Epoxy Floor Paint - Types and Options

 

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Best advice from an Epoxy PRO on how to avoid a $$$ DIY epoxy floor disaster

(you won't learn this on any other epoxy floor site)

If any of the following apply or might apply to you:

1) no vapor barrier, or don't know if there is a vapor barrier under your slab; 2) suspect there might be moisture issues in/on the slab; 3) suspect the concrete was not 'vibrated down' and contains lots of air spaces (which can cause bubbles and blisters in the wet epoxy); 4) cannot professionally prep the floor (usually means a shot blast contractor); 5) any existing coating on the floor is peeling and lifting; 6) the concrete seems dusty, gritty, weak or crumbling; 7) you are worried about "hot tire pickup" lifting off your epoxy floor; 8) you have oil stains on the floor (especially OLD oil stains).......

If so, consider putting an inexpensive epoxy primer / sealer (such as ESP 155 - an Internet Favorite epoxy coating - not for sale in California) on the entire floor or over those potential trouble spots. Then wait a few weeks or months and see what happens. If everything looks great it is very likely that a 'fancy' epoxy top coat will be successful and probably issue free. You might even decide to just keep the sealed floor and skip the thicker mostly decorative (or at least thicker and pigmented) epoxy top coat (such as 0% VOC INDUSTRIAL FLOOR EPOXY).

If problems developed with the thin, nearly clear ESP 155 epoxy sealer, it is not that big a deal. No worse than having some deck/porch enamel paint lift and peel. You won't trip over it, it is not so 'in your face', and you saved big $$$ that you would have spent on the epoxy, paint chip, top coat. Some existing concrete surfaces are just not good candidates for an epoxy coating. QUESTIONS? email OR call 603 435 7199. Floor Links Page. Learn all about epoxy floors.

 

 

Epoxy Floor Paint - Types and Options

 

There is a lot of confusion about epoxy floor paints, much of this confusion is promoted by epoxy floor vendors who try to gain a leg up on their competition by making wild claims, half truths, and omitting useful information. Also experienced application contractors have different views on the best way to apply vs. the views of the epoxy manufacturers. All very confusing. Talk to Pro (the Epoxy Guru is a good guy to call!).

There are basically two types of floor epoxies. Water based floor epoxy and solvent free floor epoxy.

The water based epoxies are very thin (lots of coverage per gallon) and easy to work with. That said, they look like a coat of enamel paint. Many experienced contractors don't think they are right for garage floors, but the manufacturers think differently. Low end water based floor epoxies can be found in the big box stores and retailers like Walmart.

Solvent free floor epoxies are thick. They have a pot life  / working time of as little as 10 minutes so work in small batches! They have little or no odor and hide all sorts of cracks, defects and old paint spots on the floor. See the Industrial Floor Epoxy link below.

Many people like to add decorative paint chips to their epoxy floor. The most DIY approach is to just sprinkle the chips onto the wet epoxy. Professionals tend to apply the chips into intermediate clear coats of epoxy or polyurethane, thus making these floors a multi-coat system.  Buy your chips direct at Chips Unlimited. (chipsunlimited.com helpful and impressive service with one time DIY customers).

Many folks like to add a clear top coat over their epoxy floor. Most clear top coats are 'crap' and do nothing to protect the epoxy floor. To stay competitive vendors that sell clear top coats must offer a low cost (cheap = low quality) product to stay competitive. What you really want is a 2 part ($$) poly similar to auto clear coat (or skip the clear coat entirely).

 

SAVE MONEY USE AN EPOXY PRIMER ONLY AND SKIP THE $$$ EPOXY DECORATIVE TOPCOATS - LEARN MORE


Call Paul (the Epoxy Guru) at 603 435 7199 anytime to talk more or to order these materials

 

When it comes to floor epoxies, the way to pick/evaluate your vendor/supplier is not by what they tell you but by what the don't tell you

Putting down an epoxy on a cement floor can be tricky and lots of things (some outside of your control) can go wrong, almost all of which have nothing to do with the epoxy (so not the vendors' responsibility). Informing you of possible problems and possible ways around those problems could cost the vendor your business and send you off to a more 'cheerful and happy (and cheaper)' floor epoxy vendor web site. An example is an epoxy primer under the epoxy floor paint. It some situations it could save your butt, but more likely you'll just go to a site that doesn't mention using a primer (thus saving you money and time - but also a flooring failure).

What To Watch Out For From Epoxy Floor Vendor Sites:

1) There are water based floor epoxies and solvent free (sometime solvent based) floor epoxies. Some vendors don't explain the differences and use those differences to to make their product sound so much better (when it is an unequal comparison).

2) Epoxies yellow in sunlight (UV) and over time, especially the non-water based epoxies. This should be make know to you up front.

3) If your concrete is weak or crumpling (lots of dusting) - it could be your surface is not a good candidate for an epoxy floor, or at least one without a primer to 'firm' up the surface. Does your vendor mention weak or dusty concrete?

4) Lots of cement floors do not have a vapor barrier under them and those floors may have water - dampness issues (especially in below grade basement situations). Moisture issues under, on, and inside the cement could make an epoxy coating job a potential failure (there are some things you can try). You should be informed of this possible issue.

5) Many cement floors are full of air (cement can be like a sponge) and as the day warms the air in the cement expands and forms bubbles (popped or unpopped) in the starting-to-harden epoxy. The result is a disaster. Where you warned that this could happen? Diid they suggest fixes if your concrete has lots of air?

6) Old oil and grease stains can cause epoxies to peel right off. You may never be able to remove and degrease these areas no matter what you do to clean them. You should know this up-front.

7) Finally, do these vendors rely to emails or phone calls during the evening or on the weekends when you are working on your floor? Shoot them an email on Friday night and see if you get a reply before Monday or ever.

 

High Quality Commercial Grade DIY Floor Project

"I have been looking for a good Commercial grade garage floor Epoxy system with color flakes and had a hard time till I stumble onto your web site. Most of the product that I find out there are the lower grade product that I’m not interested on, by the way this is for my own personal use in my 550 square foot, standard two car garage, that is the reason I want a good system. I understand I can purchase from you such products. I will need some advise on what you’ll recommend based on my needs. I see you carry two types of epoxy at two different prices. Please I would greatly appreciate if someone could get back to me with the type of product and all the necessary material to do an epoxy flake floor system with a clear top coat finish. Thank you."- Franco 1/15


Thank you for the kind email. The simplest system is simply to roll down a coat of epoxy and sprinkle some colored flakes on top of it. You are wise to seek a more commercial/professional system, but still within a DIY budget and skill set.

Here is a suggest system (with a few options included):

1) Surface prep: folks go from simple sweeping to Shot Blasting or Grinding. Each floor is different and some floors are not suitable for coating no matter how you attempt to prepare it. We cannot make official recommendations - it is truly your call, but check out our page on surface prep.

2) Epoxy primer:  epoxy floor primers are optional and most floor epoxy manufacturers do not require or sell them. That said, many (not all) experienced epoxy floor contractors recommend or require it. They claim better results, better bond, etc. Consider it extra insurance for a problem free project. You might prime and wait a few weeks before continuing. If bad stuff happens  (peeling, lifting, bubbles, etc.) it is only the thin coat of primer involved. Recommended primer ESP 155 1/2 gal unit covers about 150 square feet (not for sale in Southern California). Order 4 units for your 2 car garage.

3) Roll down a coat of solvent free Industrial Floor Epoxy. A 1.5 gal unit will cover just under 200 square feet. Colors are light gray or beige. Order 3 units for your 2 car garage. apply with a short roller. Order  2- 4 rollers. Let the epoxy cure for one or more days.

4) Order colored chips direct from the chip manufacture. You pick color and percent of each color. 100% chip coverage requires 1 pound of chips per 7-10 square feet. That said, most 2 car garages use two or three 10 pound bags of chips. Order chips direct from  Chips Unlimited.

5) Next a clear middle coat of epoxy or polyurethane is applied and the chips are sprinkled onto the wet coating and then application roller is rolled over the chips and coating (called back rolling). The roller picks up the chips and re-deposits them. Add more chips as needed, fix mistakes with a paper towel wipe-up.  Epoxy middle coat: thicker, no odor, but all epoxies yellow without special top coating. Two part poly middle coat: thin to start with, but also roll on thin not thick,  smelly, leaves some texture from the chips, not for sale in California, doesn't yellow. If using epoxy - Order 4 units of Low V Floor. If using 2 part poly - Order 2 - 3 units of Acrylic Poly UV Plus 2 part poly.

Note that the added materials for the epoxy middle chip coat add about $400  to the total cost compared to the Acrylic Poly Plus middle coat.

6) The clear topcoat over the chips in step 5 is the same Acrylic Poly UV plus. Two coats rolled on thin if going over an epoxy/chip, middle coat. Order 4 units of Acrylic Poly Plus (2 coats).  One or two coats if going over the same Acrylic Poly UV plus used with the chips in the middle poly/chip layer.

LOTS OF ADDITIONAL EPOXY FLOOR INFO - ARTICLES - WEB SITES - AT THE EPOXY FLOOR LINKS PAGE


PRODUCT SUMMARY - 2 part poly middle coat with chips: 4 units ESP 155 primer; 3 units Industrial Floor Epoxy;  4 units Acrylic Poly UV Plus; optional short nap rollers (2-4) for the Industrial Floor Epoxy layer.

PRODUCT SUMMARY - Low V Floor clear epoxy middle coat with chips: 4 units of ESP 155 primer; 3 units of Industrial Floor Epoxy; 3 units of Low V Floor Epoxy; 4 units of Acrylic Poly UV Plus; optional short nap rollers (2-4)

PRODUCT SUMMARY - 20-30 pounds of chips ordered directly from Chips Unlimited.


COST ESTIMATES - (either system) - about $3 to $4 per square foot plus Chips (chips are under $150)


PURCHASE ALL THESE PRODUCTS (LESS THE CHIPS) AT OUR THIRD PARTY, PRIMARY STORE CLICK HERE. OR CALL 603 435 7199

 



Epoxy Floor On Large Garage - primer/base/chips/clear coat

About 1600 sf business floor - used Esp 155 primer sealer, 15 gallons of Industrial Floor Epoxy and Acrylic Poly UV Plus two part clear epoxy topcoat. Chips purchased direct from Chipsunlimited.com


"Good afternoon Paul!  My floor is done and it is all over but the smell from the two part polyurethane top coat.

. HA! Cool temps worked in my favor to keep pot-life long but the rainy weather tried to work against me. I ended up tarping over my garage door opening so I could get the area under the seal done without dealing with water on the floor. A cheap rubber squeegee from Harbor Freight was an essential item because it is way too tough to get even distribution of the industrial floor epoxy with just a roller. The squeegee was the same price as a single 24" roller tube anyway and it worked great. I ended up broadcasting chips into the epoxy rather than the clear coat because I wanted a slightly smoother floor. It probably took more chips this way but I think it was a fair trade.

If I had to do it over again I'd seriously consider putting chips into a clear epoxy middle coat because even with two coats of poly my basement floor is a bit rougher than I thought it would be. I ended up putting a third coat of UV Poly on the garage floor and it still seems pretty non-skid but is smooth enough that it will be easier to keep clean.

The coverage estimates were spot on for Floor epoxy and UV Poly top coat. The Primer was another story, my basement floor was pumped concrete and after bead blasting it was like a cement sponge! The poured concrete on my mail level took the primer as expected.

I'm very happy with the results and will be ordering another gallon of UV clear from you when it is time to do the steps and landings.

Thanks again!"   Gordon 4/16



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TO: info@epoxyproducts.com

Hi, I train spray painters in Queensland Australia the technical aspects of Polyurethane paint. However some people just can’t get the difference of the two major types. Polyester vs Acrylic. I would like to use your excellent discussion paper in my training as an unbiased view and give credit to author Paul Oman and your company. http://www.epoxyproducts.com/lpu.html 

 Regards --Andrew (11/14)

 

 

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Paul-

After prepping, there was still some residual paint that was welded on and couldn't be removed without stripper. Since the product is designed for 'less than perfectly prepared surfaces', it didn't require messy stripping chemicals or excessive prep work.

The Aluthane has an nice aluminum sheen and cures very hard. It has a watery consistency and spreads easily. It filled pinhole size gaps, making the surface airtight. I was able to mimic the original paint scheme because of Aluthane's aluminum color. I used it as a primer and topcoat. Aluthane made my 50 year old boat look new again!

Very satisfied, Matt


Tom wrote (10/2008):

Thanks Paul; here are a few comments on the Aluthane.

I was looking for a product to use on the 4" steel pilings on a newly constructed boat house. I wanted to extend the life of the piles and the overall structure since the boathouse cost roughly $50K to build. Aluthane was recommended. At the time, the water was down around three feet from normal pool so I was able to paint roughly 4 feet of the piling that was exposed. For prep, I used a simple paint scraper to smooth off the rough, loose rust and then a wire brush. I did not put a lot of effort into preparation. Total prep time per piling was no more than 3-5 minutes. I used a 3" roller and rolled the Aluthane on. Again, very simple and quick. The Aluthane will run, so you do have to roll it on and smooth any runs with another quick roll over.

The results looked great. Basically a shiny aluminum look. When the lake came back up to pool, I kept watch for any signs of deterioration and saw none 12 months after application. The water went back down even further in the last few months, so I was able to inspect much closer and even apply the Aluthane further down the pilings. There was absolutely no rust through with 12-15 months of submersion.

The Aluthane surpassed all expectations and I now am in a wait and see mode on how long it will last before corrosion...no signs yet. I know its not advertised for submerged applications, but I can attest that it works very well for at a minimum of one year in fresh water applications. Excellent product that requires very little prep and seems to be very effective.


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TO: info@epoxyproducts.com

Hi, I train spray painters in Queensland Australia the technical aspects of Polyurethane paint. However some people just can’t get the difference of the two major types. Polyester vs Acrylic. I would like to use your excellent discussion paper in my training as an unbiased view and give credit to author Paul Oman and your company. http://www.epoxyproducts.com/lpu.html 

 Regards --Andrew (11/14)


 



 

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