The Skunkworks Epoxy-Coat project.

[bluesman2a]

OK, I'm getting ready to put down my epoxy floor this weekend. Prepped last weekend, and wanted to share some thoughts.

Specs:
My garage is a 2 car attached to my house (not my shop). It is 424 square feet plus about a 3-4" concrete lip around the base of the walls.

Material
I bought 2 full grey kits locally from Lowes. Depending on how the concrete soaks up the epoxy, I want the option to roll out a thicker coat if I so desire. I also have a small shop bathroom I will be doing as a later project, so I wanted some extra material on hand just in case.

Prep:
Last weekend, I emptied out the garage.
1) Blew out the whole thing with a leaf blower.

2) Sprayed the floor down with purple-power degreaser from a garden sprayer. I love this stuff. It works wonders.

3) Rinse/squeegee/dry.

4) Hit grease spots (armor-all) with acetone and lightly grind surface with wire-cup brush on a drill.

5) Pressure wash with concrete cleaning solution. Paid special attention to any spots with pressure washer using rotating nozel, this created a more "porous" area around the spots.

6) Rinse/dry.

7) Apply Muratic acid from kit with garden sprayer, mixed per instructions. One bottle per 1 gallon of water. When it went on, there was some slight "smoking" for a second or two, but not a lot of foaming on the concrete itself. NOTE: when mixing the acid MAKE SURE you put the water into the tank FIRST, and be careful with pouring from the bottle, it will tend to spill down the side and/or splash. WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES AND GLOVES. Brush acid solution in with a stiff-bristle broom.

8) Wet floor after letting sit 10 minutes or so, then apply baking soda to neutralize acid. NOTE: Sam's club has a very large container of baking soda that works well for this type of thing for about $5-6.

9) Scrub baking soda around with slurry of water using a stiff bristle broom.

10) Rinse/clean out baking soda/squeegee/dry.

 

[bluesman2a]

Thoughts on kit materials and tools

There have been many other discussions about what comes in the kits. My take, based on their advice:

1) The squeegees are a joke (they are from Ikea). They would be great for a shower door, but ineffective to work on a floor. No facility to put a handle on them. Get a real squeegee, in fact, get a couple, they are cheap. http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

2) Rollers. Based on what others have said get one roller cover for each section you plan on doing. Nothing fancy, just a cheapie 3/8" knap roller cover.

3) Brushes Same story as the rollers. You can get the cheapie chip-brushes at depot for $1 or less each, for the 3".

4) Buckets get one set of measuring buckets for EACH section I plan on doing for accurate measurement, you can get them cheaply at $1-2 each for just the measuring containers for quart and 2.5 quart sizes.

5) Spatulas Sams club has large disposable spatulas (2 for $8), to ensure you get all the material out of each bucket and onto the floor to minimize waste.

6) Spike shoes -- found a place locally that sells them for $15. You can also buy from them if you're not an Atlanta local, they have a web site and an ebay store as well http://troweltrades.net/

Stuff already laying around

1) Painters tape.
2) drop cloths and cover for area outside of garage so as not to get paint on concrete.
3) box-fan for window to keep airflow up.
4) 9" roller and extendable poll.
5) food scale for dividing chips into equal lots.
6) grinders and wire cup brushes for problem spots.
7) pressure washer.

 

[bluesman2a]

Currently we are waiting for things to dry out, last water was on it on Sunday, we'll mask it Friday night, start on it on Saturday morning. Ambient temps will start off in the low 70's in the morning and ramp up to the 90's by the end of the day.

I'll try to get out and get some current pics for the before part of the thread.

 

[csp]

After doing mine last weekend (864 sq ft w/two kits) I have a few things that may be useful.

Good idea with the wider squeegee. I happened to need a new one in the shower, so that's where one of the included squeegees went. My new one (only 4" wider) also had the same handle attachment as those included, so I used a handle temporarily removed from a garden rake. It is possible to attach a handle to the squeegees included in the kits. You just need the right kind of tapered handle and a set screw.

I bought six extra roller covers since our floor was already broken down into eight sections via the control cuts. One cover did the entire floor, so I get to return the extras today and I have one of the included covers for future painting projects. I bought extras also on the mention of others needing them.

You can't tell any difference in our application due to the roller changes from the first section to the last. It could be that we are in a very dry climate though. Lots of epoxys cure faster with humidity, but I don't know if that's applicable here. We did, however, get fast curing on the cut in brushes, so I was glad to have purchased extras of those also.

We used three buckets per kit and made four batches out of each kit. One 2.5 quart for the color coat, one 1.5 quart for the Part B, and one to mix the two parts in. I drew a circle around the correct measurement line with a Sharpie to be sure it stayed consistent and correct. I didn't care for the marked measuring stick method Epoxy Coat recommends. Probably could have used just the initial three buckets for both kits, but using three fresh ones on the second kit was a little less messy.

Make sure the extension pole is at least 8' long if your person running it wants to stay out of the epoxy (ie person not wearing spike shoes). In addition to a big drop cloth we had a big piece of cardboard for measuring/mixing/staging.

Are you doing both kits at the same time, or installing the second kit on top of a cured first kit?

 

[bluesman2a]

Probably could have used just the initial three buckets for both kits, but using three fresh ones on the second kit was a little less messy.

Are you doing both kits at the same time, or installing the second kit on top of a cured first kit?

csp, thanks for the insight/advice, it's much appreciated!

Based on what I'd read, I'm with you on the bucket thing, just seems too much cheaper/easier/cleaner NOT to do it.

As for the kits, I believe I have enough to complete the entire thing with one kit, but I will know more/better once I complete the cut-in and first section. Worst-case scenario, I'll do the second kit on top of the 1st a couple hours later if I don't feel like it's enough.

 

[Edger]

You are well prepared, but good luck with the Amor All because it is a silicone and I never found anything that would clean it off. If it is a problem it will cause "fisheye" marks in the coating on those areas. Not the end of the world, just a small imperfection which tends to disappear with wear.

 

[bluesman2a]

OK, we finished up today... It's done.

Here's the floor after all the prep was complete:

Here's the prep area we setup outside the garage to handle the mixing, tools and rest breaks:

Prep table and tools:

Here are several shots of the finished product. As many others have noted, No in-between pics cause we were cooking and while we were staying ahead of the epoxy, there wasn't much luxury time.

 

[bluesman2a]

Lessons Learned

Environment:
When we started, it was approximately 75 degrees in the shade, and progressed up to a high of about 88*, with high humidity. Most of the garage was in shade, but portions in the sun/warmer needed to be worked faster. We made it a point to keep the components out of the direct sunlight so they did not get "pre-heated".

Labor:
We did this with two people. My wife did one helluva job today helping me. Ideally you would want 3-4. One person just to mix. One person just to cut-in. And one person just to back-roll. Flaking was pretty easy, and could be shared among 3. For larger floors, you'd probably want at least 4 so you don't have to scramble as much. On a 424 square foot 2-car garage, we were busy, but not overly so.

Epoxy:
Read the directions, watched the video, and have read ad nauseum here on the forum. I really thought it was going to be harder. This was pretty simple if you are prepared.

Coverage: This project was 424 square feet plus a 4" concrete stem-wall all the way around that had to be cut-in. I feel like one full kit covered it very well. There are a couple of thin-spots, but those are my fault during the application, not the lack of material.

Opted NOT to get the clear-coat and am glad I didn't. This stuff has a good finish on it, and I'm not sure the extra work and the expense would have been worth it.

Also opted NOT to use the extra grit for traction, and just flaked it. I think I will like this better in the long run. Easier to clean, and better finish.

Flakes: We used all the flakes from one kit and about 1/4 of the flakes from the backup kit we had on-hand. I think it's a good amount, but it could have been a little heavier for my taste. Advice for future customers, buy an extra pound or so of flake, I think you'll like it better.

Mixing: I had a very hard time getting all the color/solids up off the bottom of the PART A bucket. The included mixer worked fine once I got the junk off the bottom, but that was particularly hard. When I finished there was still some stuck to the bottom of the bucket. I got good color, but think it could have been just a tad darker. My advice is to have a heavy stick/scraper tool handy to get all the gunk from the bottom of the bucket. You might also try taking the PART A back to Lowes or a paint store and have them shake it for you prior to trying to stir it.

Mixing process: The measuring buckets worked GREAT. We broke it into 4 equal parts, thus we mixed 1 quart of the PART B to 2 quarts of PART A. This broke it out to 4 equal batches.

Tools:
Spikes: get them. They work and are handy.

MVP tool: Spatulas. Good for really cleaning out the buckets to the last drop.

Squeegee: I got a larger/heavy duty squeegee. It did the job TOO well. When I pulled epoxy back it SCRAPED the concrete clean. The idea is to leave a little material down to work with. I had better results PUSHING the material or holding the blade up slightly. In this case, the lighter blade included may have been a bit better.

Tape: We used blue painter's tape and it SUCKED. Epoxy got under it and there wasn't a clean line in the place. Figure out something better, it's NOT blue tape.

Roller covers: While we didn't use a separate cover for each section as I thought we might need, we used several as they started getting crusty and curing, indicating a change. Have spares on hand.

Brushes: Same as rollers.

Random Thoughts:

Puddles:There are a couple of places where we set down things like rollers and stuff. I know it's pretty clear in retrospect, but if you have a "puddle that starts to harden/cure, you'll be stuck with it. Have a PLASTIC area where you can lay used tools while you are doing the next step.

Drop cloths: We used a fabric drop cloth. Don't. Cardboard or something covered by plastic.

Poles: Make sure you get a good extension pole so your back-roller can reach everything necessary, or plan to do it from up on spikes (not my bag).

Xylene: I had some on hand for another project. This made cleaning our hands and "spots" of epoxy much easier.

 

[Edger]

Absolutely fantastic post Bluesman, very professional and practical DIY, everything is necessary. Will be interesting to see after a couple of months how slippery or great it ends up the way you have finished it.

I reckon with a small amount of care it will be about the best you can get without actually using the anti slip granules. I think many people will be more satisfied with their floor finish some months down the track because it tends to mellow over time. At first it is very shiny and with water and certain footware it can be slippery, but over time it tends to get better and with a bit of wear it improves too.

Most people should exercise some degree of care with soles of shoes and leaving puddles and walking in those puddles. If they cannot be careful then anti slip granules will do a very good job. It would be great to hear back in a few months about how you find it.

 

[Thruxton]

Great post, and into the file for when the floor stage of my project comes up. Thanks!

 

[bluesman2a]

Thanks for the kind words, guys...

One other thought now that we've lived with it for a day or so:
OUTGASSING: Be prepared to leave your garage open/vented for a day or so. All day Saturday, the whole house smelled of epoxy. Our house is connected to the garage, but there is NO discernable area where the smell could come through (no window and door was closed the whole time). Since it's 90+ here, opening up the house isn't really an option. Better to plan on making sure that you have plenty of ventilation to the floor for a couple of days following. Today it started to settle down a bit, but still gonna leave the big door open tonight.

 

[formek]

Looks good and a very good post.

 

[bluesman2a]

Just a quick update here... On traction, chips, and non-skid.

We've had a bunch of rain this week, which means a wet garage floor. Even with a liberally wet epoxy floor, wearing Crocs (arguably THE WORST traction shoe EVER in wet conditions), I can say I felt no issues on a liberally chipped floor.

So, again, I'm happy we decided NOT to put the non-slip grit on our floors, and I feel that the flakes offer enough traction for any normal use.

On a side note, we also had to groom a dog on this floor a couple nights ago. What would have been a PITA sweeping on the concrete, cleaned up nicely with a dust mop and left not a trace with just a couple of passes!

 

[ford33]

Excellent post. Thanks for taking the time to give details and the lessons learned. I'll refer to it when it's time to epoxy my floor.
Kevin
Chicago

 

[CarreraX]

Bluesman, Thanks for the great thread! I just ordered 1 1/2 kits from epoxy coat and am hoping to do it in the next few weeks. I am also doing the flakes. I ordered the non slip grit but Im really on the fence as to using it or not. Im in Dayton Ohio and we get our fair share of rain/snow. I dont want my wife or kids slipping but I also dont want a sandpaper floor.

After reading your post I think I am going to not use the anti slip. Hopefully this is a good decision. I did think about just putting some in certain areas but not sure if that would be visibly noticible. Opinions?

Last, you mention that the outgassing smell was bad. When I talked to Christine she said there wasnt any smell with the epoxt coat. Did you use the actual epoxy coat brand or a different one from Lowes? I really need to plan this differently if there is a big smell issue. We have a 3 car atttached and small daughters and I really dont want the house all smelly with them here. Thanks again for the wonderful write up!

 

[formek]

Last, you mention that the outgassing smell was bad. When I talked to Christine she said there wasnt any smell with the epoxt coat. Did you use the actual epoxy coat brand or a different one from Lowes? I really need to plan this differently if there is a big smell issue. We have a 3 car atttached and small daughters and I really dont want the house all smelly with them here. Thanks again for the wonderful write up!

my shop is not connected to the house so I can say for sure but I never noticed a smell. not while putting it down or after

PS if you look threw the photos you will see Epoxy Coat Brand Cans

 

[bluesman2a]

Thanks again folks, for the kind words. My hope here is to help other folks along, and let them know that with a little planning, this really isn't THAT hard if you follow the manufacturer's instructions. Of course we are also lucky to have Christine here as a resource and she helped me a BUNCH, just by what's been posted.

After reading your post I think I am going to not use the anti slip. Hopefully this is a good decision. I did think about just putting some in certain areas but not sure if that would be visibly noticible. Opinions?

This was exactly what I was planning on doing originally. I was only going to "salt" the anti-slip on the path we generally tend to walk on. While I don't think it would be visibly noticeable. I don't regret for a moment NOT adding the grit. I think it would be fine for anything short of larger amounts of snow/ice. I spent some time today on it in bare feet. Good traction there too. You can feel the flakes slightly raised from the surface, but it's not enough to hinder cleanup.

Last, you mention that the outgassing smell was bad. When I talked to Christine she said there wasnt any smell with the epoxt coat. Did you use the actual epoxy coat brand or a different one from Lowes? I really need to plan this differently if there is a big smell issue. We have a 3 car atttached and small daughters and I really dont want the house all smelly with them here. Thanks again for the wonderful write up!

Yes, as previously mentioned, I used the Epoxy Coat from Lowes.

I wouldn't say it was BAD, but when I walked outside to take the dogs out, then came back in, I COULD smell it. Once I was in the house, it became a non-issue as I got used to it. We didn't suffer any ill effects. The smell persisted for about 2-3 days, I think because we had everything buttoned up for about a day after finishing. I wouldn't suggest that you make big elaborate plans, but DO plan on leaving your big garage door open as it cures for a couple of days so the smell does NOT accumulate.

 

[csp]

Epoxy Coat definitely has a smell. It's not an offensive smell at all, but it's definitely there. My wife and I both thought it smelled good, though it never made it into the house.

bluesman's comments on the puddles is a good one. If you set your roller down somewhere, be sure to roll out the epoxy that drains out of it as it sits. I have three puddle spots where my roller sat for a few minutes.

 

[formek]

Epoxy Coat definitely has a smell. It's not an offensive smell at all, but it's definitely there. My wife and I both thought it smelled good, though it never made it into the house.

bluesman's comments on the puddles is a good one. If you set your roller down somewhere, be sure to roll out the epoxy that drains out of it as it sits. I have three puddle spots where my roller sat for a few minutes.

I have two or three of those one from the roller and a few from the skweegee

 

[bluesman2a]

Just one last quick update...

Reloaded everything back into the garage today... everything still looks GREAT.

 

[waynefish]

Lessons Learned



Tape: We used blue painter's tape and it SUCKED. Epoxy got under it and there wasn't a clean line in the place. Figure out something better, it's NOT blue tape.

I used Gorilla Tape it worked great.

 

[LW CONCRETE]

Outgassing more certainly refers to the concrete exhaling usually after a diamond or resin pad grind out or cut. Outgassing and moisture vapor transmission can increase after profiling a floor. Might have to use a MBV product to bring the numbers down.

 

[rugerlady]

Great write up! Thanks for all the information. I do want to add 1 thing. When it comes to using a spatula or some other tool to scrape the bucket, be very careful. You could be scraping unmixed or not thoroughly mixed epoxy on the floor. This area may take more time to cure.