epoxy floors

[benchracer1]

Has anybody had experience with epoxy flooring? I can not afford a professional to do it but I dont want hot tires pulling it up or a generally bad job. what about grey stain and sealing?

[CCWKen]

That's a great question. I'm building a shop addition and had thought about doing something with the floor. When I checked a number of years ago, it would have been cheaper to seal the concrete and lay down vinyl tile. Maybe it's come down in price now.

I'm listening too.

[Boogiemanz1]

I think the epoxy coating is still fairly high. I worked at an Easyrider Store and the shop floor was done in grey epoxy. It stood up pretty well to every thing, even burnouts.

I think the shop area was about 2000 sq ft and in `99 it cost $6,000.00 to have it done................mine is just lucky to be swept...........john

[roger n cindy]

john, we sweep around the stuff in our shop , fairly often. heres a hint for everyone, peanut shells! yes peanut shells cast on the floor as your snacking seem to absorbe some of the more liquid off-fall from projects and let you see where you have swept.
roger, president and ceo Bugly tools and Services

[Gleeser]

Don't do it!!! (epoxy) I have it in my shop and if there was a way to get it off there without grinding it I'd do it in a heartbeat. They claim it doesn't stain, BULL. They claim it's heat resistant, BULL. I have marks all over my floor from every single spark from welding or the torch. Especially the torch, it really hammers the stuff up. Oil will wipe right off, IF you get to it within about a minute. God forbid you park a car on it with an oil leak. It stains as bad as unsealed concrete. I've heard people say that epoxy is great, don't listen to the hype. If you really plan on working in your shop, stay away from it.

Peanut shells do work great too!! My buddy does that in his shop. Only problem is, over there I eat more than I work. Addictive lil suckers!!

Grant

[Peter Miles]

I would have to agree with many of Grant's comments for a working shop.

I put a white epoxy floor into a 36 foot square shop back in the mid-1980s. It would mark, it would stain. A little acetone wipe would remove most of the stains, but not all. Ford ATF from an old pickup seemed to be one of the worst stains for it. It would also pick up some tire prints.

Abrasion resistance and chipping from dropping hard stuff on it were problems. I bought soft-tired casters for everything that rolled, because I didn't want iron or steel casters grinding off the floor finish. That was expensive.

I picked up a used commercial floor scrubber to clean the floor with. Once or twice a year, I would use a strong Simple Green mixture and it cleaned it up pretty well. The tough spots I'd go back over with the same thing with a little acetone added.

It was pretty, it was bright, you could see where you dropped stuff. Every time you turned on a bench or handheld grinder, you would see the grit everywhere (of course, that also made me a little more careful about separating clean activities from dirty activities.).

The floor held up well and I had no peeling problems at all. I probably would not do it again for a fabrication, particularly heavy fabrication area. I would do it for an assembly or lighter-duty area.

I did not do it in my hangar, although many hangar owners do so with great results. Some of the more modern (and expensive) coatings seem to do better with resisting staining from hydraulic and ATF fluid, as well as from hot tires (a typical aircraft situation).

I did put a textured floor into the garage of my new house almost four years ago.




The above picture was taken last year, after 3 years of use. This garage is just used as a garage, no fabrication, grinding or welding activities.



We had two small patches, maybe six square inches each, lift or peel off in the first 6 months due to apparently inadequate prep work. The company that did the work did repairs under the two or three year warranty and they are almost invisible and have held up well.

I really like this for a garage floor and will do it again if I ever do another new house or move to a different house. It looks great and is easy to care for.

I would be more hesitant in a shop setting.

[KustomsRus]

I painted my son-in-laws floor with it and he is very satisfied with it. HOWEVER, I don't think I would use it if you plan on welding or painting in the area. Another hi volume auto repair shop here has had their shop painted for 9 years and it has held up great--it is the CLEANEST shop I have ever seen--- but they don't weld or paint, just engine, trans, A/C, electical repairs, etc.

[JD in SoCal]

There are so many different kinds of "epoxy" coatings that it is difficult to give a short answer. I have also seen the kind of problems Gleeser mentions, but that does not apply to all epoxy floors.

The Home Depot products and equivalent are not as durable (or as dangerous to apply) as the industrial versions, although if you look around you can buy the serious industrial stuff. The prep is a big part of it. The pros will usually use a bead blast machine (or equivalent) on the floor to prep it. That costs around $.50/sq ft (assuming a couple thousand square feet). Without that kind of prep, the paint won't stay down reliably. To give you an idea of the range of products, the pros will charge from $.50/SF to $8.00/SF or more for the "paint" application. The high end stuff is several coats, including clear top coat, and can be chemical resistant, heat resistant, and who knows what else.

Bottom line is, unless you want to spend a lot of $$$, you won't have a bullet-proof floor with epoxy. I had it down in a garage for 7 years without hardly a scratch, still looked great at the end. I now have it in a shop setting and after 2 years its showing some wear and tear. It still sweeps up way easier than bare concrete and reflects the light better. If you use a cutting torch over my floor, you will get burn marks in a heartbeat. I figured that out quick and only cut over a cutting table now, so no problem.

The painted floor is great if you want to do lots of prep and are willing to be a little careful with it. If you prep it right and put it in a garage, it can be perferct and always look good. If you just want a servicable floor for a hard-core shop, I would clean the heck out of the concrete then use a clear warehouse-floor sealer. You can't hurt it, it sweeps up better than bare concrete, and you can re-apply over it if you want to. It is also WAY less expensive.

JD

[Avalonjr]

Industrial and material handling facilities typically power float the surface of their concrete to a smooth hard finish. Then the surface is sealed with Linseed Oil which soaks into the concrete by at least 1/8” before curing. It produces a waterproof finish with a low level sheen.



This type of sealing is renewable and should be recoated every two years to maintain maximum protection. While the initial coats are sprayed on, the resealing can be applied with a waxer/buffer, which produces a nice finish while working the oil into the surface.



Colorizing the concrete is best done by adding dyes to the concrete at the time it is poured. You can either add it to the batch or the surface of the concrete, but batch stains color the entire thickness of the concrete which is good in the event of cracking or spalling. Having said that though, there are stains that can be applied to the surface and the linseed oil can come with pigments.



Here’s a company that produces stains, sealers, and epoxy coatings. http://www.tkproduct.com/page6.html

[Avalonjr]

More info from the pro’s:

More information on this repair procedure is contained in the Manual on Concrete Spall Repairs available from the Nevada T2 Center.

V. LINSEED COMPOUND PROTECTS CONCRETE

Linseed anti-spalling compound protects concrete surfaces in two ways: by penetrating the porous surface of the concrete to a depth of approximately 1/8 inch and by combining with atmospheric oxygen to form a protective coating through which destructive moisture and salt cannot penetrate.

* Uses: Linseed anti-spalling compound is used to protect roads, bridge decks, sidewalks, curbs, abutments, end posts, concrete handrails and all exposed concrete surfaces from deicing agents. Usually it is not applied to the undersides and backsides of structures which are less exposed to chlorides.

* Material: 50 percent double-boiled linseed oil and 50X petroleum spirits (AASHTO M-233-79 Type II).

* Time of Application: Surfaces should be cleaned and washed annually in the spring and oiled every two years. Linseed anti-spalling compound can be used on new and old concrete.



The oil is most effective if applied to new concrete upon completion of the initial curing period, usually considered to be about 28 days after placement. However, it has been successfully applied to new concrete after two weeks of curing.