Epoxy painting garage floor

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WKR
Joined
Oct 14, 2020
Location
Tx
Seeking wisdom regarding garage/shop floor coating/painting. House is nearly complete, I am going to epoxy/polyurea paint the garage floor. If you have done this and would be inclined to share your experience and results that would be mighty kind. I’ve read some cons of the epoxy paint but it’s a lot more budget friendly than polyurea.
 
You need to grind it or have it done, won’t stick long in my experience if you don’t
 
I’m an industrial coatings guy. Are you doing the floor yourself or are you paying a flooring company?

How long has it been since the slab was poured?

A vapor barrier was used, right?

How soon are you looking to get this done?

I’m happy to help, but jammed up this weekend.
 
I have sold both epoxy and polyurea. You absolutely want polyurea with polyasprstic in top. The higher the solid content the better. It should be ground before install, and it should be at least two months from the pour.
 
Hi, Please share your experience if you painted your garage floor with epoxy paint. How is it holding up? Issues, Etc. In my previous house, I wanted to paint the garage floor, but never got around to it. In my current house of, I decided to do it. I used the DIY kit from Rust-Oleum. It turned out great I had my car on the floor jack on it twice and I dragged something heavy on my floor jack as well and so far it didn't affect it. I mainly wanted it for servicing my car, as I have a concrete driveway and I don't want to stain it. The oil does wipe off easily.
 
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I used a home kit in 2004 and it is showing wear in the high traffic areas but I would definitely do it again. Do it before you move in and give it time to cure before you put wear on it.
 
Sounds like you're getting solid advice. I own a Garage Force franchise and agree that polyurea is better than epoxy, and proper prep is very important. Grinding and/or shot blasting will get the needed profile for the best coating adhesion. Our stuff is made bt Citadel Flooring (Rust-Oleum), but Penntek is also very good.
The DIY kits seem to be hit or miss, and I think prep (or lack of) is probably the biggest factor. Some don't make it a year, some 2-3 years, some longer. I just did an estimate for a guy that had a 10 year old DIY Rust-Oleum kit floor that still looked decent- he had it professionally installed by the painters painting his house.
 
I did mine myself, new garage, new concrete, waited 3 months, didn't park in the garage during that time.

Behr Premium, looked really good for 6 months or so. Now 7 years later, I have a couple spots that have flaked pretty bad. Spots that aren't parked on or even hardly touched.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have paid a pro to do it.
 
The stuff you buy over the counter at Lowe's or Home Depot will not last very long. I don't know why, but I know it's the case from personal experience. If you're looking for one and done, I would recommend hiring a professional or doing the research to find something industrial grade with proven reviews of you want to do it yourself.

Looks like some guys already provided some brand names. Good luck.

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I grew up in northern Ohio with horrible winters and salt usage.
My parents had an outfit do their garage floor a few years back and it’s help up amazing. I’ll ask them about it.
 
I put an tinted epoxy on a couple of my garage floors as well and then found out later you couldn’t recoat it because the second coat would crack the lower layer once it dried. Kind of a bummer, wish I would’ve known that before.


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I did my basement with a product from DryLok, purchased at Sherwinn Williams. It is not for heavy/high use areas. What I will say is that prep work will make all the difference on longevity. I did everything but one small room that my girlfriend insisted on doing. She did not mop up the solvent well enough and the paint is pealing after about a year in that room. I had to use a solvent to get carpet glue up before grinding the floor.
 
I got a 20 yr old slab without a moisture barrier, looking for same info, how to keep it from sweating.


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I've done coatings, grinding, and really anything concrete for 20+ years working for my father. My experience with those epoxy kits is grinding them off for a more durable one. That being said, they can stick but you should grind the floor and not acid etch or anything.

If you have questions, pm me. I can guide you around to different products and techniques
 
Seeking wisdom regarding garage/shop floor coating/painting. House is nearly complete, I am going to epoxy/polyurea paint the garage floor. If you have done this and would be inclined to share your experience and results that would be mighty kind. I’ve read some cons of the epoxy paint but it’s a lot more budget friendly than polyurea.
I am in a lot of houses for work and i can tell you that the commercial stuff is leaps and bounds better than the stuff from menards and such..
 
I did mine myself, new garage, new concrete, waited 3 months, didn't park in the garage during that time.

Behr Premium, looked really good for 6 months or so. Now 7 years later, I have a couple spots that have flaked pretty bad. Spots that aren't parked on or even hardly touched.

If I had it to do all over again, I would have paid a pro to do it.

That’s got to be frustrating! I’m a die-hard DIY guy, but I’m starting to realize that sometimes you may not really be that much money ahead when you do it yourself. Especially when you consider how much time it takes to do a good job on something you have no experience doing. In the end I think you have to consider how much satisfaction you’ll get out of it vs how much time it’ll take
 
Thanks for the information. Unfortunately I will not be able to get it coated before we move in. So it’ll have to wait, but in the mean time I’ll look more into it and how much it will cost. Garage is about 440 sq foot.
 
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