Please advice:Garage floor preparation for epoxy coating

[m237b]

Hello all,

Trying to prepare my garage floor for epoxy coating. Rented EDCO 2-Disk grinder (with new grinding blocks) to remove old paint and get the floor ready for epoxy.
One of the big issues I had is a bumpines of the floor so the big grinder wouldn't be able to get off all the paint and I would have to use my small 4 1/2" angle grinder to pick up these spots (there are quite a lot of them). At the end after I was done the floor would show some signs of the big circular grinding blocks and some signs of the small angle grinder. Should I make sure the floor is absolutely smooth without any signs of grinding or some little signs like these will be filled in by the epoxy ?
I've purchase Epoxy Master kit from Costco. According to what they say, their epoxy self-filling and will mask of some of the floor defects. Not sure though how to confirm the readiness of the floor for coating.

Please advice, thanks in advance.
Alex

 

[kwfloors]

I think you are ready with your floor. The only other grinding to do would be if you wanted it flat or not like you said. Be sure to clean your floor real good too.

 

[m237b]

Thanks for reply. Ideally, I do want it to look as smooth as possible of course after coating, confusing part is - does it mean that the floor after grinding has to be the same smoothness as I expect it to be after coating or some signs of grinding/little dents and so on will be masked off/levelled by the epoxy.

 

[retfr8flyr]

If you put the epoxy on thickly it will fill the small imperfections. Are you going to add flakes? Flakes tend to hide imperfections in the floor, as well as looking good. Will you be doing a primer coat with that kit?

 

[m237b]

Yes, I will be putting flakes some 3 lb. on the ~310 sq. ft. floor…so, we're talking about medium to high broadcast I guess. It is EpoxyMaster kit which is done in a single application, so one coat only. I will however, (possibly) have extra epoxy, as they claim the kit is to cover up to 480 sq. ft., so hopefully will be able to make it a bit thicker. When we're saying "small imperfections", what does it mean ? up to 3-5mm dents/wholes/grinding signs, or less than that ?

 

[retfr8flyr]

Does the kit come with the clear top coat. I would buy another kit and put down 2 coats of the epoxy and add all the flakes in the second coat. I would then scrape off any flakes that didn't adhere to the epoxy and put on a clear Poly Urethane top coat, EpoxyMaster makes one if it's not included in the kit. The 2 coats will level out the floor better, the Flakes will make it look better, as well as essentially adding another coat and the clear top coat will make it almost indestructible.

Why do all the grinding and prep work and not make the floor coating as good as you can make it.

 

[m237b]

Originally the kit is sold without the clear coat. According to EpoxyMaster their base coat is very glossy and have a great look, clear coat can be purchased separately (some additional $170+ for up to ~500 sq.ft.). Problem is that Costco sells only that kit, and to order online directly from manufacture will require additional charges for shipping as well as I'm from Canada. I will consider that of course anyway, my main concern now is to make sure the floor is in good condition. Beside the smoothness after grinding I still need to figure out how to deal with the edge of the floor at the garage door and at the walls as well as some hair line cracks

 

[retfr8flyr]

Get a diamond cup http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XXE0RA/?tag=atomicindus08-20 and use an angle grinder for the edges. The Urethane clear coat isn't for just for looks, it's much harder then epxoy and is resistant to yellowing from UV rays. Contact Scotty at Legacy Industrial and see what he can do for you.

 

[m237b]

Thanks again for reply. That is actually exactly the same diamond cup I used to grind garage stem walls and touch up places on the floor which wouldn't be picked up by the big EDCO grinder. Thanks for the tips. Another question if you could assist: do you think it makes sense to paint with epoxy up to the garage door (some 1/2" off the door on inside), everywhere I read it says on the outside of the door it will get destroyed by elements and will cause the damage towards the main floor on inside sooner or later. I was thinking to do a 4-5mm cut across the garage floor at the door level and paint up to that cut, then on outside leave it as unfinished cement or paint with some exterior paint…any thoughts ?

 

[retfr8flyr]

Most guys grind a straight line cut across the threshold, put tape down at the edge of the cut, apply epoxy and then pull up the tape while it's still wet. The epoxy flows into the cut and stops at the tape, so you have a nice edge. Leave the outside as is, epoxy will not do well outdoors in the elements.

 

[m237b]

I probably going to do it with a grinder diamond blade for cutting concrete (diamond cup in vertical position dances like a mad monkey). Thanks again.The last question would be the edges at the wall: I have one wall where drywall goes right to the floor and then sealed with some sort of silicon….can I still paint with epoxy over it ? or I should be thinking of removing this silicon first as part of preparation before paining ?
Two other walls are garage stem walls (small cement walls 1-2' high) with a small gap between them and the floor…..was thinking just painting right over it without any additional treatment ….not sure if that would be a correct course of actions ?

 

[retfr8flyr]

I would remove the silicone and replace it after putting down the epoxy. As far as the stub walls, I would get some crack sealer and try to fill the space between the wall and the floor.

 

[m237b]

Thanks for your very useful tips. Really appreciate it.