paluck

Hi team,
I'm going to install a ucoat it floor epoxy to my new garage.
I'm looking for experiences using floor coatings - particularly in regards to color choices.
I could go safe with a light grey gloss coating. It's probably the most functional, but red and blue look pretty sweet - then there's also the optional flecks.
My musings so far have been:
* 2 car Garage has no natural light except the front garage door - so don't want it to be too dark (I'm going to outfit it with a dizzying array of florescent fixtures though)
* White just sounds like it would look filthy in 2 seconds
* Will be parking leaky Porsches on it, but not expected to see enough fluids I need to worry about slipperiness when wet
* Flecks look cool, but when hunting for dropped parts, will it make my life miserable?
* Ditto with the grey - will it blend in with every washer that sits on it?
* I wish they had a light blue or something like that that would be functional, but a little more stylish

fwb42

I used Rustolum gray epoxy on my floor. Doubled the flaks. Looked great for a couple of years,then started to wear off. All my fault. I only one coated it an had a few areas that I didn't prep quite right. FOLLOW the directions and you should be good. Drips and spills clean up great,the flecks help hide the bad spots on the surface. Next year I'll re-coat it and do it right this time.

HICKS

Go to www.garagejournal.com and look under flooring.

HICKS

Here's the flooring link... http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/f...splay.php?f=20

CraigL

i did my new floor with UCoat light gray / pacific flakes / gloss finish and textured surface. Fantastic results. Watch the outgassing during application. The fumes are significant for a 24 hours as it cures.

The flakes make finding small dropped parts difficult. Nuts, screws, washers ... a broom is your best friend.

I ordered extra flakes for my application. Somehow ended up with 8 containers and only used 2 on a 40 x 30 foot garage. If you are willing to pay for shipping, I would consider sending you a few containers of Pacific flakes for free. The containers are light because the flakes are some sort of plastic. PM me if you are interested

Mark Hubley

I put UCoat It on my garage floor summer '10. I went with light gray, fleks, and gloss coat. I also put down a vinyl Porsche crest in the center. There is a write up and pictures in the October 10 Chesapeake PCA newsletter:

http://www.pcachs.org/patter10-10.pdf

So far it has held up really well, and I get a lot of use out of the garage. I'm very please with the product.

A few notes:
1. I put a lot of effort into doing the prep work, including renting some kind of floor grinder thingy for a day.
2. I put down the non-slip stuff and went overboard with it. It is very hard to see when you throw it down, and I put down too much. No big deal, but go easy on the stuff if you use it.
3. I had great timing with the weather--a week of low humidity days in the 70s. That may have helped.

Best wishes with the project. I'm very happy that I did it. Clean up is now a cinch.

paluck

Thanks everyone
- Mark the pictures look great. Was that decal special for this type of application? Where did you get it?
And I wasn't intending to put down the anti slip as I was thinking it would just make rolling jacks, welder cart, etc.. over the floor noisier - any input on that.
Craig - thanks for the offer on the flakes - I may take you up on that - the Pacific ones look pretty nice.
I sort of want this to be as functional as possible, so I was leaning towards no flakes.... but it seems to look much nicer with the flakes...

Mark Hubley

The decal is just a vinyl decal. I can't recall where I got it. I laid it over the last color coat, under the clear coat.

The no-slip is just a bunch of little granules. I can't say they make the floor "noiser" that I can appreciate. My jack makes a lot of noise when I roll it regardless. It does make the floor a bit more difficult to mop. A rope mop gets snagged on the granules. If I were doing it over again, I would do without the no-slip stuff.

Perhaps my biggest mistake, in hindsight, was that I didn't think to avoid putting no-slip where I put the decal. I spent about an hour on my knees with a pin trying to smooth out the decal and get rid of all the air bubbles.

paluck

Thanks everyone - I'm totally stealing your designs
I'm going with the light grey with flecks. Clear gloss coat (but I plan no anti-skid). I like Mark's crest idea, so I'm going to do that as well- just ordered a large vinyl one.
I'm wondering if I should do any other decals as well.. something functional or just cool looking?. like marking off the outer perimeter where I'll be putting floor shelves , or divide the garage in half with a floor line?....
imbed instructions for torsion bar reindexing calculations?.... ;-)
murder scene chalk outline?
ruler measuring out 1 foot increments? that one may actually be useful....
any suggestions?

Mark Hubley

A friend of mine suggested naked lady silhouette, but my garage is a "family friendly" garage.

PorscheDoc

It is all in the prep work, you should spend the better part of a day prepping the surface, and about 45 minutes actually rolling the epoxy. You can also use a fine sand grit instead of the flakes. I used gray with a similar garage, and honestly, any color makes finding anything on the floor easier than a bare concrete floor and it reflects light much better so the garage will appear brighter. Best thing you can do to a garage. If you do not prep properly, you will have tires pull up the epoxy within 6 months. My 2nd time around, I sanded the entire floor with a 4.5" angle grinder and sanding discs. Was buying my second round of epoxy after a couple of years and checking out at the store and ran into a contractor....he said if you open the pores up with a sander, that stuff will last forever....if you dont....it won't last 6 months. Night and day difference.

PS...the sand grit is hell on your knees when it is new, eventually it wears down a little. Makes it somewhat unpleasant when crawling around under a car if working on jackstands. Even with the flakes, when the floor is wet, walk lightly, it will still be slippery. You can buy extra flakes at home depot.

Hollywood D

I used the rustoleum kit on mine. I did it in my last house and the one we just moved into. I used the gray color in the first house and used the paint chips. It looked fine, I only had one issue with peeling where my trucks right front tire used to sit. It wasn't bad tho.

I did the current house with the tan color and did not use the paint chips this time. The tan color is a lot brighter and makes the garage look more inviting IMO. And it's easier to see small stuff when you drop it on the ground. I think it looks cleaner without the paint chips.

I also had an issue in the last house with the paint chips. I had brake fluid sitting on the floor overnight. When I wiped it up the next day, it took the paint color from the paint chips with it and made a big mess. It smeared the paint color all over the area I was wiping.

paluck

Doc - you sanded the whole floor with an angle grinder?
That must have taken a while. What sort of grit and how much surface do you need to take off?
I didn't want to bother renting any machine.. I wonder if just running a belt sander over it for 30 minutes would be time well spent...?