Seal? Stain? Both? Neither?

[Disney]

I guess I come into this thread with having either read too much, or too little. I thought i knew.. wait.. I KNEW that I knew what I needed... But now i'm just confused.

Background... Building 30x50 pole barn for auto tinkering and place to hang out. I want the floors to be shiny and to be protected from all the **** I may do in there; welding, spilling gas and blood, spilling beer, drinking it off the floor.. You know, normal stuff. I like the look of concrete. I like some of the stains that i've seen, but grey is fine by me too and the cost of a stain seems to be high. My budget for this is <$500.

Brass tacks.. What do I need? Sealer? Densifier? tooth fairy?

Any special considerations when the concrete guys pour the slab? I assumed a vapor barrier was needed. I was going to have them power trowel it as I want a pretty slick finish. Should I wait before applying any product???

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Disney]

The garage...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3948727&postcount=21

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

You are in densifier/acrylic sealer territory with your budget.
If you will be welding and not covering up, choose a densifier with a waterproofing agent.

The acrylic will get eaten up by the weld splatter and the spilled gas. Hopefully, the spilling of the gas and the welding will not be on the same day.

Vapor barrier is NOT required for either option.

Here are some links to check out:

http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-densifier-c-10.html

http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-sealers-c-16.html

 

[Disney]

Welding area will be pretty limited. I can probably protect that area with some other means.
Thanks for the links! I have more reading to do!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

 

[joshgn]

SpecChem product called SpecHard or LithSeal

 

[Disney]

More details? I looked on their site and didn't see either product.

I'd also like to hear some details about when to apply these products. Before the concrete dries? After? A month after? Before trowling or after???

 

[joshgn]

SpecHard - http://www.specchemllc.com/WebServiceData/ViewFile.aspx?id=1253

LithSeal - http://www.specchemllc.com/WebServiceData/ViewFile.aspx?id=1541&rnd=1089481425

I used SpecHard, b/c it was immediately available locally at $100 per 5 gal. Sprayed on and broomed it in...

 

[Disney]

Results? Have you been on it long? Got pics??

 

[Disney]

You are in densifier/acrylic sealer territory with your budget.
If you will be welding and not covering up, choose a densifier with a waterproofing agent.

The acrylic will get eaten up by the weld splatter and the spilled gas. Hopefully, the spilling of the gas and the welding will not be on the same day.

Vapor barrier is NOT required for either option.

Here are some links to check out:

http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-densifier-c-10.html

http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/concrete-sealers-c-16.html

Soo.... If I am reading this correctly, I should be looking at the densifier? Like the HD40?

When should it be applied? Immediately after power trowel? It says:

Recoat time: multiple coats between burnishing

Well... I don't power trowel, but I suppose I can shoot it on while the guys do it??

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

This product is applied once its cured to a walkable state and is visibly dry.

 

[Disney]

That sounds like AFTER the concrete has been troweled.... OK. I think I need 5 gal of that stuff then.

 

[Disney]

I am reading burnishing and troweling as the same thing.. I am gathering now that is incorrect. Burnishing is what i'll be doing with the floor polisher deal, correct?

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Correct. It is actually a pad placed on a high speed burnisher machine.

 

[dwloop]

Disney,

I recently built a 32x42 garage with basement. I used SepcHard on both floors the day after the concrete was finished. It has been about a year now and I could not be happier with the result. Sweeps very easy and oil spills wipe up.

Be warned that this will NOT be a visible coating, not like epoxy or paint, but does bring out the shine on the surface if the concrete is finished well. It gets more shine as I sweep more, I did not buff or burnish mine.

HTH,

Dave

 

[Disney]

That does help! Thanks, Dave!!!

 

[janylcalder]

The stains can be easily covered by buying some Kilz, it's a primer coating that is pretty thick and covers most stains. You can get it in a spray, which is pretty convenient.

 

[Disney]

wut?

 

[Disney]

Decided on the HD40 product from Legacy. http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/hd40-stainguard-5-gal-p-141.html

Can't wait to get it down and shined up!