Best Epoxy Garage Floor Paint DIY Links 603 435 7199

Best advice from an Epoxy PRO on how to avoid a $$$ DIY epoxy floor disaster

(you won't learn this on any other epoxy floor site)

If any of the following apply or might apply to you:

1) no vapor barrier, or don't know if there is a vapor barrier under your slab; 2) suspect there might be moisture issues in/on the slab; 3) suspect the concrete was not 'vibrated down' and contains lots of air spaces (which can cause bubbles and blisters in the wet epoxy); 4) cannot professionally prep the floor (usually means a shot blast contractor); 5) any existing coating on the floor is peeling and lifting; 6) the concrete seems dusty, gritty, weak or crumbling; 7) you are worried about "hot tire pickup" lifting off your epoxy floor; 8) you have oil stains on the floor (especially OLD oil stains).......

If so, consider putting an inexpensive epoxy primer / sealer (such as ESP 155 - an Internet Favorite epoxy coating - not for sale in California) on the entire floor or over those potential trouble spots. Then wait a few weeks or months and see what happens. If everything looks great it is very likely that a 'fancy' epoxy top coat will be successful and probably issue free. You might even decide to just keep the sealed floor and skip the thicker mostly decorative (or at least thicker and pigmented) epoxy top coat (such as 0% VOC INDUSTRIAL FLOOR EPOXY).

If problems developed with the thin, nearly clear ESP 155 epoxy sealer, it is not that big a deal. No worse than having some deck/porch enamel paint lift and peel. You won't trip over it, it is not so 'in your face', and you saved big $$$ that you would have spent on the epoxy, paint chip, top coat. Some existing concrete surfaces are just not good candidates for an epoxy coating. QUESTIONS? email OR call 603 435 7199.

When it comes to floor epoxies, the way to pick/evaluate your vendor/supplier is not by what they tell you but by what the don't tell you

Putting down an epoxy on a cement floor can be tricky and lots of things (some outside of your control) can go wrong, almost all of which have nothing to do with the epoxy (so not the vendors' responsibility). Informing you of possible problems and possible ways around those problems could cost the vendor your business and send you off to a more 'cheerful and happy (and cheaper)' floor epoxy vendor web site. An example is an epoxy primer under the epoxy floor paint. It some situations it could save your butt, but more likely you'll just go to a site that doesn't mention using a primer (thus saving you money and time - but also a flooring failure).

What To Watch Out For From Epoxy Floor Vendor Sites:

1) There are water based floor epoxies and solvent free (sometime solvent based) floor epoxies. Some vendors don't explain the differences and use those differences to to make their product sound so much better (when it is an unequal comparison).

2) Epoxies yellow in sunlight (UV) and over time, especially the non-water based epoxies. This should be make know to you up front.

3) If your concrete is weak or crumpling (lots of dusting) - it could be your surface is not a good candidate for an epoxy floor, or at least one without a primer to 'firm' up the surface. Does your vendor mention weak or dusty concrete?

4) Lots of cement floors do not have a vapor barrier under them and those floors may have water - dampness issues (especially in below grade basement situations). Moisture issues under, on, and inside the cement could make an epoxy coating job a potential failure (there are some things you can try). You should be informed of this possible issue.

5) Many cement floors are full of air (cement can be like a sponge) and as the day warms the air in the cement expands and forms bubbles (popped or unpopped) in the starting-to-harden epoxy. The result is a disaster. Where you warned that this could happen? Diid they suggest fixes if your concrete has lots of air?

6) Old oil and grease stains can cause epoxies to peel right off. You may never be able to remove and degrease these areas no matter what you do to clean them. You should know this up-front.

7) Finally, do these vendors rely to emails or phone calls during the evening or on the weekends when you are working on your floor? Shoot them an email on Friday night and see if you get a reply before Monday or ever.

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Hello Paul -- Sending photos of the shower my wife Regina and I designed. We wanted the shower floor to convey a beach feeling. To achieve the effect, white cement was used and tiny sea shells were pressed into the surface. After the concrete cured I took your advice on which epoxy to use to encapsulate the sea shells (Basic No Blush).

It was a bit tricky to keep the epoxy from all flowing into the drain. :-)

After brushing on three coats I used a hole saw to cut thru the Basic No Blush epoxy that had collected over painters tape covering the drain. Heeding your warning that wet epoxy is dangerously slick, I finished the job with a top coat of acrylic sealer with a glass dust nonslip additive. The results are beautiful and safe.

Thanks for the advise and great epoxy product. -- Best Regards -- Mike

penny floors - CLICK HERE

Prep and Priming Issues

Epoxy Floor Paints

PREP - professional contactors will generally either 'shot blast' or cement grind existing floors in preparation for an epoxy floor coating. These options are not usually available to the DIY homeowner. That said, the little prep done by most homeowners usually results in a successful coating job. See our page on floor prep for more information.

PRIMING - I don't know of any epoxy floor paint manufacturer that requires a primer for their product. If they did they wouldn't sell very much product. Almost all epoxy floors applied by contractors and homeowners do not use a primer under the epoxy. But some very professional, high end epoxy floor contractors will always use a primer first. The added cost of money and time probably is the primary reason why only some professionals insist on a primer.

There are advantages to using a primer: 1) primers soak into the cement a bit, while most epoxies just sit on top, thus a better and deeper bond (and bond failure is the real issue here); 2) if there are problem areas or other issues it is much better to catch them during the primer step than when the $$ finished product is applied; 3) a primer could reduce or stop out-gassing from the concrete (often a surprise crisis); it could help to lessen issues of poor surface prep or not very good concrete; it might help to 'seal in' or 'seal off' oils, greases and other materials that will prevent epoxy bonding and have been removed from the surface but still remain below the surface.

Epoxy primers are generally solvent thinned high quality epoxy. Our concrete sealer and primer is called ESP 155. It comes in 1/2 gal units that cover about 150 sf. Find in our catalog - (https://epoxyproducts.com/d_clear.html) - order from our primary store front (in the EPOXIES subsection) http://www.king-cart.com/cgi-bin/cart.cgi?store=epoxy

Our floor epoxy catalog location is (https://epoxyproducts.com/b_floor.html)

More floor links at: www.epoxyproducts.com/floorlinks.html .

QUESTIONS: CALL 603 -435-7199 ANYTIME

Visit FLOOR COATINGS in our catalog

See Rough Coat (tm) - epoxy with non skid grit already in it

CLICK HERE

WATER BASED (WATERBORNE)

EPOXY FLOOR PAINTS

SOLVENT FREE (or low solvent)

EPOXY FLOOR PAINTS

* actually contains voc solvents plus water (restricted in some locations)

* slight odor

* very long pot life

* water clean-up

* large coverage per gallon

* good color stability

* very thin coating - will not hide flaws (may highlight them)

* somewhat breathable and some penetration into concrete (good adhesion)

* generally less used than solvent free epoxy floor paints

* can be primer /sealer under other epoxy (non epoxy) floor systems

* no solvents or VOC issues (solvent free only)

* generally odorless

* wet thickness equals dry thickness (no shrinking)

* thick coating hides flaws and imperfections

* can trap air bubbles from expanding air in concrete

* shows epoxy yellowing in UV

* coverage about 150 sf per gallon

* creates vapor seal (radon etc)

* can have adhesion issues on damp moisture rich surfaces

* tough and durable

* standard commercial - professional floor solution

* short pot life - working time

* use with colored chips or colored sands

* works with chips - sands - multi-coat systems

The Benefits of Solvent Free Epoxies

(zero VOC - 100% solids)

(Same for epoxy paints and epoxy floor paints - see differences between)

* A smooth non-porous, cleanable with strong cleaners surface (thus antimicrobial - mold and mildew resistant) and great for children's play rooms, bathrooms, showers etc.). Thus common in garage, shops, labs, trailers, etc.

* Solvent free epoxies little or no odor and no solvents to fill the air (great news for allergy and asthma prone during application)

* Wet thickness equals dry thickness (and it is a thick coating to start with) - so equal in thickness to many coats of 'regular' paint.

* Thick and self leveling it fills and hides small chips, depressions, cracks etc. Fill them during application and they will not reappear when the epoxy cures.

DISADVANTAGES - all solvent free epoxies yellow, especially in sunlight --- they will scratch --- they have a surface bond only so they needs a top notch bonding surface to adhere to --- there are MOISTURE DURING CURE issues -- solvent free epoxies have a short pot life (working time during application) - air escaping from concrete can form bubbles in the thick solvent free epoxy (there are ways around this, but you need to be told of this possible issue).

CONSUMER WARNINGS - *** Some questionable epoxy vendors like to imply that only their solvent free epoxy has these benefits, which is not true. *** Some questionable epoxy vendors will compare their solvent free epoxy to other vendor's water based epoxies and solvent based epoxies. These are unfair comparisons designed to make their products look 'superior.'*** Some questionable vendors will deny their epoxy yellows (water based epoxies have limited yellowing - dark colors don't show yellowing). *** Some vendors will promote 'special epoxies (novolac, cycloaliphatic, flake filled, coal tar, etc.) when they are not necessary for your intended application. *** Some questionable epoxy vendors will 'forget to mention' the potential disadvantages and problems listed above. *** No epoxy vendor can know the condition and suitability of your surface for an epoxy coating, nor can they oversee your surface preparation, and weather/environmental conditions during your DIY epoxy application. So all vendor Warranty documents have a built in escape mechanism and are presented only as marketing tools to get your business. All that an epoxy vendor can actually warranty is that when mixed correctly the product will harden and have the physical properties described in the product data sheet. An honest epoxy vendor will tell you this up-front.

If you came here from an online forum....

If you came here from an online forum where folks post questions and answers to questions, you should note there are four kinds of forums. First is the real, proper and honest forum. They work as you would expect them to work. Next are company forums. These are really marketing tools for the sponsoring company (there is a sailing/boating forum sponsored by a major epoxy vendor that fits this example). Most posts ask questions that can be addressed by the vendor's own products or post about how good the vendor's products are. Folks with solutions using other vendor's products, or those that have issues with the vendor's product, don't get their messages posted and are usually kicked off the forum (ask me how I know this). Third are 'vulture' forums. These have a few industry sponsors and when unsuspecting posters ask for a solution to a problem the sponsors swoop down and go into selling mode. There is a garage floor forum like this. I got in trouble with them when I pointed out that one of the vulture vendor's own company web site had copied my entire web page (epoxyproducts.com/cyclo.html) to their web site and was using it as their own and was using my technical knowledge to sell their epoxy on their site. The final kind of forum are 'dead' forums where the most recent posts are months or even years old. Know which forum type you visit. -- Bottom line: many forums are not really intended for the benefit of the individual looking for information and feedback. You will find information here that is "banned" on many internet forums.

Note that modern epoxies do not require an "induction period" or "sweat in" time. This is a amount of time you must let the epoxy sit after you mix it and before you use it. If the epoxy you are considering requires this, beware! It is the sign of a low end product that doesn't have your best interests at heart.

Old Goat's Epoxy Floor FAQ - Q&A

CLICK HERE.

Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.

Located in No Sales Tax - New Hampshire (homepage)

EPOXY PAINTS AND RESIN SYSTEMS

1 AND 2 PART URETHANES - COATING SUPPLIES

"The Right Epoxy fixes Everything!"

Visit our Subject / Catalog contents PAGE

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Links to Lots of MUST READ Information Articles About the Best Epoxy Floor Paints, Including Preparation, Alternatives, What Can Go Wrong, How To Help etc.

CONCRETE FLOOR PREP OPTIONS FOR EPOXY FLOOR PAINT

BEGINNERS GUIDE TO EPOXY FLOORS / INFORMATION - START HERE

INTERMEDIATE GUIDE TO EPOXY FLOORS / INFORMATION

ADVANCED GUIDE INFORMATION TO EPOXY FLOORS

ANOTHER INTRO TO GARAGE FLOOR EPOXIES - GARAGE 101 INFORMATION

WHAT TO LOOK FOR WITH EPOXY PRODUCTS/VENDORS/CONTRACTORS:

IS EPOXY PAINT THE SAME AS FLOOR EPOXY PAINT?

CLEAR TOPCOATS OVER EPOXY FLOORS

BROADCAST QUARTZ SAND EPOXY FLOORS

COLOR CHART FOR OUR INDUSTRIAL FLOOR EPOXY™ PRODUCT ONLY

COLOR PAINT CHIPS / PAINT USER GUIDE (PDF FILE) (not for the DIY Flor-Poxy kits)

PROGRESSIVE EPOXY POLYMERS CATALOG PAGE FOR FLOOR EPOXIES, GRITS, ETC.

WHAT CAN GO WRONG - EPOXY FLOOR PROBLEMS (also see Pinholes/Air and Vapor Barrier below)

BEST NON SKID - GRIT OPTIONS

WATER BOND (TM) OUR NON-KIT WATER BASED FLOOR EPOXY

CONCRETE SEALING

CONCRETE SEALING - PRODUCT INFO

CONCRETE SEALING MORE INFO

HOW AND WHY TO COAT YOUR CONCRETE SLAB

PINHOLES - AIR BUBBLES - FISHEYES IN YOUR EPOXY FLOOR COATING

DOES YOUR FLOOR HAVE A VAPOR BARRIER TO PREVENT UNPLEASANT MOISTURE MIGRATION ISSUES?

USING LATEX COLORS AND PAINT WITH YOUR EPOXY FLOOR - ALSO FAUX FINISH OPTIONS

DIFFERENT METHODS AND GRITS TO GET A NON SLIP SURFACE

ACID ETCH YOUR FLOOR PRIOR TO EPOXY COATING

acid.html - one semi-professional method to prepare a concrete floor for an epoxy coating is to acid etch it

ISSUES REGARDING HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL COATING PROJECT - (NOT JUST ABOUT FLOORS)

Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.

Located in No Sales Tax - New Hampshire (homepage)

EPOXY PAINTS AND RESIN SYSTEMS

1 AND 2 PART URETHANES - COATING SUPPLIES