Refinish enamel with epoxy.

[g.corey74]

Hi, I'm new to the forum.
Thanks to you guys I have changed my re-do plans. In 2005 I painted a 300 sq. ft. concrete house addition shop floor with enamel. I need to refinish. The original enamel has been spot filled and wet sanded. The surface is stable and smooth as glass. Not glossy.

What level of epoxy offers a good working time to maintain a wet edge? Also a color selection(light blue, gloss). I don't want to use flakes and there will be no problems with hot tires. My main concern applying epoxy over enamel is good adhesion without any chemical reaction. I figure to use a primer. The worst floor abuse will be steel chips from bridgeport use.

I realize my project is minor compared to others on this great forum, but I'll appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

 

[AlphaGarage]

My main concern applying epoxy over enamel is good adhesion without any chemical reaction.

The wet edge time is dependent on several factors, beside the specific coating formulation humidity, air and surface temperature come into play. 300 square feet is usually a manageable area to coat in one or two sections, what are your concerns about a wet edge?

Now for the big question... can you coat over it without any problems? Impossible to say, and here's why. Enamel paints, stains, and some epoxies aren't fully non-permeable coatings. They are porous and if the floor has hydrostatic pressure that isn't too great they can vent that pressure, so even if the coating/substrate bond isn't the best it will hold. The epoxy you put down could stick to the paint, but if it's a solid non-permeable coating pressure could build up and cause a failure between not the epoxy and the enamel, but between the enamel and the concrete.

Even a cheaper epoxy that's permeable could lead to failure at either the enamel/concrete or the enamel/epoxy junction because it can't vent enough pressure, or it simply fails to adhere well to the enamel.

 

[SC-Eric]

'Wet Edge' will only be a factor when using cheap waterbased type epoxies... Fred, he is referring to the 'wet edge' phenomenon like you would get with latex paint. With those types of products if you do not maintain a wet edge you will get 2 different colors or 'pictureframing'.

Anyway, I would suggest renting the grinder and getting rid of the old enamel down to concrete.

Do it once... Do it right!

 

[g.corey74]

Thanks Fred for your advise.
I figured even a permeable epoxy would offer a tougher surface than enamel. It looks like I'll have to use enamel.

 

[g.corey74]

Thanks Eric, but I'll live with enamel before grinding at this point.

 

[SC-Eric]

No Sweat Gil...

We won't lie to ya' just to get a sale. You may see that same phenomenon when you get enough coats of enamel on your garage. If you've only done it once you can probably do it at least a couple more times depending on the adhesion factors of the enamels.

Don't forget to post up some pics when you get it finished...

 

[g.corey74]

Why would I think you would lie Eric, just to make a sale?
I probably will have to re-coat in the future and I'll keep your point in mind. Thanks.
BTW, it's not a garage. Pics when done.

 

[g.corey74]

Anyone else out there with related success or failure?