Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ?

   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #1  

JOE G

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Hi, I am going to Put Epoxy down on the floor of my shop when it is done, Any tip's? Which brands are good and which to stay away from.
Any Links?

Also Drylok should I use it on the concrete walls? What brand? Thanks
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #2  
Joe, I can't claim to know a lot about them, but after seeing what a daughter and son-in-law did to their garage floor, I got him to help me do my garage floor with Rust-Oleum Epoxy Shield. I sure do like it, and sure wish I'd done my shop floor with it before I got so much stuff in there that it would be too big a job to move everything out to put it on that floor.
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #3  
Joe - from hat I've been told, the floor prep is the most important step for a successful application. I think they recommend an acid wash, then a power wash, make sure the floor is completely dry before applying the epoxy. If you just sweep and apply, the epoxy will come up in a couple of years.

Good luck, wish I had done this years ago.
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #4  
Be careful what you use if you're planning to torch or weld on it. I worked for a company that put a beautiful epoxy floor down, but when a chunk of slag would land on it the floor would burn like a candle. Guys spent about a year trying to protect it but even grinder sparks would leave a nice mark. After that they quit trying and just let it go to pot. It also turned into a skating rink if a drop of oil wasn't wiped up.
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #5  
Joe - from hat I've been told, the floor prep is the most important step for a successful application. I think they recommend an acid wash, then a power wash, make sure the floor is completely dry before applying the epoxy. If you just sweep and apply, the epoxy will come up in a couple of years.

Good luck, wish I had done this years ago.

You're about right, and the nice part about the one I used is that the "kit" includes the things you need, except for the tools; i.e., paint brush/roller, scrub brush, and squeegee. You just use the squeezee instead of a power wash.
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
I have heard good things about the sherwin williams brand, I want to do it right and use a good product.
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #7  
If you want color, I would add it to your concrete,during the pore, it can be purchased from a concrete products store or some concrete suppliers have it. The driver adds it to his mix in the truck. Or acid dye can be added after the pore. Epoxy floors are great for basements and garage or storage areas. You will not be happy in a shop environment, if you drop a tool it will chip, welding a cutting with a tourch will damage it also.
I worked for an auto dealership, the owner did half the shop with water based Rust-Oleum, it came up in sheets within a year. Next it was stripped and done with the best Rust-Oleum, that lasted 3 years with some problem spots. The dealership was sold, and the new owner had pro's come in and shot blasted the floor, after 6 years it held up good, except for weld spatter damage, if water gets under it near a seam or damaged area, it also lifted, but did not peel. Then we moved to a new building, there was no epoxy installed, because of past problems.

Dave
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #8  
Frogfish is dead on......prep of the floor is 99% of the trick to get a long-lasting application.Prep,prep,prep........did I say to prep the floor? Ha! I'm too removed from concreting to know anything about the acid staining. I can say something about stamped and colored concrete though.FIRST,you cannot beat having an experienced professional(not a carpenter or other trade who THINK they can finish crete)to place and finish the concrete.
When making a truly tough concrete floor and using dye, I would pour on stone base but no plastic beneath,unless garage is on really wet ground.The reason for this is the `bleed water'will appear on top and may not go back down until the crete is past needing floated and troweled.NEVER trowel bleed water into concrete,as it weakens and discolors.
I opt to pour with super-p(super plasticizer)which allows a 3"slump to become a 7"slump for easy placement,but retains the strength of pouring 3"slump crete.
Add the plasticizer on the job,never trust a batch plant to add it for you,plus it will eat up your placement time(generally 40-50 minutes at 7"slump for easy placement) while being delivered to you.
Finally....on an inside floor, STAY AWAY from added air entrainment,which only costs you density and strength. don-ohio :)^)
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #9  
I used the Rust-Oleum stuff, and it didn't hold up very well, but I didn't prep it that well either. If you really want something to hold up well, its very expensive. Here is a link for a product sold by Griot's Garage. My guess is you can find a similar product somewhere else. Depending on the size of your shop, its easy to spend $1000 or more for a good floor paint. If you add the colored chips, that makes it not so slippery.

Industrial Non-Lifting Floor Paint, 1 Gallon - Flooring - In Your Garage - Griot's Garage
 
   / Shop Floor Epoxy's, Which ones to use/stay away from. Also Drylok ? #10  
I went the STAIN direction & used the Rustolium kits that came with stain and sealer & tools. We did exactly like instructions. Waited 45 days after it was down, I left it skin up and get a day or so inside the barn, then wetted it down for first week with some plastic sheeting on top to SLOW it's chemical curing process. It was done in Sept 11th 2011 and I cleaned & etched it with extra muratic acid. I used cotton mops which held up for the treatment OK as the surface was VERY smooth already. The STAIN though did not penetrate at all 0% and the sealer was JUNK it melts like lacquer if Gas, Oil or Brake Fluid gets on it it peels stain and sealer right up. Get some Brake Cleaner on it and it wrinkled up like a Styrofoam cup full of gas.

The floor was real dry when applied and well etched so it was not that. I pulled an engine 4 months after it was down and the stain/sealer peeled & wrinkled up under the V6 engine puller wheels. :(

Absolutely like walking on WET ICE with hot smooth plastic sole shoes as well. I used the glass sandy stuff in the sealer in all the walkways which helped those locations but all the rest of the floor is terrible.

I wanted the stain as I have worked in several shops with epoxy floors that are like mentioned above can't weld on them and very slick and easily damaged with metal wheels on pullers and metal tractor implements. even seen some peel up with hot tires and R1s that can peel them up where the lugs set.

this is what we went for was a green/teal/gray mix

S7002831.jpg



S7002826.jpg


Pre-cleaning stage

S7002819.jpg



and after etching see the floor surface roughness

S7002817.jpg

Mark
 
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