Garage Floor Epoxy Coatings

Epoxy is a polymer usually used to fuse materials together. It can also be used as a coating system. The surface becomes more durable and resistant to damage and stains. Not just and adhesive, epoxy is commonly used on garage floor coating applications as well.

Companies such as Rust-Oleum, JNK-Products, MuscleGloss, and Epoxy-Coat make fine epoxies and paints, acrylic polyester or polyurethane resins for coating a garage floor.

Before applying epoxy on your garage floor, you must make sure that the surface is suitable. Think of the effect of an epoxy coating to a badly prepped surface. It could start to delaminate, chip, and flake.

Proper inspection of your garage floor can save wasted time and money. Any powdery or crystalline substances indicates a moisture problem which will prevent any coating system from adhering properly to the floor.

If the garage floor has been previously painted and showing signs of peeling, then further application of paint or epoxy will probably continue to be problematic. Good adhesion of epoxy to the floor is doubtful if the floor has some dampness or if the humidity is high.

Previous applications of a sealant to the concrete floor can also pose a problem with adhesion for any epoxy coating system.

There are a couple of simple tests you can do to see the compatibility of the surface for an epoxy coating:

1. A rubber mat on the floor must be taped down to surface. Leave it there for a day or so and then lift it up. If find water has collected between the mat and the floor, there is a moisture issue to be tended to.

If your garage floor failed this test, all is not lost. You can use a concrete sealer. A thin product that will penetrate to seal is best. This type of product will leave the surface rough and available for adhesion to your coating system.

2. Pour a little water in a few areas of the cement. Normally, it would seep into the concrete. However, if it stays there for a long period of time, the surface might have been previously sealed or is contaminated with other water repelling agents. Again, this kind of situation is not suitable for epoxy or paint.

3. Try a test patch of an oil based paint product. Several test patches, especially underneath where a car engine would be can be most helpful in determining the suitability of the floor. If these patches still look well adhered after a few months, then chances for success are good.

When applying an epoxy coating, there are a few tips to be observed:

1. Water-based floor epoxy or thicker solvent epoxy can both be used but the thicker epoxies tend to look slick, slippery and shiny while the water based epoxies look more dull like paint.

2. After applying epoxy the the garage floor, a primer can be applied in preparation for a top coat of paint. You can prime the surface with water-based floor epoxy or the solvent thinned epoxy. This is done in order to achieve better adhesion. If the surface is moist or the concrete is dusty and weak, then you can apply the solvent epoxy to make it look slick.

3. The epoxy primer sticks into the surface. Though some customers skip the primer, others opt for it to have better adhesion. Though residential garages really don’t require primers as opposed to industrial and commercial environments which do tend to benefit from a primer.

4. The epoxy main coat consists of either a solvent free epoxy or a coat of water-based epoxy.

5. When applying the main coat, colored chips and anti slip grits can be added.

Armed with this information, any do it yourself garage mechanic can achieve a look and finish that is something truly to behold among peers. But a badly prepped garage floor can mean a waste of time and materials if not properly done.

common typos: garge