New Armorclad intall

[sonicsilverlx]

I received my Armorclad kit today and I am pretty excited to get started.

I immediately started the prep on the floor. The house is new so the concrete does not have any stains. However when I was pressure washing I noticed a few small chips and a hairline crack (see attached pics). I was wondering if I need to worry or if the product with cover it without a issue. If I should worry what would be a good product that I could find locally..

I was also wondering what everyone used to pressure wash with, should you use a cleaner, any suggestions?

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
We carry a Crack Repair Epoxy Putty to fill these cracks and such. We haven't tested commercially available products with our coatings, so if you get something locally make sure it works with epoxy or oil based paints.

 

[ford fanatic]

I gota ask...how pricey are those Overhead doors? They're nice.

 

[sonicsilverlx]

I gota ask...how pricey are those Overhead doors? They're nice.

Thanks! they didn't break the bank to bad: $1300 for the large one and $900 for the small one. They are Janus model 3100. The jack shaft openers and the doors are super quiet, I was really surprised. It took my wife a second to get used to the look of them, but they have been good conversation starter with my new neighbors. With the raised ceiling they are going to give me all the clearance I need for a lift. I am very happy with the decision to go with them.

 

[sonicsilverlx]

Floor turned out great, very happy with this product.

Here is a picture during the etching process, the concrete on the right has been etched.

picture of the finished product:

Close up picture:

 

[dodgepolara500]

nice job! It appears to be beige/taupe?
Was it hard to mix the A B together and get a decent amount of time to work the material? I understand you can get only around 20 mins or so?

 

[Armorpoxy]

Here are some comments on working times.

1. Primers and topcoats have super long working times and have never been an issue.

2.Only the 100% solids epoxy can be a minor problem. We always advise mixing up less, than more since (this is important) you can mix as MUCH as you want at a time as long as you hold the 2:1 mix ratio and mix well. The epoxy does not know much much is being mixed, just that it IS being mixed correctly.

For small areas, cutting in, etc you can actually take 2 Dixie cups of A and 1 Dixie cup of B and combine and mix, or use soup cans or whatever. Remember, you can always mix more but not less.

Keeping the product in the bucket shortens the working time since an exothermic reaction starts when mixed. The more there is to get hot, the faster it heats up. We don't recommend mixing up 3 gals at a time as the product in the bucket can get hot and 'fire off' quickly. At the maximum, don't mix up more than 1.5 gals (1 gal A, 1/2 gal B) at a time unless you have lots of helpers and can pour out the product and spread it around fast. The floor is cooler than the air so getting it on the floor slows down the process of curing.

Keep the epoxy cool, not in the sun, but in the shade. Keep it inside in the a/c or basement at night before you use it, that way it starts out cooler.

Things like common sense precautions will allow plenty of working time without issues. The only times we hear of problems usually is when 3 gals is mixed at the same time, it's left in the sun, and things like that.

Also, always remember to move your mixer around in the bucket to sides, bottom, edges, etc so that the product gets fully mixed. If you just stick the mixer in the middle, most likely you will have un-mixed material getting onto the floor which will never harden and is a mess to remove and fix.

Our instructions go into great detail on how to mix to avoid any problems and as long as you read and follow them you will be just fine!

 

[sonicsilverlx]

nice job! It appears to be beige/taupe?
Was it hard to mix the A B together and get a decent amount of time to work the material? I understand you can get only around 20 mins or so?

Thanks, it is their desert tan, with a custom flake mix. I used their primer as well as the mil-spec upgraded top coat.

The mixing was very easy and the supplied mixer that came with the kit for a drill worked great. I followed their directions on keeping the items inside in a cool environment before using them. I did notice that the primer seemed to have a shorter work life compared to the epoxy, however it did not really effect my application.

I couple of things I would suggest, go to lowes or homedepot and get yourself a 24 inch squeegee it makes application much easier and quicker, spike shoes are a must. The last thing is a second person, atleast for the primer and base coat. A second person makes spreading and back rolling much easier, and like I said, I think this contributed to me not having a issue with the work-life of the material. I did the clear myself and there was plenty of time for the work-life of it. I applied this in the TX heat, it was prob in the upper 80's/90

If I had to do this again the only thing I would change would be to grind the floor instead of acid etching it.

 

[jreineri]

If I had to do this again the only thing I would change would be to grind the floor instead of acid etching it.

The obvious question here is: why?

 

[bherren]

Sonicsilverlx, I am currently debating grinding vs acid etch. Do you mind to elaborate as to why you would grind if you were to do this again?

Thank you

 

[sonicsilverlx]

Sonicsilverlx, I am currently debating grinding vs acid etch. Do you mind to elaborate as to why you would grind if you were to do this again?

Thank you

The obvious question here is: why?

The main reason is the mess that the acid created. In order to get the correct etching I ended up having to buy and use about 10 gallons. In addition I bought a bunch of baking soda. I have a large concrete slab in front of my garage, which I did not want to have etched. I wet the slab and placed baking soda on the concrete to help neutralize the acid as it was rinsed out of my garage. I used a ton of water to rinse it. Even with all my precautions I still have a little etching/discoloration on the slab. The fumes from the acid also required me to purchase a respirator. The fumes from the acid are very noxious.

I was into all this extra stuff for about $120. To rent a 10 inch grinder from homedepot is $88 and a wheel for it is about $80. I think the grinder cleanup would be easier, the surface prep would be quicker, I wouldn't have to deal with the noxious fumes, and I would not have to worry about etching the concrete slab in front of my garage.

 

[krouchchocolate]

Thanks, it is their desert tan, with a custom flake mix. I used their primer as well as the mil-spec upgraded top coat.

The mixing was very easy and the supplied mixer that came with the kit for a drill worked great. I followed their directions on keeping the items inside in a cool environment before using them. I did notice that the primer seemed to have a shorter work life compared to the epoxy, however it did not really effect my application.

I couple of things I would suggest, go to lowes or homedepot and get yourself a 24 inch squeegee it makes application much easier and quicker, spike shoes are a must. The last thing is a second person, atleast for the primer and base coat. A second person makes spreading and back rolling much easier, and like I said, I think this contributed to me not having a issue with the work-life of the material. I did the clear myself and there was plenty of time for the work-life of it. I applied this in the TX heat, it was prob in the upper 80's/90

If I had to do this again the only thing I would change would be to grind the floor instead of acid etching it.

Why is it easier with the squeegee? I am going to apply mines on soon.

 

[sonicsilverlx]

Why is it easier with the squeegee? I am going to apply mines on soon.

I found it easier because it was easier/faster to spread the coating with the larger squeegee. It made me feel like I wasn't rushing. I used two people, I had one person pouring the material, while I was squeegeeing, once he got done pouring it, I gave the squeegee to him and started to back roll with the roller. It seemed to work out pretty well.