I have done three garage floors. One was a disaster, one was okay, and the
present one is close to ideal.
Disaster floor -- I was sold 2-part epoxy paint, water based. Wrong stuff.
It's not meant for floors. It does not adhere well, and warm tires
immediately pull it up. The only fix was to sand it off and start all
over.
Okay floor -- I put down an epoxy floor that lasted ten years. It was
somewhat slippery, although I did regularly wash it down and managed to
never fall.
Ideal -- I purchased two-part epoxy paint from a Sherwin Williams store.
The brand of the paint was Devoe True Glaze 4508. The slipperiness of the
finished floor, in my case, seemed to depend on the degree of smoothness
of the floor prior to painting, and the amount of paint applied (the
thicker the application, ithe more it levels out and the slicker it is). I
wanted a floor that was easy to keep clean, so I didn't want sand or other
material in it. I etched the concrete very aggressively with muriatic acid
- I used lots of it -- this actually cuts away some of the concrete,
exposing more of the sand aggregate. Then I applied the paint in two
relatively light coats. So far the floor is doing just great and is
meeting all my expectations. It is very easy to keep clean, it isn't too
slick even when washing a car on it, it is impervious to oil and gasoline,
and the only thing that bothers it is lacquer thinner, which softens it.
Good luck!!
uncle jack --
TR4 -- Y2K complaint
TR6 -- Y2K compliant
Richard Hardison wrote:
> About a year ago, this group had quite a discussion about the best way
> to paint a shop floor so that fuel, lubricants, and solvents would not
> remove or de-face the painted surface. If I recall, there is only one
> really impervious surface treatment and it is very expensive.
>
> A friend is building a new shop and can use your suggestions. Thanks.
>
> Richard
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