Garage/Shop floor Coating

[RemCharger]

I prefer bare concrete. My garage is for work; it's not a show room.

Username verified.

 

[themechanic]

Same here. (garage is for work)

Bare concrete in my experience is very dusty unless sealed.

Also much easier to clean up spills.

My concrete is sealed but the sealer is wearing through in places.

 

[PlymCrazy]

My concrete is sealed but the sealer is wearing through in places.

same

 

[zyzzyx]

I thought Epoxy was the magic bullet until I road my Motorcycle into my buddy's shop after he
did the floor. ABS brakes get all cornfused and it doesn't feel good when you slap the concrete!
They make a sand product that you can sprinkle on it before it sets up all the way to keep it
from being so slick. Do your research and go look at some dealership floors before doing yours.
Bigger companies don't want their employees to go on worker's comp!

 

[dsd1967]

Epoxy does not take too kindly to weld spatter. It will discolor it or burn through if you have a hot chunk of slag drip off.

We had our work floors ground and polished and then they put a burnished sealer onto the floor. They can do colors if you want with a stain, but we chose to stay with natural concrete. The process brings out the aggregate so it has a nice look...but it can get really slick if wet. The nice thing is if something drops and chips it....you don't really notice.

 

[fesser]

Epoxy does not take too kindly to weld spatter. It will discolor it or burn through if you have a hot chunk of slag drip off.

We had our work floors ground and polished and then they put a burnished sealer onto the floor. They can do colors if you want with a stain, but we chose to stay with natural concrete. The process brings out the aggregate so it has a nice look...but it can get really slick if wet. The nice thing is if something drops and chips it....you don't really notice.

When they did the poly coating on my floor, they ground down the concrete with a big, 30" wide grinder. The exposed concrete looked really good and I kidded with the installer about just leaving it like that. He said that that is what most people say when they see the concrete in that stage. He also said that if they left it it would have to be sealed. I imagine with the same stuff they used in your shop.

 

[Archie Duiker]

I'm thinking about having my garage floor coated. Looking at the Epoxy/Polyaspartic combo with 1/8" flake. How do you like it? Any first hand experience/feed back/suggestions would be appreciated. Pictures would be great too.

Thanks

I have epoxy with flakes on the floor of my indoor pool. It still looks like new after several years. However, I wonder if it will be harder to clean with the flakes, as that makes the surface sort of wavy (something like really bad orange peel).
Some have commented on it being slippery when wet. They guys that did my floor sprinkled some silica sand into the top layer of epoxy to give it a bit of grip.

 

[BSB67]

Wow. Thanks everyone. All of the pictures look great! I suck at selecting colors.

I'll have to ask if there is anything they can do to reduce the slip risk. Someone mentioned silica - has anyone done this? I think with precautions, stepping through the man door can be managed. But darting through an open garage door when its raining will happen.

I've thought real hard about doing nothing at all, mostly due to cost. But i've yet to come across someone that regretted doing a floor coating.

 

[BSB67]

. They guys that did my floor sprinkled some silica sand into the top layer of epoxy to give it a bit of grip.

There it is. Thanks

 

[Jesse6869]

The ballistix i bought also came with 220 grit, i did not apply. But recently snowed and was not slick at all it has a slight grip to it already.

 

[BSB67]

The ballistix i bought also came with 220 grit, i did not apply. But recently snowed and was not slick at all it has a slight grip to it already.

Did you do the application? Ordered direct from ArmorPoxy?

 

[Jesse6869]

Yes i ordered directly and applied myself. Read directions, watched many videos. The chemicals cook when mixed at over 140 degrees for 1 hour then you mix bottle C. Took 3 hours to spread material itself. Not including just cleaning. I like the bare concrete look plus its heat resistant all of that was a plus to me. I called these guys for support nothing but great customer service. Step by step tech support. BallistiX

 

[Scott Engelhardt]

I like the look of ground and polished concrete. When I built my shop I wanted to coat the floor but it never happened.

 

[ct71rr]

I stained and sealed my floor.

Before sealer:

After sealer:

Sorry about the crappy pics, I had to screenshot them off my post on another forum. I did my floor several years ago and it needs a reseal. The product I used has a sealer with grit in it which I’m going to use. It is slick now. I went back and forth for a long time about stain or epoxy. I went with the stain because of ease of use and no worries about chipping or burning it off. I actually came in second place with this floor in a contest the company had on the other forum. You should check out the metallic epoxies - they are pretty wild looking.

 

[furyus]

I thought about epoxy for my garage, but I knew that I would be cutting, welding, jack stands, jacks, etc. So I went with a white concrete stain. It does get beat up, and is easy to re coat. But, you can't put it over anything with grease, or oil.

 

[747mopar]

I'd love to do something like epoxy but I'm certain I'd destroy it with everything I do in mine. I acid stained mine then sealed it, looked incredible but the sealer didn't hold up at all so I'm back to having a shitty looking floor. I've been considering trying wax?

 

[BSB67]

I'd love to do something like epoxy but I'm certain I'd destroy it with everything I do in mine. I acid stained mine then sealed it, looked incredible but the sealer didn't hold up at all so I'm back to having a shitty looking floor. I've been considering trying wax?

I think I remember that Andy F. said he uses wax. Maybe check with him. Also sounds like not all sealers are created equal. Who woulda thought it would be this complicated.

Do the sealers darken the concrete?

 

[ct71rr]

I used Legacy Industrial products on mine. They have great products and excellent customer service:
Legacy Industrial | Concrete Epoxy Coatings