Preparing to start applying the Wolverine Product

[sunshineknox]

I'm going to have a friend help with the application of the Wolverine Product. The floor has been grinded to a 80 grit texture. Does anyone have any links to videos demonstrating the edging and back rolling? I'm nervous about the pot life; my garage is 805 SQ FT and I plan on doing 1/2 at a time. I'm afraid of not having enough time to do the edging and back rolling. I'm also confused on how I'm going to do the edging since I have to dump the product out on the floor as soon as I mix the product. I'm just seeing a big mess in my head. It would also help me to have a picture of a ribbon and grid pour; this is recommended in the instructions for pouring out the product on the floor. I can picture a ribbon, but unsure on the grid recommendation. This is the first time I've applied something like this, so I want to collect as much information to help with a successful application.

thanks,
Sunshine

 

[retfr8flyr]

I don't see your location, what will the temps be when you start the install? The product sets up fairly quickly, when it's hot out. If it's going to be over 80 I would recommend doing it in 1/3'ds instead of half at a time. If it's going to be cooler you should be OK doing 1/2 with a helper. Doing the cutting in is not that big a deal. The way the product flows you can run the roller right up to the edge and the bow wave will cover all the way to the wall. When I did mine I just cut in with a brush around stairs and such, I didn't worry about the wall edges. How much flake are you doing? You want to make sure you have enough time to get the flake down before it starts setting up.


Earl

 

[sunshineknox]

First off thanks for giving me some valuable advice. I'm in Knoxville TN and its been in the 80's; I was planning on doing the applications in the mornings and evenings when its in the 60's and 70's. I have 10 pounds of flakes. Is it ok to just walk around on the bondtite, liquatile, and endurashield with the spike shoes while its wet.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Yes you can walk on the floor with spikes, just make sure you pick up your feet. The little holes from the spikes will fill back in but if you scrape it with the spikes it will be hard to repair. You want to do the coating late in the day not in the morning, due to rising temps and possible outgassing of the concrete You want the concrete stable or falling in temp not rising. Put a coat down in the afternoon and then do the next coat the next afternoon. You also want to watch the humidity and not put the floor down if it's over 80% for the bondtite and liquatile. The endura shield can handle higher humidity and also has a much longer pot life.

The bondtite is not that thick and goes down very easily, just don't try and get it perfect and over roll it. The liquatile is really thick and it takes some effort to get it spread out well. It's best to do the flakes as soon as you can after the liquatile is down.
The endurashield is thin and you put it on just like paint, using a paint tray instead of pouring it out. You wouldn't have any problem doing 1/2 at a time with the endurashield.

What colors did you choose? I am very happy with the way my floor came out and nothing sticks to it. I have dropped several things on it and dragged floor jacks and such around on it and it looks just like it did when I first put it down.

 

[sunshineknox]

Thanks for the info and that is good to hear that the product still looks good. I went with light gray and moody granite deco flacks. I just have a little bit of hand grinding to do today next to the walls. I will then shop-vac all the dust up; I was told to not pressure wash the floor since I grinded it. I bought a 6.5 horsepower shop vac, so hopefully that will be good enough and I get start putting down the bondtite tomorrow afternoon. thanks again.

I will take some pictures of the floor and post when I'm done.

 

[retfr8flyr]

That's strange about the pressure washing. I pressure washed mine after all the grinding, it's the only way to really get all the dust off. I went with the same color and flake but I did mine to full rejection. Here are a couple shots of how mine came out.

 

[sunshineknox]

Man that looks sweet! Yeah I might reconsider and pressure wash mine too. What was the psi you used? I just need it to be dry by tomorrow.

 

[Amanda]

When dump it out on the floor, do it in lines. This makes it much easier to spread than if you put it in one pile on the floor.

 

[retfr8flyr]

My pressure washer is a 3000 psi unit. Give Fred at Alpha a call about the PW. I don't think the floor will be dry enough, by tomorrow, to start if you PW today but Fred said the bondtite was not as moisture critical as some primers.

 

[sunshineknox]

Ok thanks. I just spent 4 hours pressure washing with my son. He was sweeping the water while I was running the pressure washer. Geez that took forever. It looks like it is drying pretty good. I'm hoping I can apply integraflex to fix some cracks and imperfections on the floor tomorrow; in hopes the floor is dry enough. Is it dry enough if the floor is dry to the eye or does it need to dry for some time due to the water that's soaked into the concrete? I will just hold off applying the bondtite until Sunday, but would like to apply the integraflex if possible.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Check with Fred to be sure but I think you will be fine with the Integraflex. One thing, mix small batches of the Integraflex. It doesn't say anything about pot life but that stuff sets up fast. It's just like the Liquatile, get it out of the mixing bowl and on the floor as quickly as possible. My first batch of that stuff I wasn't expecting it to react that way and I didn't pour it out first. I could actually feel it getting hot in the plastic cup I mixed it in, as I was trying to work it into some cracks. Needless to say that first batch was a learning experience.

 

[sunshineknox]

Alright finally sad screw it and lets roll baby. A friend and I repaired the cracks today with integraflex. Let me start out by saying take the above advice and mix in small portions. That stuff does heat up fast and thankfully I didn't have many cracks to fix. I did apply it a little thicker than I planned on. I called Fred and he said I can sand it with 80 grit sand paper to flush it with the concrete. We are planning on doing some sanding tomorrow afternoon and laying down the primer. We measured out 4 x 200 sq ft sections to apply the primer.

How tough is the primer to work with? I also noticed little things getting stuck in the integraflex like bugs. Should I just sand them out too why I'm at it?

 

[tncatadjuster]

Alright finally sad screw it and lets roll baby. A friend and I repaired the cracks today with integraflex. Let me start out by saying take the above advice and mix in small portions. That stuff does heat up fast and thankfully I didn't have many cracks to fix. I did apply it a little thicker than I planned on. I called Fred and he said I can sand it with 80 grit sand paper to flush it with the concrete. We are planning on doing some sanding tomorrow afternoon and laying down the primer. We measured out 4 x 200 sq ft sections to apply the primer.

How tough is the primer to work with? I also noticed little things getting stuck in the integraflex like bugs. Should I just sand them out too why I'm at it?

Your cracks are not completed...... please finish the job. You have to do all of them and don't stop short.

 

[sunshineknox]

I got the primer layed down yesterday. I will take some pictures today before laying down the liquatile. The primer was easy to work. I hope the liquatile is at least half as easy as the bondtite.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The Liquatile is a little harder to work with, as it's much thicker and takes some effort to get it rolled out but it's not that bad. The Endurashield is just like rolling paint, it's very easy to apply but it's hard to see what has and hasn't been covered. You need to have a plan for doing the Endurahield to make sure you get even coverage. Another thing on the Endurashield is to make sure you don't put it on too thick. It needs to go on fairly thin, just like a good coat of paint, you don't want any puddles or any heavy areas. The Endurashield will not dry properly and will bubble up if it's too thick.

I went with 2 coats of the Endurashield on my floor and I'm glad I did. With the full flakes it really needed the second coat. Since your're not doing the full flakes you should have much better coverage then I did.