The new house and garage are coming along. I have always had bare concrete in the garage. I though this is the time to put a covering/seal on the floor before anything gets put in the garage. Does anyone have any recommendations, pics or warnings to stay away from any specific product. I don't want to spend a mint as I am looking for a replacement for the F3 and the wife will shoot me if the garage cost more than the decorations in the house Thanks

 

I used behr gray epoxy in my garage, 25X22 cost 125 - 150 can't remember but no more than 150. I would not do that again, tires are the worst they stain three step process and if your concrete is still green be careful, and now you are cleaning, in a garage I should have known better. In my shop I used behr clear concrete sealer. Shop is 32X24, the material cost 125 and I love it no tire marks, oil wipes up with no leftover stains, blow the shop out and good as new, best of all it meets my lifestyle

 

I used Rust-O-Leum om mine 9 years ago. Has had two vehicles rebuilt on it an still looks great. Was very easy, I did it shortly after building the house.
Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield 2-gal. 2-Part Epoxy Garage Floor Coating Gray High-Gloss Kit-251870 - The Home Depot

 

I too used that rust-O-leum on my garage floor for about 10 years held up great! It's all in the prep, the acid wash, spilled plenty of stuff on it and it wiped up great! Sold that house got a new garage gonna do that this summer along with the basement, also cuts down on the dust as well I love the stuff!

 

Gerry is right, be sure to wait until the concrete is thoroughly cured (probably 2 months after pour). This time of year it might be longer. I used the Behr stuff, with acid wash, prime and topcoat. I love it! Ten years of heavy use later, it could use some touchup but only where abused. Tires "can" leave marks, doesn't bother me.

The acid wash requires some thought. Where are you going to wash it out to? A finished driveway? Keep it away from stucco, if you have any of that.

 

My shop floor 30x60 was poured with visqueen down first and as soon as my father in law could get on it he sealed it with some form of 3m stuff that he sprayed from a pump sprayer. He said the slower it cures the stronger it will be. It was only a few hours old when he sealed it. Then a few days later after we cut it and cleaned it, I used the same stuff again only this time with a squeegee. It was done in 2007 and still looks new and clean up is real easy.

 

Thanks Guys- One thing I am worried about is it being slippery. My legs are messed up because of major back problems and I use a cane. It (the cane) sometimes slides all over if a little wet - do these floors make it super slick or just a little slick if wet? I know that may sound picky but if you ever see me start to slide/fall it's not a pretty site.

 

You can mix a little sand in it and that will solve the problem of slippery or they sell it with the sand as an option

 

On the recommendation of my Sherwin-Williams industrial coatings rep (I had a commercial account at the time) I used S-W Armor Seal Rexthane I B65-60 series moisture cured 1 part polyurethane industrial coating.
ArmorSeal® Rexthane? I Moisture Cure Urethane - Contractors - Sherwin-Williams
(POR15 is a moisture cured P-U). It can be used on green concrete (1 month cure, 24 hr post acid wash drying). Epoxy needs 1 YEAR concrete cure plus 1 month after acid wash to be dry enough) This is a low odor water base product that uses environmental moisture to cure so the moisture in the fresh concrete aids the penetration and bond (most epoxy failures are due to moisture in/coming up thru the concrete). This is recommended for jet hanger floors (does not mark or lift from hot tires. It can be walked on > 24 hrs, 7 day full cure is recommended before driving/parking vehicles on it), and bonds to almost anything, is impervious to water/chemicals after curing, so is also used to coat inside of concrete water cisterns and steel municipal water storage tanks and food prep plants. It does not need a primer and covered well in two rolled on coats 24 hrs apart (I used a 24" commercial roller and plastic roller pan also from S-W) It comes in 2 gal pails in several colors (I used sandstone color) and can be tinted. I used 2 pails for my 28x28' floor and 4" up the walls. It was <75.00 per pail then. It dries to a slip resistant semigloss finish that reflects light and brightens up the place. It has held up amazingly well, dulling a little from heavy foot traffic around where I do a lot of metal grinding. Dust sweeps or vacuums very easily/cleanly, spills wipe right up. It is stocked at S-W industrial/commercial finishes stores or can be ordered for pickup at any regular S-W paint store. Highly recommended, I would use it again. (if you have any left you can paint your frame with it!)

 

As far as epoxy coatings go- do your research. There's a forum called Garage Journal that you might check out- it's a well talked about subject there. I used Legendary Products which is 100% solids. I put down one coat and waited 24 hrs. and then put down a second coat and added the flakes. Then I used their clear for one coat and added more flakes. The next day, I added another coat of clear. Looks nice and the flakes stick up a bit and keep it grippy.

 

I have often thought about coating my garage floor but there is no way that I can completely empty the garage to coat the entire floor at one time. Has anyone ever done this job in sections? I would imagine that the coating could be scuffed up and have a second coat applied post-cure...if I had expansion joints in the floor it wouldn't be a problem but my floor is smooth all the way across.

 

My friend down the street did it that way. He has a line down the middle because with epoxy it was difficult for him to float the seam, and applying the mills always varies.
If I was to do that I would go to a tool rental store and rent their concrete cutter and saw cut a 1" deep expansion cut, do the floors than use sickaflex concrete expansion self leveling caulking and fill the joint. Next time you are in Home Depot or Lowe's check their floors they do it that way

 

I noticed that you said this is used in food plants. At the plant I work at, we use very caustic cleaning agents several times a day, and we had a new floor coating put in (two-part urethane) a little over a year ago and it is not holding up very well. Do you know how well would this hold up to caustic cleaning?

My workshop is a 60'X80' pole barn owned by the company I work for, on their property. The concrete is at least 40 years old, though there is minimal oil staining. How long after an acid bath would I need to wait to apply this to that kind of floor? If you are unsure send me a link to your sherwin-williams guy and I can talk to him directly. And thanks for the info!

 

The best result you can get is to grind and polish the concrete it self until its al flat and shiny..... will never stain will never leave tire marks....

But its not cheap

https://www.google.se/search?q=concr...ed=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

 

IMHO the durability would depend solely on the adhesion of the existing coating, which you said is a problem. If you want max durability I'd say to sandblast or sand/grind off all existing coating(s) first. I have no real experience or knowledge of the resistance to caustic washing. I have not dealt with the rep in a number of years, I don't remember his name. search for your local S-W industrial/commercial coatings distributor and call them to find your local sales rep.

Others:
I used S-W recommended tooling epoxy to fill the saw cut expansion joints and cove the corners to the walls before coating so I have a completely sealed seamless floor seen in the pic above.

The first coat on the bare concrete showed lap marks, but the second coat showed none. I would not hesitate to do a floor 1/2 & 1/2 with the Rexthane I. Recoat window was quite generous as I recall, but you can search on the product name and download the MSDS which should give the recoat parameters.

Since it is a waterborne and moisture activated product it is tolerant of moisture. AFAIR you could apply after 24 hrs of acid washing, but best to check the application spec sheet, I am only a satisfied user, not a sales rep. My criteria was a product I could use on relatively green concrete (I definitely didn't want to have to wait a year after pouring before I could coat/use it), that would have the best durabilty to chemical spills and hot tires. When the rep told me he had used it on his own garage floor, I considered that a ringing endorsement.