chris walrod

here is the link to: http://www.kiwitile.com/

bpp944

I'm going to acid-stain my garage floor this weekend. I chose the "Evergreen" color. (I hope it looks good) -I'll let you know how it turns out.

http://www.acid-stain.com/artgallery/gallery.html

Steve 96C4S

Aaargh - so much for Race Deck - and it looked so sweet in the pics! My garage gets VERY dirty as it backs up to woods and leaves and crap blow in in large amounts. I HAVE to hose it down every so often to get rid of this stuff, and if the water doesn't all drain out correctly and dry real fast without causing possible mildew and mold, it won't work for me.

I guess my ugly garage floor which I can easily, and guilt freely hose down whenever I need to, is starting to look better and better!

That UCoatit stuff looks decent, but I don't have the time or inclination to do something like that myself.

Thanks everyone!

Steve

fluid15

I looked into the Epoxy floors and decided to go the quick and inexpensive rout of a kit from Home Depot. I can't remember the name but it came in a large bucket that held 2 smaller buckets of the epoxy ingredients to mix. Total cost only ~ $40 + supplies which I already had (paint roller, masking tape, degreaser).
Extremely easy:
1. clean floor of loose debris
2. scrub with degreaser - wait 1/2 day
3. roll-on epoxy - wait 14 days before putting the car on it.

It does get dirty and doesn't have the shine I'd like, but all spills wipe up easy. Very inexpensive and as simple as painting a wall.

Steve 96C4S

fluid 15 -

Thanks for the great pic and post! Now, you're talking my language - a solution that is cheap, imperfect, infinitely better looking than my crappy concrete floor with peeling old grey paint, and easy to install!

So my question to you is: How hard was it using that "degreaser"? How long did it take to clean it at first (like, how thorough does this have to be? Does it have to be acid wash cleaned, or could I just hose it out, mop it out and then let it dry?). Then how long was it to use the degreaser (how does that work anyway?), and how long to spread the epoxy on it?

Thanks alot! 14 days is a long time to wait to put the 993 and Jag back in the garage. My wife will have a cow, but she'll survive. Might have to wait for warmer spring weather for this endeavor if I choose to go this route.

Steve

Bruce SEA 993

I have been looking at the floor coatings but am worried about the conditions in Washington State. I get what looks like moisture coming up through the surface under heavy rains.

There is not a drainage or slope problem but I can't figure out why it looks dark grey when we have heavy rains. Maybe there is no vapor barrier under the concrete. I am afraid that any of these products will lift.

I sure like the cost and looks of the Home Depot stuff. Anybody use this in a wet area?

Android356

I have used the acid stain before in commerical applications and am very happy with it. The concrete needs to be clean prior, and I have seen two different ways to apply it. I prefer the mop method, (the other being a squirt bottle) and after you do it and clean off the residue you may want to apply it again to get the look desire. The more times you apply it the better it becomes. We did one floor with two applications and it was great. I am doing it to my garage as well, and with the mop I can get a verigated or leather look and then put on a satin poly finish to seal it afterwards. If you look in some restaurant floors they color stain it and it wears great. Thousands of people walking on it every month and very little wear, mops up clean and you can hose it off no problem. Good luck with any choice.

fluid15

The degreaser step was the most difficult of the steps and it wasn't bad, just a little elbow grease. Buy a $6 bottle of Zip and dilute in a bucket. Using a stiff-bristle brush I went to each spot that had oil (several from our Jeep and previous owner) and scrubbed it. My two car garage took one hour. Hosed it down after that and waited until the next day for the Epoxy. The actual painting was a joke it was so easy. Just a big flat surface. It took my buddy and I about 20 minutes. It really is a simple Project with a great ROI. For under $100 it makes a huge difference.

I'll be moving in 2-3 years so I'll try a more expensive option. Probably something with a clear coat on top since I like the gloss look when clean. But overall I'm pretty happy with it. It cleans up nice but you do have to use a rag or mop to completely get rid of oil/fluid droppings. I typically wipe it up with a paper towel and then wipe with a wet rag.

BTW - 14 days WAS a long time to wait. I did it in the Arizona summer! Once I had the idea I couldn't wait 'till Fall.

Steve 96C4S

Fluid15

Thanks for the sparkling details of you garage repaint. I'm copying your step by step and hope to do the same, the first weekend I get totally motivated, which will be probably be in the spring, due to very cold weather coming soon.

Steve

bet

Bruce,

From the research I have done, if I were you I would stay away from any of the store bought applications because of your moisture. I think you will regret them in the long run as I would be willing to bet they will peel and lift off.

Fluid15,

How long ago did you apply the product?

Steve,

I am not sure Fluid15's success should be a determining factor. Before making a decision, consider that Fluid lives in AZ with probably very low moisture levels in the ground. He probably does not have any problems with any type of moisture in his concrete. I noticed you were located in MD, I assume you have much higher moisture levels in the ground. Concrete is a porous material and unless your garage was poured with an appropriate moisture barrier underneath (very few if any contractors do this unless specifically told to when building) moisture travels through it at varying degrees during different times of the year. Do some searching on the various products, you will find that the main cause of lifting and peeling is moisture in most products. Products that do not “bond” with the concrete suffer very high failure rates because of moisture and hot tires. A test I have seen described to perform to determine the moisture content and “seepage” is to place a 2ft. x 2ft. piece of heavy plastic on your exposed concrete and tape down the edges with duck tape (preventing the movement of air) and place weights on the corners. Wait a couple of days and see if moisture forms under the plastic. I can’t remember if this test had to be performed at any certain time of the year or at certain temperatures. I want to say the Rustoleum web site describes this test.

The other thing to consider is the condition of your floor currently. I think you indicated that is has a painted surface that peeling in some places (am I wrong on this?). This could be a problem with the application of some products. Check with the various products. I would think you will want to remove as much of the previous coating as possible. At the very least thoroughly scuff it with coarse sand paper.

Aside from degreasing I would also recommend a muriatic acid etching with any of the products you decide on. It is not a difficult process. You mix the acid (can be obtained at Home Depot for about $8/gallon) 50/50 with water and spread it across the floor and you a stiff bristle broom to agitate the floor.

The actual application of most products is very easy (paint roller, roller stick paint on a big flat surface), it is the preparation of the floor that is the key for success.

Mark in Baltimore

Steve,

Instead of hosing down your garage, why not invest in an electric leaf blower? I just bought one and don't know why I waited so long to let go of the broom

Bruce SEA 993

bet,

Thanks for the input...I wonder if staining would work where moisture is present in the wet season. Me thinks it would although it would get darker when the moisture is present.

Steve 96C4S

Mark - great idea about the electric leaf blower!
BET - inciteful comments about moisture. Yes, there is ALOT of moisture in my area as my backyard is ... wetlands!!! Drag. Now I'm not sure about any of this. Maybe I'll try that moisture test and see what comes up.

Thanks y'all,
Steve

John D II

FWIW - The Griots paint is water based and they actually recommend wetting the floor to aid in spreading the first coat. It can be driven on in about 48 hours, too.

fluid15

I epoxied mine about 6 months ago. So far no problems. I think anything is better than the original, spotted surface.