So what is the best Epoxy

[GlennSullivan]

Hi Newbee Here

I built a new garage last fall and did not get a chance to coat the floor due to concrete curing time and the onset of winter.

Over the winter I've had the opportunity to look at many Epoxy floor coatings, each of which claim to be the best and at this point I'm thoroughly confused. I've looked at UCoatIt, Benjamin Moore Commercial and Sherwin Williams Commercial.

I'm also considering black and white checkerboard commercial vinyl tile but am concerned about the white becoming very discolored from tires and other things a garage floor is subject to.

Who has a floor that is at least several years old and has had no problems

 

[tubeman]

I am not the expert by any means but I have tried several. The thing you want is 100% solids solvent based as opposed to water based. This will be most durable, but more expensive and higher fumes. And, as everyone will tell you, proper preparation is key. No matter how good the product you will not have good results without proper bonding to the cement.

 

[dboat]

I am not the expert by any means but I have tried several. The thing you want is 100% solids solvent based as opposed to water based. This will be most durable, but more expensive and higher fumes. And, as everyone will tell you, proper preparation is key. No matter how good the product you will not have good results without proper bonding to the cement.

+1

 

[OldCarGuy]

I would go with an epoxy coating. Undisputedly go with the 100% solids solvent base epoxy and a follow the directed prepping to the T. Either by acid etching or bead blasting.

I have a 1000 square foot non-working (show car storage) garage that I tiled with Armstrong industrial vinyl tiles 10 years ago. The good news about tiles is that they can be easily replaced a square at a time. The sad news is the upkeep. You need to strip them once or twice a year, then wax and buff. Plus any spills of oil, gasoline, grease, or antifreeze need to be removed immediately. Most anything will discolor the tile.

 

[Silver Lexus]

" The sad news is the upkeep. You need to strip them once or twice a year, then wax and buff. Plus any spills of oil, gasoline, grease, or antifreeze need to be removed immediately. Most anything will discolor the tile."

That's too much work.

 

[JohnZ]

Home Pro Floors (www.homeprofloors.com) did my 2500 sq. ft. floor six years ago - steel shot-blasted, two coats of 2-part industrial epoxy 24 hours apart, still looks like it was poured yesterday; it's indestructible and super-easy to keep clean. Turnkey job was $1.92/sq. ft. at that time.

 

[BoostAddiction]

Johnz, your floor looks terrific!

I went with a floor system used by many (or most) of the NASCAR cup and Busch teams. You can get it applied by the vendor (Precision Epoxy) or you can do it yourself.

The floor is harder to apply (it usually takes three or four coats: primer, color with sand, second color coat, optional clear coat) and takes about a day for each coat to dry before the next one can be applied. My garage was down for almost two weeks because of goofups and scheduling issues. LIke all epoxies, it holds up well to most uses but won't tolerate welding slag, etc. Mine continues to perform perfectly so far after about 6 months with no signs of lifting, wear, staining, etc.

This floor is quite thick (about 125 thousandths), uses sand as an aid to compressive strength (not as a non-slip agent) and can be recoated with just a single color coat at any time. Most of the other systems use just one or two coats for a very thin coating. The ability of a thin film to withstand abuse is partly a function of its thickness, so in general, thicker is better.

There is a link to Precision Epoxy at the stick on top. Their web site is pathetic but they are nice people, the product seems very solid, and were available for emergency help when I called even during off hours.

They also market a leveling epoxy used for setup plates. If you don't know what this is, you don't need one. But if you setup race cars, it's really a great thing.


-Will

 

[woody_145]

I am not the expert by any means but I have tried several. The thing you want is 100% solids solvent based as opposed to water based. This will be most durable, but more expensive and higher fumes. And, as everyone will tell you, proper preparation is key. No matter how good the product you will not have good results without proper bonding to the cement.

100% solids epoxy is neither solvent or water based, it's 100% solid! Also 100% solid epoxy has no fumes or VOC's. With 100% solids epoxy when you put down 10mils wet (1mil being the thickness of a piece of scotch tape) you get 10mils dry. When you use water or solvent based epoxy say at 50% solids, when you put 10mils wet you end up with 5mils dry. The other 50% evaporates. As for what to use depends on the application, for a bottom coat you might want to use 100% solids for a higher build, and to topcoat you might want to use a solvent or water based to get a smoother finish. non-100% solids epoxy's tend to lay down flatter, using the solvent or water to distribute the epoxy more evenly. Now what brand ? I would stay away from anything from a big box store. Go with National Polymers, Crown Polymers or General Polymers(a Sherwin Williams division) Or any company that specializes in epoxy coatings. If you haven't worked with topcoats i.e. Polyurethanes or Polyaspartics I recommend you practice them first before applying. Always scratch up the surface before applying a second coat (they say you have a 24-48 hr window for chemical bond but a mechanical bond is always a better option) and get a top of the line floor finish (I like Ecolab or iShine) And if you can try to give the epoxy 7 days to fully cure before you apply any traffic other than "light" foot.

 

[AlphaGarage]

Woody is correct, by definition a 100% solids will have no water or solvents. Some of the larger brands, especially those found in big box stores, are only 42% solids, which means 58% of the product evaporates, and you're left with less than half the depth you purchased and poured.

When a coating with lots of water or solvent additives cures, those additives need to migrate to the surface to dissipate and evaporate. As they do that they leave microscopic tunnels, later in the curing process the surrounding material has hardened to the point that it can't back fill those tunnels, so they're permanent. What you have then is a somewhat compromised coating, instead of a solid one. Think of a plank of wood riddled with holes drilled through it compared to a solid plank. The lower the percentage of solids, the higher the amount of tunnels.

Our Wolverine Coatings BondTite 1101 and LiquaTile 1184 are both 100% solids, while the EnduraShield 2254 is 90% solids, 10% water was added to the DIY version to extend the workable pot life. BondTite 1101 is used as the primer, the pigmented LiquaTile 1184 the body coat, and either more BondTite 1101 or EnduraShield 2254 as the clear coat. For most home and shop floors our recommended coat depths are 5 mil for primer, 12 mil for body, 5 mil for BondTite clear coat or 4 mil for the EnduraShield clear.

Besides the recommended depth the difference between the clear coats is that the EnduraShield 2254 is UV resistant as well as a bit harder and crystal clear, in fact it's so clear that the biggest problem we've had has been people having a difficult times distinguishing where it has and hasn't been applied.

Here are a few links to Garage Journal members who choose the EnduraShield clear coat. BTW they're good to read regardless of what brand you choose because they contain many great tips and pointers:

Great concept - fantastic execution! For Details - click here.

Attention to detail pays off. For Details - click here.

Works well with lift installs also... For Details - click here.

Here are some BondTite clear coats:

Nice finished look. For Details - click here.

With friend's help! (no, not the dog) For Details - click here.

A MUST READ just for the tips if nothing else. For Details - click here.

And one without any clear coat. For Details - click here.

If you'd like a material estimate for your floor, a copy of available colors, and an application guide, email your current floor condition details and floor size to [email protected]

(A big "Thank You!" to our clients who've generously taken the time to share their experiences and pictures!)

 

[buglush]

new guy question. how long do i wait to epoxy fresh concrete.

 

[roger55]

new guy question. how long do i wait to epoxy fresh concrete.

Usually 30 days.
And the concrete still will have to be prepped. Either with acid, grinding or shot blasting.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

this is a good read bump for more info.

 

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

There are a few vendors on the board that sell quality epoxy floors. I'm guessing all of them are good products. Talk to them and go with the one that fits your budget/tastes/etc.

We waited about a month on Dad's floor (32x40) before putting down Epoxy-Coat. We made a few goofs but nothing major, and by the time we did the first 1/6th of the floor (judging by how the floor was sawed) we were pretty comfortable with the process.

For Dad's new concrete floor, we just washed it and acid-etched. We didn't grind it, and we didn't use a primer.

We did have some outgassing and that did leave some spots in the finish. We didn't use the chips, just a light grey coating, and no clear. Even with the spots, Dad still *loves* that floor. Oil and anti-freeze just wipe up. Dad paints cars as a hobby, and as a test he tried some lacquer thinner on the floor. It was undamaged.

Looking back, I think we went a bit too fast as we did the whole floor at once. We could have done it in 1/3s (the shop has three 10' garage doors) which would have let us have better access to break the surface tension with a leaf blower to combat the outgassing. I think a primer under the epoxy would have helped. If we had used the chips that would have hidden most or all of it. Neither of us like the chip look, though.

We may scuff his floor and re-coat it just to make it prettier, but it's not necessary and it doesn't look bad as it is (did I mention he paints cars? He wants to sand and repaint everything -- the curse of the painter). We're both big enough fans of epoxy that we're going to do my shop's floor (36x50), though we're going to do it a bit differently with more prep work since it's an old floor. We'll pressure-wash, acid-etch, and grind the floor first (not sure about the order), then prime it before coating.

 

[roger55]

I've used Epoxy-Coat a couple of times.
On one of those applications that was very new concrete, I used Rustoleum water based epoxy that I got from Home Depot as a primer coat. I had no out-gas issues.

On the other application where I did not use a primer coat, I did experience some out gassling.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

A leaf blower will not break surface tension and definitely will not prevent out-gassing!!

Use a primer. That is how all professional companies do it and smart DIY too!!

 

[Shea]

We'll pressure-wash, acid-etch, and grind the floor first (not sure about the order), then prime it before coating.

No need to acid etch the floor if you are going to grind. Grinding and primer are a great foundation to a good floor coating.

 

[tcianci]

My Epoxy is from a commercial vendor caller Stonhard. RPM is their parent company, which also owns Rustoleum. I was working for a very large industrial company at the time and I got my materials from the Stonhard rep. The floor I coated was about 20 years old at the time. It had seen it's share of grease, dirt, oil, ****** and brake fluid, welding and cutting, paint and just about anything you could get on a garage floor. I swept and acid etched the floor, and to tell you the truth, it barely looked any better than before I etched it. I mixed and applied the primer coat and the next morning, I mixed and applied the topcoat. I have been beating the **** out of this floor for about 13 years now, no lifting, no peeling but I have managed to scratch, burn and stain it to some degree but after all this abuse...more paint, ****** fluid, gasoline, brake fluid, grease and solvents, this floor has held up like IRON and always looks pretty good after a nice cleaning. it's just a plain grey Stonhard floor but it's the best feature of my garage. If you're looking for a top of the line epoxy floor, check them out.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I really love my Wolverine Epoxy floor coating but unfortunately you can't get it currently, as the distributor is out for medical reasons. I would recommend Scotty with Legacy Industrial, or Justin with GarageFlooringsLLC for top quality products and great information.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

I really love my Wolverine Epoxy floor coating but unfortunately you can't get it currently, as the distributor is out for medical reasons. I would recommend Scotty with Legacy Industrial, or Justin with GarageFlooringsLLC for top quality products and great information.

 

[roger55]

I really love my Wolverine Epoxy floor coating but unfortunately you can't get it currently, as the distributor is out for medical reasons.

Gosh, I hope Fred is going to be OK.
Nice Guy.

 

[retfr8flyr]

Yes me too. The last information was that he is finally doing better and should be able to return sometime this spring. I hope he continues to improve and gets back to his old self soon, he is a great guy.


Earl

 

[rick21765]

Use a primer. That is how all professional companies do it and smart DIY too!!

What primer do you recommend?

 

[roger55]

What primer do you recommend?

Inexpensive water-based epoxy. Go to Home Depot or Lowes.
Put your good stuff on as soon as you can walk on the water-based and it seems dry. Don't wait too long, you don't want it to be fully cured.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

What primer do you recommend?

The water based stuff at the big box stores is not the primer material we supply.

Here is our link: http://legacyindustrial.net/cart/standard-epoxy-coatingprimer-p-103.html

Our WB Primer is good stuff, many folks use it stand-alone as a simple two coat system.

 

[CT2012]

Is Benjamin Moore P40 a good product? 100% solids, etc.

My issue is timing--I need it now (I have a 3-day window to get this job done), otherwise I'd order your kit!

There's a Benjamin Moore pro paint store nearby, hence the inquiry.

 

[Highperformancesystems]

100% solids epoxy is neither solvent or water based, it's 100% solid! Also 100% solid epoxy has no fumes or VOC's. With 100% solids epoxy when you put down 10mils wet (1mil being the thickness of a piece of scotch tape) you get 10mils dry. When you use water or solvent based epoxy say at 50% solids, when you put 10mils wet you end up with 5mils dry. The other 50% evaporates. As for what to use depends on the application, for a bottom coat you might want to use 100% solids for a higher build, and to topcoat you might want to use a solvent or water based to get a smoother finish. non-100% solids epoxy's tend to lay down flatter, using the solvent or water to distribute the epoxy more evenly. Now what brand ? I would stay away from anything from a big box store. Go with National Polymers, Crown Polymers or General Polymers(a Sherwin Williams division) Or any company that specializes in epoxy coatings. If you haven't worked with topcoats i.e. Polyurethanes or Polyaspartics I recommend you practice them first before applying. Always scratch up the surface before applying a second coat (they say you have a 24-48 hr window for chemical bond but a mechanical bond is always a better option) and get a top of the line floor finish (I like Ecolab or iShine) And if you can try to give the epoxy 7 days to fully cure before you apply any traffic other than "light" foot.

As a professional installer of 7+ years I have used a large majority of the industrial materials out there and have no horse in the race as I do not sell or manufactot material. I highly recommend staying away from national polymers as they seem fairly subpar on a performance base. General polymers offers great products but are meant for professional installations and are not the most "user friendly". They are however a stand up product and reasonably priced.
The large majority of industrial coating manufactors have comparable products and the main difference in my experience is usability. Dur-a-flex, dex-o-tex and general polymers are the main lines I use.