Planning a working garage floor

[USCME]

Brief Introduction: I just bought a house in Charlotte, NC and it's my first with a real garage, I had one before moving but it was a couple miles away from my home so I'm pumped to set this one up how I want it. I've been reading up on the boards some and am making some flooring plans right now. Figured I would see what you guys think and I'll be sure to post plenty of pictures through the process from start to finish.

First off, this will be an automotive/fabrication working garage. The floor will see chemical spills, scrapes, dings, heat from welding, grinding, possibly a plasma in the future So this pretty much rules out epoxy for me.

What I'm looking for:

• 
  Increased resistance to staining

• Less dusting from the concrete

• Some color (preferably something light colored to help reflect the shop lights)

• Increased hardness and durability is a plus too

This has led me to a colored stain and a waterproofing densifier, no topcoats of any kind. I know the waterproofing densifier is not impossible to stain but it should help liquids to bead up on the surface to aid in cleaning, realistically no spill will sit for too long before being cleaned anyways.

I've seen this stuff offered by H&C as well as Legacy, haven't purchased anything yet, but I'd like to be starting work on this next weekend if possible.

Current Surface:
The garage was poured in 1993 and hasn't seen any coating that I know of, it does have it's fair share of stains from the previous owners. There is one crack in it that runs the length of the garage, I have not decided if I'll do anything with this or leave it as is for now. Total garage space is about 650sqft excluding a closet. I'll get some pics of the floor as it sits now up soon.

Let me know what you guys think, I'm ready to get this ball rolling

 

[Edger]

Do it. Colour plus densifier is very low cost, simple to apply, dries super fast and leaves a very durable surface that will never dust. Sometimes people run over it first with some fine diamonds to give it a partial shine, there are other methods which I am sure someone here will advise you on.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

USCME:

Right on!! We have the material you are looking for. including the color if you desire.
Give us a call.

 

[USCME]

Edger - Thanks for the info, that's exactly what I'm looking for; extreme durability, relative low cost and ease of application is a nice bonus!

Legacy - I see you guys have the HD-410 stain and densifier in one which is pretty tempting. Advertised 800 sqft of coverage with one gallon is awesome, it'd do my 650 sqft no problem. The only thing stopping me from going this route is the lack of a waterproofing agent. The HD-7939 seems advantageous in this regard, what kind of results do you get in a standard densifier versus the waterproofing densifier for resistance to staining and aiding in cleanup of spills? Just trying to gage the benefits of the waterproofing densifier versus standard densifier.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

USMCE:

The HD7939 is our base densifier (HD7936) with an added siliconate agent.
Siliconate sealers work by creating a permanent chemical change in the concrete, forming a new, sealed chemistry. Siliconates have larger molecules and offer more surface protection. Siliconates are fast reactive when they meet the concrete therefore remaining at the top of the substrate. Siliconate sealers are the perfect choice when your primary objectives are reducing moisture absorption, reducing freeze/thaw damage and stain penetration (dust proofing too).

Also...
Our Easy Stain will look better with a topical sealer added, like our HD6414, Easy Sealer , etc...

Hope this helps.

 

[Zengineer]

So, what would the typical application process for this look like? I have similar use, and have basically ruled out any other finish due to welding/plasma/etc.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Clean floor with vac or damp mop. Pump-up sprayer (Lowes or THD) is the easiest method. Saturating but not puddling. Allow to dry 4 hours, ready to go.

 

[USCME]

The HD7939 is our base densifier (HD7936) with an added siliconate agent.
Siliconate sealers work by creating a permanent chemical change in the concrete, forming a new, sealed chemistry. Siliconates have larger molecules and offer more surface protection. Siliconates are fast reactive when they meet the concrete therefore remaining at the top of the substrate. Siliconate sealers are the perfect choice when your primary objectives are reducing moisture absorption, reducing freeze/thaw damage and stain penetration (dust proofing too).

Thanks for the info, I read through some of the spec sheets on your website which was helpful too. After more thought I am actually leaning towards skipping the color all together and just going with the waterproofing densifier; that alone will accomplish what I am looking for as well as remaining very low cost and relatively simple to apply. I'll be picking up 2 gallons to cover 650 sqft which should be no problem (advertised 400sqft per 1 gallon)

Now all I need is something to clean the floor well before applying the densifier, I already have some purple power so I'll see how well that does against the old stains.

Here's a few pics with the floor as it is now. I have done nothing other than add a closet under the stairs (it's a basement garage) contributing some drywall dust that needs to be cleaned, haven't moved any of my tools in yet, sellers left some shelves, paint, etc.

Most of the stains look like they're from oil and tire marks, I'll post up some more pics after attacking it with some purple power.

 

[Edger]

Buy some muriatic acid if you have a power washer and do some tests at different dilutions with water, say 20:1, 10:1 & 5:1. I found it usually takes off the tire marks easily, but not always. Use the power washer to do the final clean.

 

[USCME]

Buy some muriatic acid if you have a power washer and do some tests at different dilutions with water, say 20:1, 10:1 & 5:1. I found it usually takes off the tire marks easily, but not always. Use the power washer to do the final clean.

Still bouncing back and forth about color or not, if I were to go that route and use an acid stain, it appears I can not do an acid stain if the concrete has been acid etched. If I'm only going to do the densifier/waterproofer then I'll be fine after using the muriatic acid.

If I do a color it will probably be a light gray, really I want to clean the surface some and see how it looks before deciding. None of legacy's acid stain colors really strike my interest, the H&C is appealing with all the color options they have and ability to tint most other colors. Anybody know how a water based H&C stain would do with a densifier/waterproofer? I assume I'd clean the surface, stain first, then densifier last. Also to anyone who has used H&C stain, is it acceptable to prep the surface with muriatic acid before applying?
Something like this: http://www.sherwin-williams.com/do_...ior_paint_coatings/masonry_concrete_products/
May go check out the local sherwin williams this week too

 

[USCME]

Read through the H&C tech sheets, they suggest an acid etching prior to applying their water based stain as well. Not sure how well the H&C stain will do with the legacy densifier/waterproofer though. The H&C stain has a silicone additive so I worry if I put the stain down first the densifier/waterproofer may not adequately penetrate the concrete surface due to the silicone in the stain. Anybody ever use an H&C stain in conjunction with a legacy densifier/waterproofer?

Legacy, can you tint your acid stain to any colors not listed on your sight? I'm just looking for a basic gray similary to H&C's 'muddy gray' if you can do that?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Read through the H&C tech sheets, they suggest an acid etching prior to applying their water based stain as well. Not sure how well the H&C stain will do with the legacy densifier/waterproofer though. The H&C stain has a silicone additive so I worry if I put the stain down first the densifier/waterproofer may not adequately penetrate the concrete surface due to the silicone in the stain. Anybody ever use an H&C stain in conjunction with a legacy densifier/waterproofer?

Legacy, can you tint your acid stain to any colors not listed on your sight? I'm just looking for a basic gray similary to H&C's 'muddy gray' if you can do that?

Yes and no. You have a few choices...
Adding water to the stain will extend it's coverage and lighten the color
IE: add water to black and you can make a gray color
Mixing the colors will give you some additional options as well.

Remember acid stain will not cover uniformly and that is why people want it, it gives a more natural look to the concrete.

My advice is to purchase our acid stain sample kit and make some experiments in a corner where you will place a tool box or work bench later.
Link:
http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-acid-stain-sample-kit-p-172.html