Garage Epoxy Floor Coatings
One of the best things you can do to your floor in the garage is to apply a covering to protect it and make it safer to walk on if you spill oil or some other automotive fluid. If you notice in a car dealers shop they always have a coating on the floor because they can’t afford a slip and fall accident. The safest treatment is a garage epoxy floor coating with an anti-slip topping. This will not only make the floor safer it will also protect the surface from most damage, even sparks from a welding bench.
Garage epoxies come in two types: the standard two part resin/hardener and a water based garage floor coating. The two part system has been around for years and works very well. The resin and hardener idea have been used in fiberglass construction for decades to give a hard, durable result that is strong enough for large power boats and sailing boats. The main difference between fiberglass and the coating for the garage floor is that fiberglass also has a woven blanket that gives the longitudinal strength. This mesh of fiberglass stands is very strong and gives the epoxy something to form to. When applying epoxy to a concrete floor surface the existing slab gives the support so no webbing or mesh is needed.
The real key to a long lasting epoxy floor is to spend a lot of time on the prep work. It is like Abe Lincoln said, “If I had six hours to cut down a tree, I would spend four hours sharpening my ax.” It is the same with a floor coating. By spending the time up front to prepare the surface properly you will have better adhesion and thus a longer lasting surface.
The first prep step is to sweep the floor and remove any loose concrete chips and spalling. Next, scrub any oil stained spots with a good quality degreaser in order to remove any of the petroleum product. If you don’t get all the oil up, the resin in the epoxy will not adhere to the surface. You can use the water bead test to see if you removed all the oil by spraying a film of water on the floor and checking for beading. If the water beads up then you still have more degreasing to do. If the water appears to soak in then you can move on to the next step.
Aged concrete is very hard and epoxy doesn’t tend to want stick to the surface so you will need to etch it. This is done with a weak acid mixture you can get at any home store. Follow the directions as to length of time to keep it on and for clean up. It can arm plants and pets so be careful in its use.
If you follow the directions you can end up with a garage epoxy floor that will last for years to come.
