Seal my floor........ part 2(calling epoxy experts)

[nonhog]

didn't want to go off topic in a previous thread........
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28479

Made me think of a couple of questions.
1) If someone wants to seal there floor and maybe later do epoxy what type
of sealer would work and what would not ?


2) What about partial epoxy floors ? (Something I have thought of due to
welding , pulling engines, jack stands etc.)
Or just how hard is it to mask off a bay or an area when using epoxy.
My shop has relief cuts so it might be easy for me ?

 

[Shocker]

I believe that any sealer applied will need to be removed before apply any kind of epoxy coating.

 

[AlphaGarage]

A good sealer is one that sticks around, and by extension one that will need to be removed before applying the epoxy primer coat.

A quality epoxy primer does its job by adhering to the concrete both physically and chemically. Most sealers are pretty thin, so the epoxy primer might be able to latch on mechanically "through" the sealer onto the contours of the concrete. But a good sealer will inhibit the epoxy from forming chemical a bond with the concrete, so you won't be getting all the adhesion that's available.

Bottom line -Figure on removing the sealer when it comes time to epoxy.

There are a couple of ways to handle edges. If there's a relief cut that should make a fine border.

Or one could tape off the edge, being sure to remove the tape before the epoxy cures too much. That does leave and small "cliff edge" though.

What some pros do is to grind down a small tapered "ramp" at the edge, known as a termination key joint. The cut depth should be twice the thickness of the coating, so it's a bit easier the thicker the coating. Done right it makes for a smooth transition.