Welding and grinding on epoxy or stain??

[5lima30]

My garage is not done yet, but before I move in I would like to epoxy or stain it but am not sure how it would hold up to welding (mostly SMAW) and grinding. Also this is going to be a "rustic" themed shop not sure how the epoxy would look. I did a search but was unable to find anything relating to welding on these floors.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

My garage is not done yet, but before I move in I would like to epoxy or stain it but am not sure how it would hold up to welding (mostly SMAW) and grinding. Also this is going to be a "rustic" themed shop not sure how the epoxy would look. I did a search but was unable to find anything relating to welding on these floors.

Weld splatter can melt into epoxy. Stained concrete is more resistant to this process as true stain is just coloring the actual substrate.

If you are stuck on epoxy, broadcast black and gray flake into it to hide future splatters.

Good luck.

 

[thegarageguy]

Stained concrete is more resistant

Stained concrete is typically sealed with acrylics or epoxies...how is this more resistant?

 

[rickairmedic]

Depending on your color choice of course . I would thing a Tan epoxy with differant shades of brown flakes would 1. look more rustic and 2 . hide burn marks better from grinding and spater. Most welding stains I have seen in epoxy are usually more of a brown color.


Rick

 

[5lima30]

Good point Rick. I hadn't thought about color until now but I think I will definitely go with brown but still undecided on stain or epoxy.

 

[minhster]

I was torn between staining, epoxy, and even tiles but decided to leave it plain concrete. I do a LOT of metal cutting, grinding, and MIG welding and I seriously don't think any of the products will handle HEAVY use. A lot of people have suggested getting the floor sealed and resealed every few years but I have so much heavy machinery that moving stuff in and out of the garage every few years to re-coat is just not possible. That being said I am totally over trying to find a flooring that will work in my shop.

 

[creativecars]

I work in a shop where there are many things going on like welding, grinding, painting, ( cleaning up spilled paint and overspray), mechanical work (sliding a rearend under a car and brake fluid is bad on a floor coating), sliding and rolling of heavy objects, floor jacks, jack stands, a grinder bumping the floor, ect ect…

I know I will be flogged for even suggesting this but for years I have been painting my floor with the cheapest enamel I could find. I have been in several shops where expensive coatings and epoxies were used, some were successful some weren’t and usually within a year or two enough of the above mentioned activities have made the floor to look like ****. Now for about $25 I can put down a new fresh looking floor. Sometimes I change colors from white to gray and some accent striping too.

 

[Vicegrip]

I used rusto brand waterborn 2 part epoxy. You know, the almost worthless stuff from past threads. It has born the brunt of a lot of Mig, Tig, stick welding and plasma cutter slag. I think it helps that it is a thin film as the heat ***** out of the slag and into the cement without making a puddle of burnt coating.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Stained concrete is typically sealed with acrylics or epoxies...how is this more resistant?

Fernando, good afternoon.
Hopefully the snow didn't hold you back today.

If you stain the floor and apply densifier for a sealer you would have a floor more resistant to weld splatter than an epoxy, no?

Even if you used a thin sealer, it would have less material to melt through and stand out less, I would think.