Floor Paint... With a twist

[Scrib]

So I've used the search function here and found a lot of great ideas. But I have some additional questions regarding floor paint.

Right now, my wife and I are set to move in June and I want to paint our garage floor. The floor hasn't been driven on much, and was poured in late November of 2003.

I've picked up some of the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield and I'm planning to put that down. I know a couple people that have used this stuff and seem very happy with it. So far, it hasn't pulled up under the hot tires.

However... I want to prevent the paint from pulling up. So wanted to see if this is a good idea or not…

Our garage will be about 21x21. Nothing huge, but it’ll do. I’m going to put the EpoxyShield down, but I also want to put something down that will separate the hot tires from the floor paint. I want it to be in-expensive.

I was thinking along the lines of some vinyl/rubber sheets, perhaps 4’x7’ one for the front tires, one for the back. I just want to park the tires on something other than the painted floor.

Any thoughts???

[TOGWT]

Quote: Floor Paint... With a twist


~One mans opinion / observation~

A twist:

ParkSmart (Herrington Catalog) 7.5’ x 14’ $125 – 9’ x 22’ $180
Griot’s Carage 7.5’ x 17’ $135 –150 – 10’ x 22’ $279 – 299

This is not an endorsement, as I’ve never used these products, just information

~ Hope this helps ~

Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/

justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*

[bet993]

I could be wrong and someone correct me if so….but from my understanding of the tire lift problem and some floor paints the actual contact from the tire is not necessarily the issue. The issue is the combination of heat from hot tires and moisture in the cooler concrete under the painted surface and the inability of the painted surface to remained "adhered" to the concrete when the hot tire and cooler floor result in the formation of condensation between the painted surface and the concrete as the condensation can disrupt the bond between the paint and the concrete. Concrete is a porous material therefore areas with very high moisture content in the soil have bigger challenges to over come. This is why merely “painting” a surface usually results in lifted paint. The better the “bonding” of the material to the surface the better the chance to have it last. If the garage floor was poured with a vapor barrier under it (plastic sheet basically) then much of this discussion is completely moot as the vapor barrier lowers the moisture content of the concrete by preventing any moisture in the soil from being "absorbed" in the concrete.

My point to this rambling is that insertion of some type of protectant like the rubber garage floor protectors very likely will not solve any lifting problems, if you are going to have them, unless the layer between the tire and the floor has enough thermo protection characteristics to prevent the condensation from forming. Basically what I am hypothesizing is if the floor paint product you are applying is going to lift (and I am not saying it is going to), then the most a rubber mat is going to do is either slow the process or hide it but not prevent it. That said I wonder if a thicker insulating material, such as dense foam would work?

I don’t know much about the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield product and how it “adheres” to the concrete, but whatever you use, follow the directions exactly. Surface prep is key and this is even true with new concrete. On a related note, I applied UCoat-it to my garage last October (new construction that we moved into February 2003) and have been extremely please so far. Good luck with your application, it makes the garage look so much better.

[prowler]

Costco had some interlocking foam tiles the last time I was there, struck me as reasonable (don't remember $$) something like a 9-pack of 18" x 18 " - two packs should do it for the tires only (4-3' x 3' squares).

[Jimmy Buffit]

I picked up several of the foam pads.
Definitely NOT for parking. They do not take the pressure/compression.

They are great for general use, however.

Jim