I am opening a vet clinic and trying to determine what should be done with this flooring. I will have sensitive paws and need to floor to be easily cleanable but also don't want people walking on glass. The original flooring was like walking on needles everywhere with flakes poking up and some areas with bare flake. The company went back through and scraped the floor without adding a top coat afterwards and patched epoxy over the bare flake. Most of the baseboard areas were extremely rough and the company was supposed to go back and sand it and reapply more topcoat but afterwards, it literally cut my fingers in a lot of areas and other areas look like someone spilled hot glue. The owner of the flooring company acted like I was crazy and told me epoxy is meant to be a textured floor. Can anyone that knows what they're doing help? Is another top coat needed after scraping? - the flooring company said it wouldn't damage the floor to scrape it and not put a top coat on. What can be done?
Please help. Is this a poor commercial epoxy installation?
- Thread starter mhites
- Start date
Best outcome would be achieved by 1) Thoroughly sanding/screening existing floor, including cove areas, until all sharp edges are gone and an acceptable (to you) texture is achieved and the floor is completely deglossed. 2) Apply final clear/wear coat(s) according to manufacturer's recoat guidance, including a non-abrasive traction additive. (I always recommend traction additives in public/business spaces. Either that or up your liability insurance... 
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I'm not sure what you are describing by "and patched epoxy over the bare flake."? Was a flood coat of clear epoxy applied over the "bare flake" areas ?
"the flooring company said it wouldn't damage the floor to scrape it and not put a top coat on." this is complete B.S. Once a clear coat is applied it is useless to "scrape" the floor, it will need to be sanded at that point which will require a fresh top coat application.
).I'm not sure what you are describing by "and patched epoxy over the bare flake."? Was a flood coat of clear epoxy applied over the "bare flake" areas ?
"the flooring company said it wouldn't damage the floor to scrape it and not put a top coat on." this is complete B.S. Once a clear coat is applied it is useless to "scrape" the floor, it will need to be sanded at that point which will require a fresh top coat application.
Rusted Nut
Well-known member
Texture, such as sand, can be added to epoxy for grip; some is smooth. You need to determine why the floor is flaking up. If there is moisture coming up through the slab, you’ll need to fix that first; sometimes very difficult to do. If the slab was contaminated with oil, grease, etc… you’ll need to strip the epoxy and clean it, seal it with a compat sealer, and re-epoxy.
I‘m in commercial construction. We meticulously prepare concrete slab, measure moisture content, PH levels, etc…; and often have issues with epoxy floors.
I‘m in commercial construction. We meticulously prepare concrete slab, measure moisture content, PH levels, etc…; and often have issues with epoxy floors.
They said they used a stone to scratch the surface and apply a thicker epoxy patch on the really abrasive/non-coated areas (baseboards where the epoxy didn't stay) and now it looks like someone spilled hot glue on the floor and you can see scratch marks everywhere. They also went across the whole floor and scraped/raked the floor to get rid of the sharp points of epoxy flake sticking through the epoxy.Best outcome would be achieved by 1) Thoroughly sanding/screening existing floor, including cove areas, until all sharp edges are gone and an acceptable (to you) texture is achieved and the floor is completely deglossed. 2) Apply final clear/wear coat(s) according to manufacturer's recoat guidance, including a non-abrasive traction additive. (I always recommend traction additives in public/business spaces. Either that or up your liability insurance...
I'm not sure what you are describing by "and patched epoxy over the bare flake."? Was a flood coat of clear epoxy applied over the "bare flake" areas ?
"the flooring company said it wouldn't damage the floor to scrape it and not put a top coat on." this is complete B.S. Once a clear coat is applied it is useless to "scrape" the floor, it will need to be sanded at that point which will require a fresh top coat application.
They coated the bare flake with clear coat at first but not after scraping/raking the floor.
The floor isn't flaking up. The top coat wasn't thick enough and it's like shards coming through the epoxy.
The floor should be a little textured but not enough to have flakes coming up out of the coating, all flakes should be sealed in clear. Sounds like it needs to get re-done. Might tell the guy that its going to be cheaper for him to fix the problem than the injuries it may cause to animals.
They need to add more clear. They didn't scrape it the first time (probably because they figured they would get away with it) and then when they did scrape it they also scraped off the top layer of clear they put over the flakes that SHOULD have been scraped in the first place.
The guy is blowing smoke... tell them to come add a clear coat. Your floor should NOT be rough.
The guy is blowing smoke... tell them to come add a clear coat. Your floor should NOT be rough.
Andy Smith Jr.
Well-known member
Contractor is full of shi*
None of this makes any real sense but, I still maintain that to get this floor in proper condition I would recommend sanding the entire floor (eliminate any/all gloss), and re-apply top coat.
LegacyIndustrial
ALLIANCE MEMBER
The easiest method of preparing raw flake before the clear-coat is to scrape.
Scrape N-S & E-W directions. Scraper is under 20.00 at Lowes. They can sand the verticals with 60 or 80 grit, orbital sander.
The floor should now be ready for either a few coats of 70-80% Solids Sealer or (1) coat of 100% Solids Epoxy/PAP.
If they skipped the scrape (sounds like it), the floor will need to be thoroughly screen-sanded and checked for smoothness all the way.
Then, they can apply the sealer again.
It's not a tough process but does require following instructions and being diligent.
I attached our Full-Flake instructions link for reference: INSTRUCTIONS
Lastly, we will be posting a really good video on the process in a week or so.
Scrape N-S & E-W directions. Scraper is under 20.00 at Lowes. They can sand the verticals with 60 or 80 grit, orbital sander.
The floor should now be ready for either a few coats of 70-80% Solids Sealer or (1) coat of 100% Solids Epoxy/PAP.
If they skipped the scrape (sounds like it), the floor will need to be thoroughly screen-sanded and checked for smoothness all the way.
Then, they can apply the sealer again.
It's not a tough process but does require following instructions and being diligent.
I attached our Full-Flake instructions link for reference: INSTRUCTIONS
Lastly, we will be posting a really good video on the process in a week or so.