Warning on epoxy floors

mschuyler · 03-23-07, 10:16

I have a three car garage. During the winter the floor would get wet and stay wet. (whaddya expect in Seattle?) When it dried a white powder would encrust the floor, leached from the concrete. So I decided to empty the garage entirely and paint it with floor epoxy. It comes in dual cans, each half full. Pour the catalyst from one into the other, then paint the floor. It took several days from start to finish. When I was done it looked really good.

But it didn't last. Even after following directions for cure times, etc. it didn't take long for the tires on the cars to wear into the coating and show the concrete. Pretty much anything adverse will damage the look. Now it looks terrible. I talked with one of the guys at a homeshow who does the professional floors (at least one is posted here) and he said they encounter this on a regular basis. They have to grind the epoxy away before they can put on a good finish, which adds to the cost.

So, this is just a warning. If you think the Home Depot epoxy thing is cheaper, it is, in more ways than one. Stay away.

superstring · 03-23-07, 10:36

Thanks for the heads up, mschuyler. Sorry to hear about your experience, though. What a bummer!

David703 · 03-23-07, 10:42

Yea.. I used Ucoat It and that was three years ago.. so far so good.

armoredsaintt · 03-23-07, 11:34

Just like car detailing, it's about the prep. Did you do the moisture test on your floors before? Scrubbing with a degreaser and then a muriatic acid wash and etc? What brand did you use from Homey D?

I just ordered UCoat It yesterday, definitely excited about putting it on! It's also $400 more than the Rustoleum stuff for a 2-car garage too.

mschuyler · 03-23-07, 03:24

The stuff I used was much cheaper than the UCoat It system, about $50.00 per gallon, if I remember correctly, and took about 300 ft sq per gallon. This was a couple of years go. From the looks and price of UCoat It, this stuff looks prifessional. I used an alkaline wash rather than acid. The prep certainly might have something to do with the results, but there's just no comparison to the stuff I used and UCoat. Now I've got to figure out how to get the crap off the floor so I can redo it, correctly, this time, I hope. I think I'll hire it out. I'm getting too old for all this work stuff. :-)

armoredsaintt · 03-23-07, 06:51

Sorry for your problems, I talked to UCoat-It about using an alkaline wash instead of a regular degreaser and it wasn't recommended. The alkaline will actually raise the pH levels on your concrete and the muriatic acid wash is suppose to lower the pH levels and etch it for epoxy. You can rent an orbital concrete sander from Home Depot. I think it's $24 for 4 hours. Good luck!

qadsan · 03-23-07, 07:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by mschuyler

I have a three car garage. During the winter the floor would get wet and stay wet. (whaddya expect in Seattle?) When it dried a white powder would encrust the floor, leached from the concrete....

What you're seeing is efflorescence, which is caused by moisture that penetrates through the concrete. No matter how you prep the surface, you'll always have a problem with epoxy lifting or peeling. You've got to go to the root of the problem and seal the concrete and even then you still run a risk.

There are water-based sealers that are proven to work well. You want one that says it reacts with hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) and alkali. A product like this will penetrate into the concrete filling the voids and bonding all the particles into a solid mass. The sealer basically becomes a permanent part of the concrete and forms a permanent moisture barrier / seal. Only then will you have a chace of good results with your epoxy floor, but make sure the sealer you're using is compatible with the epoxy you're using.

If you want the really good stuff (epoxy), then look for a two component self leveling 100% solids non-blushing cycloaliphatic amine cured phenol novolac epoxy. This type of epoxy provides excellent protection in extremely hostile environments when factors such as heat, chemical and abrasion factors are concerned. While you won't find this high of quality product at Home Depot, you don't have to look too far because your local paint supplier may be able to get you this kind of product. Or you can simply google for this type of product and I'm sure you'll find plenty of companies offering this type of high quality epoxy. You'll find this kind of product used in the military, nuclear applications, etc. And it's not all that much more expensive than some of the higher end DIY kits, but prep is the key in addition to making sure you do not have any issues such as efflorescence, etc.

Monte78Carlo2k1 · 03-23-07, 08:30

I have also read that multiple coats helps a lot too.

twitch · 03-23-07, 10:01

There are people who used the epoxy floor coating with success. See this thread:

http://autopia.org/forum/garage/5522...ighlight=epoxy

As mentioned good preperation is the key. I still haven't tackled this project but intend to do it soon with the Rust-oleum epoxy shield.

LouisanaJeeper · 03-23-07, 10:18

i want to do something to the garage floor soon. I think I am going with a concrete sealer/stain. want to change the color to more of a tan to match the exposed aggregate driveway

MaThGr82 · 03-25-07, 02:25

My experience has been completely different with the epoxy floors. Living in AZ, I have not had any of the peeling issues you have.

BJ007 · 03-26-07, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by mschuyler

So, this is just a warning. If you think the Home Depot epoxy thing is cheaper, it is, in more ways than one. Stay away.

Not to flame you here, but did you do the moisture test? Looks like a 10 cent garbage bag and some duct tape would have saved you $200 in epoxy. Sounds like you're upset at the product because you failed to do the proper prep work. It has worked for many of us.