Doing the Garage next week, but got epoxy questions.

[aaron97]

I am finally going to get a small break from the middle-east, so i wanted to try and get some things done around the house while i am home. I have been looking at garage floor epoxy coatings for a while now, but in about 99% of the pictures i see, the owners of expoy'ed garages just park their cars in there and thats about it. I on the other hand, do tons of heavy work. Engine/Drivetrain pulls, put cars up on stands constantly, let engines roll around on the ground occasionally. Because of this, tiles are out of the question but i love the way the epoxy floors look, so what i really need to know is, Will they hold up to heavy maintenance over a long period of time? Right now I am considering the Rustoleum brand since I can pick it up at a local hardware store.

I have big plans for my garage, but I want to start from the ground up. So that means the floor first. Here is what i have to work with. The garage is over 40 years old. The reason I want to try and do this in the next two weeks is because I want to get it out of the way before I move all my tools and stuff into the garage. The weather is probably not the best for doing this right now, but I figure lower temperatures should only slow the curing time and hopefully not have any adverse effects on the quality.

 

[aaron97]

And just in case there is any confusion on what an ordinary weekend in my garages look like...

And as for future projects, i have a Twin-Turbo kit going on the GTO and a Vortech S-Trim going into the Cobra, as well as trying to restore my '67 Cougar.

 

[03cobra#694]

If it were me,i`d start with drywall and paint to help brighten it up.

 

[dirty_canadian]

i used the rustoleum shit in my old frat houses party room, it help up good to that abuse.

 

[5spd07gt]

i did my floor about 4 weeks ago. went to home depot and bought the Behr kit. really nice, about $10 more than the rustoluem but it comes with everything. even includes a brush and roller. I couldnt be happier with the final result

 

[BreBar21]

The success of virtually any floor coating, like paint, is in the prep work. Take the time before you lay the epoxy to clean, etch, etc and you should have excellent results. Ucoat-it makes some really nice stuff, UCoat It Do-it Yourself Floor Coatings for a Durable, Protective Finish

 

[xenodragon]

Isnt epoxy just like a hard plastic? I would think it would get pretty scratched up with metal rubbing against it all the time?

 

[straightliner1]

Stay away from Shermin-Williams Epoxy floor coating. I prepped a new slab very carefully and the junk still flakes up. CRAP-tastic!

Another member on the Corral used this stuff and speaks quite highly of it:

Armorclad Epoxy Floor Coating

 

[kameleongt]

Stay away from Shermin-Williams Epoxy floor coating. I prepped a new slab very carefully and the junk still flakes up. CRAP-tastic!

Another member on the Corral used this stuff and speaks quite highly of it:

Armorclad Epoxy Floor Coating

i've used 2 different coatings and I will agree with you on the sherwin williams I work at a paint shop we deal with clean up messed and such every so often and the stuff we had on here previous worked out much better but we decided to do a lighter color and that stuff isn't lasting at all. wasted money. Make sure all the prep is done or it will come up real quick

 

[aaron97]

If it were me,i`d start with drywall and paint to help brighten it up.

Drywall and more lighting will be going in, but i wanted to get the floor out of the way first, since its the easiest thing i can do by myself on vacation. I only get two weeks and i have to paint about 5 or 6 rooms inside the house, so between painting rooms and playing with the garage, i am going go be pretty busy. I was looking at the epoxy cure times and was thinking, i could do the garage floor first, then spend a couple days working inside the house, and then go back out and do the second part of the epoxy.

But... the more and more i read about everyones real-life epoxy experiences, no one brand is any better or worse than the other and none of them are going to hold up over time in a shop-like environment. So I might just have to reconsider the tiles, but i cant imagine rolling around under a car on those tiles would be very comfortable. Either way, epoxy or tiles, i will need to use plywood under jack stands and floor jacks.

 

[03cobra#694]

Drywall and more lighting will be going in, but i wanted to get the floor out of the way first, since its the easiest thing i can do by myself on vacation. I only get two weeks and i have to paint about 5 or 6 rooms inside the house, so between painting rooms and playing with the garage, i am going go be pretty busy. I was looking at the epoxy cure times and was thinking, i could do the garage floor first, then spend a couple days working inside the house, and then go back out and do the second part of the epoxy.

But... the more and more i read about everyones real-life epoxy experiences, no one brand is any better or worse than the other and none of them are going to hold up over time in a shop-like environment. So I might just have to reconsider the tiles, but i cant imagine rolling around under a car on those tiles would be very comfortable. Either way, epoxy or tiles, i will need to use plywood under jack stands and floor jacks.

I hear ya on the limited time thing.I actually just used H&C Concrete stain and it seems to hold up pretty darn good.Did my drive in it too.

 

[wvmystichrome]

Rustoleum is junk. I pressure sprayed my concrete. Then I acid etched it with their product that was in the kit. I let it dry. I followed the instructions. Poof! I had to scrap up what did not peel up and reapply. It still does not do what they say unless it has been inproved drastically over the last 5 years. It discolors easily. Road salt eats it up. AND it still comes up. Where there is no traffic it looks great. I just would not use it again. I have looked at a couple of other brands but I have used any of them. Just read and follow the instructions to the letter and make sure you're garage floor is clean of any and all contamanaints. Also you can not drive on it for 7 days.

 

[Stevenbekah]

Great questions you posted...

My 2 cents:
Look into getting an acid wash stain set up.

I had that done in our basement and it's amazing!

You'll have to have someone come in and "grind down" the top coat of concrete (usually just the 'cure' on top) then have it stained then they can put down a serious coat of poly that will last pretty well

 

[EatonEggbeater]

I'm interested as well.

What would Exxon/Mobil/Shell/Sunoco/local automotive school; etc. use if they were setting up a new location?

 

[aaron97]

I normally wouldn't bring a thread back from the dead, but since I started this one and then it just kind of died without me ever coming back to show the aftermath. Here its is.

After all my research and talking to a few pro's, it wasn't reasonable to try and coat my 51 year garage floor. So after much debate, I went with Race Deck tiles because of their 15 year warranty and very polite customer service. It's been nearly 5 years now and the tiles are still holding up great, no stains, no dents, no punctures. The diamond plate pattern does make rolling things around a little difficult sometimes, but it's better than slipping and falling on your butt. I also welded thin sheets of steel to the bottom of my jack stands, to disperse the weight. When I use a car jack to lift the car, it will leave a couple small indents from the wheels, but after a couple days the indents disappear. My only real gripe would be, static electricity. For some reason, a lot more static electricity is generated while moving around on or sweeping the tiles.

In the past 5 years, I still have the '97 Cobra. I sold the '05 GTO and '67 Cougar, and I added a '12 GT500 and '08 Lincoln Mk LT.

I've done few additions since I took these pictures, I change the old wood garage door out for a modern door and a new Craftsman door opener. I also have 3 rows (6 fixtures) of lights, each row wired to separate switches, so I can control the level of brightness. I also raised the tire rack a bit more so that the engine hoist can fit underneath. And I still need to get a decent air compressor.

 

[oldmodman]

Race Deck is a great product.

I never knew they had so many size and color choices. Not the cheapest solution but might just be the best.

And when you move you can take it with you too. Try that with epoxy.

 

[Crimson2v]

That garage looks great, quiet a transformation.

 

[thomas91169]

I normally wouldn't bring a thread back from the dead, but since I started this one and then it just kind of died without me ever coming back to show the aftermath. Here its is.

After all my research and talking to a few pro's, it wasn't reasonable to try and coat my 51 year garage floor. So after much debate, I went with Race Deck tiles because of their 15 year warranty and very polite customer service. It's been nearly 5 years now and the tiles are still holding up great, no stains, no dents, no punctures. The diamond plate pattern does make rolling things around a little difficult sometimes, but it's better than slipping and falling on your butt. I also welded thin sheets of steel to the bottom of my jack stands, to disperse the weight. When I use a car jack to lift the car, it will leave a couple small indents from the wheels, but after a couple days the indents disappear. My only real gripe would be, static electricity. For some reason, a lot more static electricity is generated while moving around on or sweeping the tiles.

In the past 5 years, I still have the '97 Cobra. I sold the '05 GTO and '67 Cougar, and I added a '12 GT500 and '08 Lincoln Mk LT.

I've done few additions since I took these pictures, I change the old wood garage door out for a modern door and a new Craftsman door opener. I also have 3 rows (6 fixtures) of lights, each row wired to separate switches, so I can control the level of brightness. I also raised the tire rack a bit more so that the engine hoist can fit underneath. And I still need to get a decent air compressor.

Doing stuff like that makes me consider RD for my next garage.

For jacks, you should get some plywood to use as cribbing to distribute the weight. Or try to find ones with flat bottoms or something.

 

[ford fanatic]

Race Deck is a great product.

I never knew they had so many size and color choices. Not the cheapest solution but might just be the best.

And when you move you can take it with you too. Try that with epoxy.

For what you pay, you should be able to take it with you. Race Deck and epoxy aren't in the same league when it comes to floor coatings...I priced it for my new 1200 square foot garage. An expensive epoxy is still 1/4 the cost.

 

[aaron97]

Doing stuff like that makes me consider RD for my next garage.

For jacks, you should get some plywood to use as cribbing to distribute the weight. Or try to find ones with flat bottoms or something.

That's what I normally do. I have a couple thin sheets of metal I put down. On the larger jack, with 2" wide wheels, it doesn't have a problem, its only my smaller floor jakes that leave marks, but like I mentioned, the marks have always returned to normal.

For what you pay, you should be able to take it with you. Race Deck and epoxy aren't in the same league when it comes to floor coatings...I priced it for my new 1200 square foot garage. An expensive epoxy is still 1/4 the cost.

Definitely not cheap... If I ever move to a new house, I might consider epoxy or just go with an industrial grade laminate tile, but I don't think I will be moving anytime soon. For my garage, I think I spent more money on the tiles than I did on the cabinets.

Now I just need a proper tool box and a compressor. Possibly an air conditioning unit... but I doubt the wife will sign off on the A/C. She'll know that if the garage is climate controlled, she would rarely see me anymore...