Epoxy-Sheild Floor Installed this weekend

[imported_Todd]

I am still not sure if that was sarcastic or not.

Not at all sarcastic. My garage slab was not nearly as clean as yours before it was acid stained professionally by an Increte installer.



Dean

[imported_Todd]

And I would say that yours was professionally done judging by the cars in your garage, and the size of said garage. I tried acid etch stain in my living room, and it didn`t hold up for crap. It has a lot to do with the concrete you are working with too. I just don`t think ours was durable or smooth enough to last. Going back to carpet soon, especially with the new kiddos.

Correct. Acid staining concrete is not a DIY job. I used a local "Increte" contractor. The clear coat solvents are really potent and not friendly to the human respiratory system.

[Tasty]

DIY is a relative term. Someone is always doing the DIY if you know what I mean. The stain I used is the same your contractor used. Stain-Crete by Increte. Sealed with the same stuff your contractor used, and prepped the very same way. My concrete just didn`t hold up to the foot traffic and chair sliding action. The concrete itself started to pop up in chips in high traffic areas. The way to do it is to know you want it done when they are laying the slab and have the concrete prepped for it from the get go. I think 30 years down the line when carpet has been covering it was not the ideal situation. Your garage looks like a million bucks!

[FrizzleFry]

i`ve used rustoleum`s product in two garages. the curent one`s about 3 years into it and the only areas it`s chipping is where we dropped a heavy piece of metal. It`s a heavily used garage. We`ve got a project car. And we`re constantly spilling fluids, roiling our 600lb table saw back and forth, etc. It is all about the prep. We acid etched and waited a really long *** time for it to completely dry. I have a humidity meter that I used on the ground to check from dryness. Didn`t use the chips as we found out the hard way in our previous home the chips don`t really give good grip so this time around we used sand.

[imported_Todd]

DIY is a relative term. Someone is always doing the DIY if you know what I mean. The stain I used is the same your contractor used. Stain-Crete by Increte. Sealed with the same stuff your contractor used, and prepped the very same way. My concrete just didn`t hold up to the foot traffic and chair sliding action. The concrete itself started to pop up in chips in high traffic areas. The way to do it is to know you want it done when they are laying the slab and have the concrete prepped for it from the get go. I think 30 years down the line when carpet has been covering it was not the ideal situation. Your garage looks like a million bucks!

I agree, DIY is a relative term. There are some projects that really depend on experience and repetition. That fact that someone uses the same material (i.e. Stain-Crete) doesn`t always amount to the same result.



For instance, I imagine that you would agree that DIY dentistry is a bad idea. :nono



Most epoxy floors that I have seen, especially DIY jobs, always end up the same. Peeling and lifting. Some take a few months, some years. I think that the ideal garage floor finish has yet to be developed, but you should look at commercial applications for what really lasts.



Dean

[Corey Bit Spank]

Dean, approximately how much was your floor per square foot? Nice cars, BTW.

[QuentinJS]

The garage looks great! you should add a baseboard to it to give it some really nice definition, I have pictures of garages before and after with baseboard (rubber variety), and its cheap to do!



Now on the epoxies, I`ve applied epoxies to a few garages, and haven`t been overly impressed with them. They seem to lift rather quickly, which make it hard for me to recommend to people to go with an epoxy.



My personal opinion is to go with a floor covering, as your guaranteed a lot longer life out them then the epoxy. As mentioned above the Race Deck is a great product with a 10 year warranty. Another product I like a lot is the G-Floor with a 5 year warranty.



Now the Race Deck, and the G-Floor are both more money then an epoxy... but when you factor in 2 coatings and the prep work to removed the first coat in a few years, that pays for a flooring hands down!



Now this is just my 2 cents....



Cheers,

Quentin

www.TotalGarage.ca

[roaringmouse]

If interested in G-Floor, Home Depot lists it on their internet site and claims free shipping on orders over $49. I`ve looked and can`t find an exclusion for free shipping on this flooring.



Goto www.homedepot.com

click on flooring

then click on garage flooring.

[MaThGr82]

Hey everyone,

It has been more than 6 months now and it is holding up very well. I have not experianced any chipping or peeling. The only thing I have noticed is a little bit of discoloration in the are under my truck because it was leaking coolant for a few weeks.











Here you can see some marks in the ground that are not the epoxy`s fault by any means.

I burned rubber coming out of my garage one night and this is what is left of the rubber from the tires. I did that about 3 months ago and there was no peeling or chipping as a result of it. I was impressed the epoxy could withstand that.







I will update it regularly for you all to see. So far, I am extremely pleased.

[armoredsaint]

still looks great!

[LightngSVT]

Your floor looks good and looks like its holding up real well. I used the same thing on mine over 3 years ago and its peeling really badly now. I didnt etch though as I was told I didnt need to do it on brand new concrete, that was a mistake! Im not sure what I want to do in my new garage thats over 1100`.



Dean I LOVE your floor, its so unique. I was looking at the link someone posted about the DIY acid etched concrete. But the process of cleaning, etching, prepping, staining, sealing and waxing sound like a ton of work for my garage size (similar size to your 4 car). But didnt you mention that your floor cost like $3/ft?

[GP Infinity]

our floor looks good and looks like its holding up real well. I used the same thing on mine over 3 years ago and its peeling really badly now. I didnt etch though as I was told I didnt need to do it on brand new concrete, that was a mistake! Im not sure what I want to do in my new garage thats over 1100`.



Dean I LOVE your floor, its so unique. I was looking at the link someone posted about the DIY acid etched concrete. But the process of cleaning, etching, prepping, staining, sealing and waxing sound like a ton of work for my garage size (similar size to your 4 car). But didnt you mention that your floor cost like $3/ft?

Chuck P,

As a fellow Lightning owner :woot: , I would be interested in what you do in your garage. I have an oversized 3 car that is just shy of 1000` myself. I am leaning toward RaceDeck. I have hot and cold water, a heater, 25" tv, radio, etc in the garage.. but due to our weather, I am thinking Freeflow under the cars and truck and one of the other patterns everywhere else in the garage.

Dana

p.s. what mods have you done to your truck?

[LightngSVT]

Chuck P,

As a fellow Lightning owner :woot: , I would be interested in what you do in your garage. <snip>Dana

p.s. what mods have you done to your truck?

Our garages sound very similar, mine will have everything you listed in yours (hot/cold water, heater and TV (eventually), etc, etc). Mine will hold 5 cars at 1130`, you must have tons of space with 1000` in 3 cars!



My 93 has been lowered, custom paint, speakers/deck, `glass bed cover, 396 CID built motor with many performance parts, custom converter and exhaust, long tubes, Eaton diff, Cla-tracs bars, etc.



Sorry for the hijack, back OT now.

[GP Infinity]

Our garages sound very similar, mine will have everything you listed in yours (hot/cold water, heater and TV (eventually), etc, etc). Mine will hold 5 cars at 1130`, you must have tons of space with 1000` in 3 cars!



My 93 has been lowered, custom paint, speakers/deck, `glass bed cover, 396 CID built motor with many performance parts, custom converter and exhaust, long tubes, Eaton diff, Cla-tracs bars, etc.



Sorry for the hijack, back OT now.

Sounds nice.. the garage is roomy, the way I like it..



I have a Gen2, with a few mods myself..

[InTheAir]

I burned rubber coming out of my garage one night and this is what is left of the rubber from the tires.

Fight with the wife? :furious: :bolt :hide:



:p