Understanding flakes

[TheBanker]

Ok, I am trying to understand the whole flaking process. I think I like the heavy broadcast but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of the basecoat? You don't even see the color show through. Why not just use clear? But then if you go the light broadcast way it kinda looks like those 12" tiles in old government buildings of the 70's. (in the pics anyway)

Are there more creative ways to use flakes? Mix all different sizes? Mix different flakes in different layers of clear? Different patterns or colors to make designs? What about the metallic flakes or the glow in the dark flakes? Are the flakes enough to curb slipping when my wife gets out of her car in 5" heels, after its been raining? I can't handle that kind of trouble!

 

[AndrewBigA]

Ok, I am trying to understand the whole flaking process. I think I like the heavy broadcast but doesn't that kind of defeat the whole purpose of the basecoat? You don't even see the color show through. Why not just use clear? But then if you go the light broadcast way it kinda looks like those 12" tiles in old government buildings of the 70's. (in the pics anyway)

Are there more creative ways to use flakes? Mix all different sizes? Mix different flakes in different layers of clear? Different patterns or colors to make designs? What about the metallic flakes or the glow in the dark flakes? Are the flakes enough to curb slipping when my wife gets out of her car in 5" heels, after its been raining? I can't handle that kind of trouble!

if you want the flakes to stay on the ground you need to seal the paint with a few layers of a clear coat. i rushed my floor when i did it but time was not on my side. cars are in n out of the shop all day so i did what i could at the moment. ill do something different this year but ill have to work outside for a whole week & im def clearing it this time!

my floor looks decent after 6 months but there are a couple of small chips here & there. the flakes are only covering about 10ft worth of square footage lol. from walking on the floor & driving cars on the floor for 6 days a week the flakes got rubbed away =(

btwy, i used a combo of different kinds of flakes. i had some metallics & a clear chip & a pearl chip.

if your looking for a design for your floor why not just have a viynal sticker made & then place that over the dry paint before you clear? you can have any logo of your fav car make or even something that says mancave with your first name then clear coat it =)

im thinking of something creative that i can do for when my floor gets redone in a couple of months.

 

[AlphaGarage]

You are correct - with a full broadcast the base color will be completely hidden from view - so it would negate the need to be concerned about the base color, but it doesn't negate the need for the base coating all together!

The flakes need something to attach to, they're not adhesive by themselves, so if you just broadcast them on a bare floor, and coat over them, they would simply lift up like a rug. Plus a good base coat does more than provide an anchor for flakes. A quality base coat provides shock and impact absorption. When an object, be it a tool, or whatever, falls and hits bare concrete it chip the concrete. Those divots are dirt magnets, they make it harder to roll around tool carts, they chip out easier, and they just make the floor look nasty. The correct base coat absorbs impacts, because it remains somewhat flexible it acts as a sort of trampoline, and by preventing some of that kinetic energy from transmitting to the substrate it helps avoid those divots from being formed. It's important to have the correct epoxy for the job. There are some that are very hard, but just like glass is extremely hard they can also be a bit brittle, so they are also prone to crack or chip out easily.

And you can use just clear, even with flakes. We've had a couple of jobs where they liked the look of concrete so they just used our clear BondTite 1101, our high performance primer. There was one job where the specs called for about 5 layers of Bondtite with the three middle layers each having a different mix of DecoFlakes - they wanted a deep, 3D look for the finished floor.

There are a lot of different things that can be done with flakes - you just need to keep in mind the pot life of the coating, and plan accordingly.


I would not even think of having flakes without some sort of protective clear coat like EnduraShield 2254- if you can't get a clear coat - don't use chips.

There are also many different types and special flakes, metalized, glow in dark, etc. We've been sending out a lot more of the holographic metallic looking ones lately. A small amount goes a long way - a large amount and you have a disco dance floor.

While a heavy coverage of DecoFlakes does add texture, it’s not the type of texture that adds a lot of traction. Our epoxy system has an extremely attractive high gloss finish, adding the optional SuperGrip 850 in the clear coat to provide traction and help prevent slips for those times when the floor gets wet, or when your wife, or you, are in 5" heels. I kid.

 

[TheBanker]

I'm not so worried about my 5" heels, they are more of the variety of Gene Simmons and hold a little more traction. Does the supergrip in the clear show at all? Does it make it harder to keep clean? I guess it could be used just in certain spots?

 

[AlphaGarage]

SuperGrip is an engineered polymer product, it has rounded corners, that means you can mop it without having the mop head shred, I even use those blue shop towels to clean up spills. It is a white, opaque, grit, so you can see it against darker backgrounds, on light grays it's more difficult to notice, and with flakes it's often impossible to see unless one's looking for it. It does add some texture (duh) so if you just use a straight edge squeegee to clean off liquids it will take a few more swipes. The sizes we offer are finer than table salt.

You can use it in some areas, and not in others, or use different densities. Just map out where you want the different densities and mix up material accordingly.

For most working shops we recommend 0.5 lbs per 200 ft2, that's more than what a residential garage probably needs, so for there try 0.5 lbs per 300 - 400 ft2.

If you want a more aggressive texture, use aluminum oxide. It is a mop killer, and don't think of working on the floor without heavy sleeves etc. There are other specialized grits, but for most applications our SuperGrip, and similar grits, will work fine.

 

[TheBanker]

I am thinking that I should only need the additional traction on the side of the car where my wife exits her car, and near the door.

I still cannot seem to make a decision on the flakes. I think I like the pics of the full broadcast but that sure is a lot of flakes. I am thinking maybe something in the heavy range but not quite full broadcast. I hate the idea of wasting all those additional flakes that will be swept up or scraped off. That brings up another question......Is it preffered to scrape the flakes before the clearcoat or just leave them and put maybe two coats of clear. I guess it depends on what texture is desired.

Oh and guys, I was kidding about the heels.....

 

[AlphaGarage]

Scrape them. The flakes are up to 1/4 inch in size, if they land on edge as much as 1/8" might be poking up, that's too much to cover with the clear coat, even two clear coats. Eventually they'll just wear down or snap off, but they don't always break off cleanly, so a few minutes smoothing them down will result in a nicer looking finish.

BTW What you wear in the comfort of your garage is your business, we just want the whole ensemble to look good

 

[TheBanker]

wow I am glad this came up because I probably would not have scraped them down.