1-part epoxy vs. 2-part epoxy for the shop floor

one part won’t necessarily hold as well as two part
also – 2 part epoxies you can handle separately, until whenever you want you can combine the together after they have been applied.

now as far as the flooring?? tell me more about this. are you using one of those concrete in a can from the depot or do you have tiling. if it is tiling, find out what material it is made of.

you know what- heres what ill tell you,
what can the2 part do that the 1 part cannot? and also 2 part epoxies are always better in most circumstances

you know you want that expensive 2 part right? will the 1 part get the job done?

I can not tell you what the difference is.
I used the 2 part on both my shop and my garage.
On a par with a dust collector as the best thing I have ever put in my shop.
Works exceedingly well at helping to keep the floor clean.

You must make sure that you entirely cover the floor on the first application. If you have a little left over and see that you missed a spot if you try to cover that the next day it will not match colorwise, although it will still cover the floor.

I do not remember which brands I used but I got one at HD (shop) and the other (garage) at Lowes. The Lowes was easier to mix because of the way it was packaged. The “mixing bowl” was sized to fit a roller, not just a round can. Price was just about the same.

If you have fiberglass mixed in your cement you can not use epoxy covering. A friend found that out the hard way.

I got about 400 sq ft per kit.

Consider it like a tool. Buy the best that you can afford at the time otherwise you will be dissatisfied.

My $.03

Lee

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

im curious why you cant use the epoxy on fg impregnated concrete? I would think the epoxy would be excellent for that since its basically the same thing as covering fiberglass on a kayak hull with 2 part epoxy…unless its not really epoxy and something else….but you can use polyester resin to do the same thing on a kayak…so I dont get it.

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

I would assume the epoxy would break down the fiberglass.

-- San Diego, CA US Navy

Y’all are awesome! Thanks for the advise.

lilliputianfrivolity: As for your question about about my floor, It is a poured foundation concrete floor. I had the home builder make the shop when we had our house built. It’s actually a detached “2-car garage” but, I refuse to refer to it as that. It’s like calling a Ferrari your “car”.

Mike

-- We are what we repeatedly do. Excellance, therefore, is not an act but a habit. ~Aristotle~

I used the 1-part in my shop five years ago and it has held up very well. I used a Behr epoxy coating.

-- Dustmaker, Kansas

I used 2 part and can’t be happier. I’ll never own another garage without finishing the floor.

I had fiberglass added to my concrete on my last shop (it’s a waste of money, by the way) and had to run the sander over it to knock down the fibers that came through the surface before I applied the 2 part finish. No problems.

-- DaveH - Boise, Idaho - “How hard can it be? It's only wood!”

I used the one part in my bathroom in the shop and it seems to be working out all right.

But it doesn’t get heavy use. I just wanted something that I could mop easiely.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Most importantly is that your floor be absolutely clean. Put it this way. Work on cleaning the floor very well. Your done right? No. Consider it absolutely filthy and start again. Do this as many times as you can stomach. The cleaner the concrete the better it will adhere. From my reading and experience the two part epoxies have better adhesive qualities…

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

interpim…that cant be right…2 part epoxy and fiberglass are a staple in making strip boats…

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

it’s been some years ago, but I used to fix my surfboard with 2 parts epoxy , and it’s made of layers of fiberglass.

I also build some hardshells (for mounting video cameras on helmets) made of layers of fiberglass, and 2 parts epoxy between each layer. definitely does not melt the fiberglass..

unless the epoxy used for flooring has additional ingredients in it?

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Whatever you get, the color willl make a HUGE difference in the overall brightness or darikness in your shop. I dont have the best liighting so went with a white 2-part (Shield Crete). It really increased the overall brightness in the shop without making any changes to the liighting.

-- Use the fence Luke

I used 1 part behr on the floor of my shop i have pix’s on my home page if you go with the 1 part you can have it tinted any color you want

I used a concrete sealer followed by concrete paint and it worked great and was far cheaper than a 2 part epoxy system.

-- "We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act but a habit." ---Aristotle

This reminds me of an idiot I use to worked for, he is one of those profit off of everyone elses labor while he’s the know it all slave driver. He and his crew went to a Ingersol-Rand manufacturing plant to coat a break room floor with two part Epoxy. They rolled on the first part, then rolled on the second part. Needless to say, the floor never dried and they had to wipe it all off, I doubt he had respirators for his workers. I heard the story from a friend of mine thats a painter, the story was confirmed by an employee at IR. I don’t know how the guy makes a liveing, alot of decisions were poor, it’s the reason I left.

why didnt the floor dry woodchuck…where was the breakdown in the process?

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

2 part epoxy needs to be mixed properly (the 2 parts) in a bucket/container prior to rolling it on the floor… you don’t just roll 1 part, and then roll the other… it won’t mix, and the hardener won’t affect the resin which will stay wet

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

I have also read somehwere that if you are using expoxy floor coating in a garage, find the area where your car tires roll over repeatedly where you park before, and rough up the concrete floor with a belt sander. This is before and in addition to the acid concrete etcher that you need to use before applying the epoxy paint itself.

On the topic of drying, make sure you check the weather report to make sure the few days after you apply there’s no cold spell. I believe the stuff doesn’t catalyze and cure to full strength if it’s below 10 degree celsius

-- Ed

Thanks purplev…I didnt get that from woodchucks story…I was thinking coats, not resin and hardener…

-- If you can't build it, code it. If you can't code it, build it. But always ALWAYS take a picture.

Why would any one put fiberglass in concrete?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.

Why would any one put fiberglass in concrete?

-- Debt is nothing more than the 21st Century's form of slavery.