[tsmith455]

I would suggest you seriously consider U-Coat-It. Twelve years ago, I did my shop floors, garage floors and any building I have with a concrete floor is covered with U-Coat It. It is a bit more expensive, however is by far the best epoxy coating I've seen used. I used Muriatic Acid (recommended) to etch the floors before using. The #1 thing I like about it as opposed to other coatings is you put the epoxy coating on while the floor is damp. All of the other coatings I know of, require a dry floor and concrete never really dries out.....especially a new floor, it is difficult to get all of the moisture out, which is why some floors tend to peel. My floors get a lot of abuse and they have held up unbelievably. I also have a boat which sits through the winter as well as cars which set for extended periods of time and have never had a peeled spot, tires sitting directly on the floors. It's application is easy and when I did it, they had a starter kit you could purchase, which had everything you needed, including the bucket. You just need to provide the labor.

Absolutely a great product and worth every penny!

Tom

[PONTIAC-ONE]

The Epoxy clear coat doesn't hold worth a damn in our climate, I did proper prep with the acid etch and most of it peeled off after 2 winters.
Warm climates would be fine I think.

What most do around here now is the bare concrete polish, large walk behind rotary sanders and polish away in steps until desired shine is achieved...looks almost like marble flooring.

[Skip Fix]

Floor hardener looks interesting. One of the hardest things is I have no wter out there so any etching or even sanding prep could not be done. Getting a generator until I get elctric out there.

[Nomadac]

I agree with tsmith455 post of Thumbs up U-Coat-It Garage Floor Coating.

U-Coat-It is a product of ProCote http://procote.com/pgs/company.htm which is owned by Jerry Carafelly. I have know Jerry and his Company since I worked at PMD and called on Pontiac Dealers. Many of the Pontiac Zone Dealers used his coating on their Service Departments and it not only held great it created a very professional appearance for their customers.

If you go to his website you will see the many different applications he has done. If you want a floor coating that will last I would recommend it.

[Skip Fix]

The biggest question on cany coating is going to be no water for washing it down or etching and whether that will harm adhesion. I do think a light grey will help reflect more light inside than plain concrete so it will be lighter in there.

[67Twistytee]

Not sure where you're located, but have you thought about hiring a portable car wash service to come out with a tank and power washer? Once the floor is clean, you can acid wash with a simplle plastic weed sprayer and then neutralize with a hand spray bottle. You'd have to have a washer/tank service to come out twice (once to prep clean and again to rinse after the etch), but it might be worth it.

[Bentwheelbob]

Originally Posted by Skip Fix

The biggest question on cany coating is going to be no water for washing it down or etching and whether that will harm adhesion. I do think a light grey will help reflect more light inside than plain concrete so it will be lighter in there.

Look into shot blasting the floor vs. etching to manage the lack of water problem and get a better end product. Shot blasting (sometimes called peening) provides a much superior surface for adhesion as compared to etching which is why most professional floor coating contractors use it instead of acid etching. Shot blasting does not require water, and the machines can be rented at Sunbelt or most other large tool/equipment rental business.

[69hardtop]

I am in year #4 with the Rustoleum floor paint product, and it has held up well (Michigan location). Only flaking I have (minimal) is around the floor slab expansion joints where I would guess moisture wicked up when I did paint application.

[6TEE8GTO]

I went with a polyurea coating in my shop. It was spendy but worth it. The concrete was ground down and prepped and then the coating was applied. It's very durable and can last many years without peeling or cracking off.



http://buckysflooring.com/polyurea/

So far I am very satisfied with it.

[AdamIsAdam]

Originally Posted by Jim Doran

A slightly different point of view that was given to me and I am glad I went in this direction.

My garage floor is in very good shape and I wanted to put some epoxy down. I do have a lift and often use the garage for cars, lawn tractor stuff, dragging snowblowers, and do park 2 cars indoors most of the year and the winter makes a real mess.

The advice was to use the inexpensive home depot garage floor paint and touch it up 1x a year for cheap. This has worked out well as the winter tears up the floor and I don't sweat scraping it when dragging a snowblower or angle iron,etc etc

I originally was going with an expensive epoxy, but knew sooner or later I would damange it, then what. Now around May, I recoat the garage and it looks great for most of the summer. I just use a roller on a stick and it take 2 hours. Don't need to cut it in at walls each recoat.

Just my .02 on keeping things simple.

Old thread, updates on above stuff requested.

Jim,
How is the cheap stuff holding up?

I just rented a garage and plan to paint the all concrete walls, ceiling and floor. I'm concerned about moisture since much of the garage is below grade so I was going to use DryLock paint everywhere. The floor has old oil stains BTW.

What do you guys think? Remember, it's a rental so I don't want to spend a ton. I do hope to be there for many years, but who knows with a rental.

Thanks

[mgarblik]

Interesting and timely thread as I am getting ready to paint a pole barn floor. This is a small working shop. My main concern is Brake Fluid and Brake Clean. I do allot of complete brake line replacements as I live in the rust belt. I average about 500-700 ft. of brake line a year. When you remove it, no matter how careful you are, hundreds of drips of brake fluid end up on the floor. I typically use brake clean to do as much clean-up as I can, as fast as I can. Are there any epoxy paints that can stand up; to this? If I could get 5-7 honest years of service and then re-paint, I would be OK. I don't want to paint the floor every year. Currently, the floor is bare concrete, in good shape, with a little staining I will have to deal with. I have noticed a huge difference in price with the various epoxy's. From a low of about $150.00 for 1000 Sq. ft. to over $600.00 for 1000 Sq. ft. So there must be some real difference between them?

[Jim Doran]

Originally Posted by AdamIsAdam

Old thread, updates on above stuff requested.

Jim,
How is the cheap stuff holding up?

Thanks

Cheap stuff last for pretty much a year, primarily due to the harsh winters we have here in CT. Dragging salt / gravel / wet hot tires beats up the two tires tracks and is usually in need of a recoat by April.

Given I keep the same color and don't need to cut in around the edges, probably takes me 1 hour to recoat w/roller on a broomstick handle. I just blow out the garage, maybe mop with clean water and then recoat. Looks great for most of the warm weather months.

I'm happy with my decision because it is guilt free if I spill or impact the floor and it needs to be recoated in a small area.

[AdamIsAdam]

Thanks, Jim. Since this garage won't be used daily, it may hold up even longer. What paint are you using on the floor? Dryloc or something else?

[Jim Doran]

This is what I use; It comes in 2 colors. I put one color on the perimeter concrete foundation and another on the floor.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/BEHR-Prem...0201/100113293

[AdamIsAdam]

What about this?

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DRYLOK-1-...7513/100118662

[The Boss]

Drylock is great for the walls, not sure I would use it for a floor.

[Bentwheelbob]

In the Question and Answer section at the link provided it says drylock cannot be used for garage floors.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/DRYLOK-1-...7513/100118662

If this garage is that wet and damp I think I might try to find a plan B.

[AdamIsAdam]

oh! good catch on the garage floor. I'll go with garage floor paint then.

The garage was very dry when I went back. Between the dehumidifier and I had him correct a downspout, I'm hoping that problem is no more. If it is, then I'll be moving out! I don't want to start having moisture issues.

My next stop will be to read up on all the tricks of keeping humidity at bay in and around the car, especially when stored long term. But I can easily run that dehumidifier permanently.

[grrrrregg!!!]

subscribed
im getting close

[mgarblik]

That looks great. Stick built with nice tall doors. How big is it? How thick is that slab? Looks like a foot thick!.