a cool looking shop floor

I use Rust-Oleum industrial epoxy on both my garage and my shop floor. I recoat the garage about every 4 or 5 years, due to the truck/car traffic on it, but in my shop I have only coated it once and its been great.

The big issue is to be sure you etch the concreat with acid and get all the dirt and oil off the floor before applying it.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

I checked on some car enthusiast sites when I was looking for a new garage floor. They seemed to agree pretty much on a specific Sherwin Williams 2 part epoxy. It isn’t cheap, but you only buy it once. No hot tire lift off. The SW people and they guy I had install it both said the prep work (dirt/oil removal and etch the surface with either acid or rough grit diamond grinder) was the key to a good installation.

-- Insert clever tag line here

http://www.texasgarages.com/garage_flooring.htm

I used epoxy on the floor in 1992, and it’s still going strong.

Dave

i do epoxy flooring, well normally, ive been off for awhile now however heres the basic scoop on epoxy
its all basicly the same however the absolute biggest deal is this, at the ABSOLUTE VERY LEAST do an acid etch, however the best way is rent a blaster and some steel shot and blast the floor and use an angle grinder and a diamond cup on the edges, and the 2nd biggest thisng is when u buy the stuff at menards, its not crap because it goes away, it goes away because its not anywhere near thick enough, its like sticking a peice of thin sheet metal on the floor and driving over it, versus places a 1/4 inch peice
and theres also a few tricks for installation, rather then using a paint roller, use a trowel, and this will sound a bit odd but throw sand into it to 100% rejection it will help immensely for the long term, then sweep off the sand the next day and if u want a floor that u will never have problems with, without explosives..lol do 1 more coat the same way, otherwise just do the top coat if u want a ruff grippy texture (about 120 grit sandpaper) with a regular window squeegie, and if u want it a bit smoother do 2 top coats with a squeegie
if u do 4 coats, 2 sand coats and 2 top coats u will end up with a floor that u will never have to redo again!
most of the floors we patch are floors that they have had to chip out for some reason or another or theyre well over 10 years old and in auto shops, bus garages and such but even for a clumsy mechanic it will easily hold up
also make sure u give the full week for it to cure
and see if u can get a hold of dex-o-tex which is our cheapest supplier, otherwise tenant is another supplier
and rust-o-leum was mentioned o and theres 1 called ceramic coatings near me in osseo MN, and if u dont mind the smell (ull wear a mask and it will still burn around the mask and it will piss off the neighbors for a couple hours) u could do either eurathane or carslile, both of which i think would take alot of explosives..lol
in either case if u need any better explanation or info let me know
u could use the box store stuff but if u use a trowel that will about triple yer usage so it will get spendy fast
also if u do clear epoxy you can use what are called quarts grains which come in about any color under the sun, it will impress all yer buddys..lol

-- if you dont have it, build it, especially when its a stupid idea

Hey Snowyriver; thanks for the information on the floor epoxy material.like with every great project, it’s all in the
preperation before hand that creates the master piece, as you well know.
You’ve got a great shop layout with some heavy doe in machinery. must be fun making saw dust there.