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[BruceH]

I have been a long time lurker but never posted to this forum and now have a question.

I am buying a 7 year old house with a 3 car garage that is extra deep. (Yes that is a standard sized door on the right) The PO painted the floor with floor paint. He must have done a decent job prepping as the paint has adhered well. There are some stained areas.

What can I do to refresh the floor? Can epoxy be put down over the paint? If so how much prep is needed to give a good surface for the grip? Can I roll a new coat of paint over the existing finish?

Thanks in advance.

 

[SteveL]

I am redoing mine so this should work for you as well. I have been told to sand the existing coating with 80 grit paper on a floor sander to scuff up the surface. This will give the ne coating something to grab on to. You should also wash it down well after sanding to make sure these is no sanding dust left behind. You can rent a floor sander at Home Depot for about $40/day and the sanding sheets are about $4-5 a piece.

As long as the original coating is adhering well, you should be fine.

 

[BruceH]

Thanks for the quick response. Your recommendations are for painting or epoxy?

 

[SteveL]

Either one.

 

[bmwpower]

The real question is when is the rest of the paint going to lift. If it does, your top coats will be compromised. I wouldn't lay any epoxy down unless all the paint was up. That's pretty much the standard.

 

[boiler7904]

I think the real question is if you want to risk compromising your new floor by taking a few shortcuts with the prep. If it were me, I'd rent a floor grinder and remove all of the existing material. If you're going to do the floor, now is the time while the garage is empty and you don't have to empty it and find places to keep all of your stuff.

None of the epoxy companies will warrant their product if it is applied over an existing coating - there is no physical or chemical bond between it and the concrete.

As far as the new coating - you definitely want a solvent based (likely two part) coating. People here have good luck with Armorseal 1000HS, Rust Oleum Epoxy Shield Pro, U-Coat-It, and a few others. As long as the prep is done right and you follow the instructions, any coating will work - it just comes down to the visual effect you're after and how much you want to spend.