Questions about floor prep and applying

[macville]

Hey guys, got a few questions for you all before I do my floor with the Rustoleum professional epoxy (I didn’t go 100% solids because of cost and I am somewhat flipping the house in a year or two.) For the background on the house, it was built in 1975, so the slab is 40+ years old, but is very smooth in the garage and crack free.

So for my prep I’ve got heavy duty degreaser and TSP to clean the floor. Should I do one particular one before the other?

I know one of the tests to see if the floor is free of oil and other matter is to drop water on it and see if it still beads up. Anything else I should be looking for?

I will etch the floor with muriatic acid. Will I hurt hurt anything if I spend the time and etch it twice so it’s good and roughed up?

Is it okay to put epoxy over something like DAP floor patch? (https://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-32-oz-Gray-Patching-and-Spackling-Compound/3011841) There are a few chunks in the floor I need to fill.

Is there any reason I shouldn’t dump the epoxy out and spread it with a squeegee then back roll it like I’ve seen in many videos for higher end epoxies? I’ve noticed that many people using the rust pro said they ended up with quarter of half gallon left when they were done. Seems silly to me not to get that on the floor. Wasn’t sure if there was something about a system that’s not 100% solids which doing that would cause issues.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

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[LegacyIndustrial]

Hey guys, got a few questions for you all before I do my floor with the Rustoleum professional epoxy (I didn’t go 100% solids because of cost and I am somewhat flipping the house in a year or two.) For the background on the house, it was built in 1975, so the slab is 40+ years old, but is very smooth in the garage and crack free.

So for my prep I’ve got heavy duty degreaser and TSP to clean the floor. Should I do one particular one before the other?

I know one of the tests to see if the floor is free of oil and other matter is to drop water on it and see if it still beads up. Anything else I should be looking for?

I will etch the floor with muriatic acid. Will I hurt hurt anything if I spend the time and etch it twice so it’s good and roughed up?

Is it okay to put epoxy over something like DAP floor patch? (https://www.lowes.com/pd/DAP-32-oz-Gray-Patching-and-Spackling-Compound/3011841) There are a few chunks in the floor I need to fill.

Is there any reason I shouldn’t dump the epoxy out and spread it with a squeegee then back roll it like I’ve seen in many videos for higher end epoxies? I’ve noticed that many people using the rust pro said they ended up with quarter of half gallon left when they were done. Seems silly to me not to get that on the floor. Wasn’t sure if there was something about a system that’s not 100% solids which doing that would cause issues.

Dumping, using the squeegee and back-rolling is effective for 100% solids as the product is so darn thick.

Typically not required for box-store products, they are usually thinned out with water or solvent.

 

[Shea]

Not a good idea with the Rust-Oleum Professional. As Scotty said, it's a solvent based epoxy and will not spread well with a squeegee.

Clean the floor first, do your repairs, then acid etch. One time is all you need for the epoxy you are using if you are doing a muriatic acid etch. Don't use the DAP product either. It's latex based and will ball up when the acid etch comes in contact with it. It will also shrink over time. Use something like Quikrete patch repair. It can be ground flush with the rest of the repair and is much stronger than the DAP product.

 

[macville]

Not a good idea with the Rust-Oleum Professional. As Scotty said, it's a solvent based epoxy and will not spread well with a squeegee.

Clean the floor first, do your repairs, then acid etch. One time is all you need for the epoxy you are using if you are doing a muriatic acid etch. Don't use the DAP product either. It's latex based and will ball up when the acid etch comes in contact with it. It will also shrink over time. Use something like Quikrete patch repair. It can be ground flush with the rest of the repair and is much stronger than the DAP product.

So do you suggest a way to use all the product so I don't end up with any left when I am done?

I am finding multiple quikrete products. You are suggesting something like this (https://www.lowes.com/pd/QUIKRETE-Quick-Setting-10-lb-Gray-Cement-Mix/3012640) vs the Quikrete vinyl based, correct? Should there be any concerns about not waiting 28 days with this stuff?

 

[Shea]

You can mix it up in smaller batches, not all at once. It comes bagged inside the container. Just pour some out into the bucket and add the appropriate amount of water.

 

[macville]

You can mix it up in smaller batches, not all at once. It comes bagged inside the container. Just pour some out into the bucket and add the appropriate amount of water.

Huh? What are you talking about?

 

[Shea]

Ugh, that's what I get for being in a hurry. Use the vinyl patch product.

https://www.quikrete.com/productlines/vinylconcretepatcher.asp

It works well for the small patches and pits you were referring to. It's not good for just crack repair, however.

 

[macville]

Ugh, that's what I get for being in a hurry. Use the vinyl patch product.

https://www.quikrete.com/productlines/vinylconcretepatcher.asp

It works well for the small patches and pits you were referring to. It's not good for just crack repair, however.

First, thank you for your replies. They have been very helpful.

Hopefully, this is my last question. Do I need to patch before or after I do the acid etch? Quikrete says you can etch their product, but wasn't sure if I had to.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

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[macville]

Shea is super knowledgable and a big contributor here at the GJ forums. I have PM'd Shea and asked questions on AllGarageFloors.com. If he says it will work, it will. That being said, personally I would lean toward using an epoxy filler to fix the concrete damage. EpoxyShield Concrete Patch is an 100% solids 2 part epoxy that is made to work with the EpoxyShield Professional. I wonder whether Shea is seeing something here to choose one over the other?

I would totally use that, but I can't get it here for over a week and I need to finish this project this weekend.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

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[Trey T]

Hey guys, got a few questions for you all before I do my floor with the Rustoleum professional epoxy (I didn’t go 100% solids because of cost and I am somewhat flipping the house in a year or two.) For the background on the house, it was built in 1975, so the slab is 40+ years old, but is very smooth in the garage and crack free.

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Those are considered "high solids", at least by Sherwin Williams. The Rustoleum version actually contains about 10% more solids than the Sherwin Williams Armorseal 1000HS product.

I have not looked into Rustoleum technical specs until today - WOW, significantly more affordable than 100% solids (2-3times less). For $200 you can achieve a 8-10mil basecoat thickness for 400sq-ft area.

BTW, please build the house like This Old House and not like HGTV houses.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

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[macville]

Good news. Found that the local home depot carries the rust-oleum concrete patch. My issue was that I was searching epoxyshield patch and it's just called rust-oleum concrete patch and repair, but is the same exact thing. So I can patch tonight and etch by tomorrow morning and hopefully epoxy wed evening or thursday morning.

 

[SunsetsAndFriends]

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