating any new ones.

Like I said, my first coat was pretty thick. It did have some uneven shine; some roller marks; some sling drops; and the one thin spot where I could see the cement. The second coat was put on as thick as I could and I had about 1/2 gallon of epoxy left over. The shine is much more even; and it is hard to see imperfections since I improved my roller technique. About the only thing that stands out (sort of) is the four chips (dime sized or thereabouts) that I chose not to fill before applying the epoxy. I couldn't justify the $25 kit for those small chips.

It's raining today, so I will snap a photo as soon as the rain lets up...

Scott/Gotta56forme

 

[gotta56forme]

Well, as promised here are some photos. Rain never let up and enough time elapsed that I felt comfortable walking on it. Glad I put the anti-slip in the second coat. My shoes were wet and I didn't feel unstable at all on the floor.

Despite my tip on filling the pinholes, I still have more than I would like. Did many of you DIY'ers end up with the little pinholes? Is that sort of unavoidable?

The color is 'Dune Beige' but has a coral (pinkish) tone to it. I think it may be from all the reflected yellow and orange colors from the studs and plywood. I'm hoping the color will look more tan after I get the sheetrock up and painted white.

 

[Winmon]

Scott, that looks GREAT!! Bet your glad it is done! You are going to love it....

 

[RodneyPierce]

dude. I love it! Looks great man!!! Ive got to do something like this to my garage also!

 

[gotta56forme]

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I'm really glad it's done now before winter.

Last night, I was removing the duct tape on the floor at the garage door I had used make a crisp line at the apron. Two women walking their dogs down the alley made the remark, "Wow, you put an ice skating rink in there!"

Scott/Gotta56forme