Does anyone have experience using the epoxy coatings for an aged concrete garage floor?
One of my friends is recommending UCoatIt: http://www.ucoatit.com/ but he has not actually used the product.
Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.
Pippins
Replies
I've never used it, but have been curious myself....
Bump.
Justin Fink
FHB Editorial
I'm with JFink, maybe you could shoot a photo once youre finished and let us know how it went
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--> measure once / scribble several lines / spend some time figuring out wich scribble / cut the wrong line / get mad
I don't have any direct experience w/this specific product, but have used similar epoxy finishes.
In my opinion, with an older garage floor, the chances of getting the kind of results shown on the products website are fairly slim. It is very difficult to adequately degrease an older garage floor.
The final finish is highly dependent upon meticulous surface preparation, and even after the removal of any existing sealer/paint, degreasing, patching and acid etching (and the disposal of the aforementioned materials), you still aren't guaranteed a long-lived result.
In addition, if there is any water vapor coming up through the slab (I don't know if this is an issue in the Dallas area), it will lift the epoxy from below, even if the concrete was prepped perfectly. Finally, epoxy surfaces are slippery when wet, although you can add non-slip material to the epoxy.
Other options for the garage floor could be full width mats (griotsgarage.com) or tiles (racedeck.com), but this could get pricey.
RJB, thanks for the advice.
We do have moisture penetrating the slabs here in Dallas and this is one of my concerns. The products available from the local Lowes and Home Depot (Rust-Oleum Epoxy Shield was one) caution against applying when there is moisture in the slab.
The UCoatIt technical advice is that the moisture would not create problems with their product. It is supposed to be applied to a slab that is wet. Apparently the water acts as a catalyst for the epoxy. I am rather dubious of this advice though.
Once I can make up my mind what to do, I will share the experience.
Pippins
All, just a note to let you know that I went ahead and used the UCoatIt system for my garage floor.
The garage floor was 20 years old with typical share of paint splatters and oil stains. The surface finish was a disaster with hundreds of cracks, spalling, some sort of white powdery residue, rough texture, etc.
After several rounds of degreasing and general cleaning, I placed an order for the prep kit and the medium gray coating. The prep kit includes a two part epoxy for repairing small cracks and holes. I degreased and cleaned again and then etched the concrete with muriatic acid.
The results are better than expected given the initial conditions. The surface finish is shiny and some of the crack repairs do show through. I did not use the non skid surface nor the colors flecks.
The coating material is a two part water based epoxy that cleans up easily with water. It was suprisingly thin. However, it seems to cover well. The pot life is a short at 90F and 80RH so I used a helper and and ice bath to prolong working time.
My recommendation would be to purchase the video first and download the instructions before placing an order.
Overall, it was far easier than I initially thought it would be and the results are great.
On the down side, the material is pricey ~$350 including shipping to Plano, Texas.
Steve Pippins
Steve,
Thanks for the feedback. Any chance you could post a before and after photo?
Larry
I did my darkroom floor with something that sounds just like this. It work & look GREAT at first BUT after two or more seasons moisture started to show
and my beautiful floor now has spots that look great and parts that show cement.I was told LATTER that I should have placed a rubber mat on the floor for a week or two to SEE if there was any WATER/moister ;and if there was I SHOULD ( NOT ) use the productRic.
Ric, that was one of my initial concerns as I have moisture trapped beneath the slab as well. The UCoatIt tech support said it was not a problem for their product. Anyway, time will tell.
Steve
Larry, let me borrow a digital camera for the after shots.
Since I do not have a camera, I did not take any photos before starting work.
Steve
Larry, please see the attached.
I tried to get several view so that you could get an idea of the overall appearance and the relatively poor starting conditions. Of course the evidence of the original stains cannot be seen.
Steve
I did my garage with a one part epoxy from Behr last fall and it is coming up in spots now.
From my experience in industrial settings, epoxies are particularly sensitive to moisture in the slab. Slabs must be bone dry when applying epoxy.
Pip,
A friend of mine did his garage / workshop last summer. Absolutely beautiful. I am thinking of doing part of our business before it gets too grunged up. Looks like a nice product and the support is good. I have seen them at a couple of trade shows and was impressed.
Bill Koustenis
Advanced Automotive Machine
Waldorf Md
i have done a bunch of garage and commercial floors and i use benjamine moores alkyd porch floor enamel. get the oil based stuff its bomb proof. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/wrapper_pg3.asp?L=prod&K=xprods&groupid=12&productid=115#article
paint it when its warm out for a couple of days and not going to rain or be humid at night.
first clean the concrete with muratic acid then rise it with water and suck it dry with a shop vac. (dont forget to remove the filter) then let it dry for a day.
then just roll on 1 coat let it dry then roll on a second. let it dry for 2 day until heavy use. if you buy more than 1 container, mix them all together, there colours are never the same from can to can. dont get the latex for shop floors, it sucks.
A WORD OF CAUTION add a bit of fine grit to it. if you dont, your floor will be EXTREMELY slick and shine like a bald mans freshly waxed head.
i did this in a race shop and a week later we had the bobcat driving in the front and out the back several times and for some dumb reason he was turning around inside the shop on my newly painted floor. he did put a few surface scratches in it but never scratched through. i also did a car detail shop and it survived all there chemicals, soaps, and pressure washing.
heres a link to what a couple of them look like.
http://www.urbanworkshop.ca/page_2147484146.html
the one of the garage
http://www.urbanworkshop.ca/page_2147484143.html
the one with the green kart
good luckTmaxxx
Urban Workshop Ltd
Vancouver B.C.
Now when i nod my head, you hit it.