# Floor coatings?



## Investigator (May 12, 2020)

Just wondering if anyone has any experience with floor coatings in the shop.  I'm building a new shop and have a plan for a 'room' to house the milling machine and lathe.  Just wondering about paint, or epoxy or any other floor coatings.  Are they worth it?


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## NCjeeper (May 12, 2020)

I did the Rustoleum epoxy kit back in the day on my shop floor. New concrete and followed their prep instructions. It didn't hold up well and wouldn't use it again.


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## Investigator (May 12, 2020)

NCjeeper said:


> I did the Rustoleum epoxy kit back in the day on my shop floor. New concrete and followed their prep instructions. It didn't hold up well and wouldn't use it again.



I've not heard good things about the stuff sold in the big box stores.  I've wondered if it was as bad as I heard, thanks for the information.


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## FOMOGO (May 12, 2020)

I used Ghostshield densifier followed by their sealer, and while it looks like I put nothing on it when I was finished, it beads up water instantly, and is supposed to strengthen the concrete surface to help prevent chipping. I've used epoxy in the past, and it invariably chips. Mine is a working shop, and NOT a showroom, so it was the right choice for my space. They offer a discount through The Garage Journal site. Mike


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## TomS (May 12, 2020)

What NCjeeper said but with an explanation.  The Rustoleum epoxy coating works great as a garage floor coating.  I'm on my third garage floor using that product and it works great.  However, in a machine shop environment walking on metal chips can be very abrasive.  The epoxy doesn't hold up well under that type of condition and the epoxy will wear away over time.  This happened in my first garage.


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## DavidR8 (May 12, 2020)

Wander over to Garagejournal.com where you will find an entire forum section dedicated to garage floors and finishes. 
Epoxy coatings don’t appear to be for the faint of heart. Lots of prep involved. 


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## matthewsx (May 12, 2020)

Thompson's water seal or equivalent. 

I once painted a garage floor and it was not fun. Ultimately it will chip or peel and then you have to do it ALL over again. I have not used any of the densifier products but others swear by them.

This isn't an area you have to overthink, what's needed is something to keep oil from seeping into the concrete and can be cleaned up easily. Unless you have to impress somebody with the looks of your floor there's no reason to put more $$$ into it than you have to. 

Several years back I opened a food production facility in a re-purposed hockey rink space. The floor needed attention and after deciding I couldn't drop $3k for a professional epoxy job I asked the state health department folks who would be inspecting it. Their preference was a plain sealer like Thompson's because it did the job, was easy to clean, and quick to re-apply.

John


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## DavidR8 (May 12, 2020)

Thanks for that tip John, I would not have considered Thompson's Water Seal.


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## Downunder Bob (May 12, 2020)

Quite a few years ago I worked for the AW Chesterton group in the local agency here in Adelaide.They were mainly known for high end mechanical seals and packings. but the also had a product that was a polyurethane coating, paint call it what you will. 

But it was very tough. It was great on metal or concrete. I remember it being used on concrete floors in warehouses and even machine shops. Bright shiny colours and very tough. I don't know if they still make it, but check it out. I know it was not cheap, but hey it worked.


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## derf (May 12, 2020)

It's hard to beat latex based floor paint. For some reason it holds up better than oil based. I painted my original shop floor with latex based paint because at the time it was less money. When I added on to my shop I decided to splurge and use oil base because I was told it was better. In the high traffic areas, the oil based peeled off, where the latex still has a presence. I was told it is because the latex can breathe and it handles moisture better.


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## f350ca (May 12, 2020)

When I built the shop the concrete guy used a sealer that was applied while doing the final towelling. Gets worked into the top layer. Guess its 15 years latter and oil still wipes off the floor without staining. 

Greg


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## pontiac428 (May 12, 2020)

I spent the last weekend on epoxy flooring in my shop.   I used the Rustoleum Rocksolid polycuramine kits, sized according to their guide.  I did 1/2 of the 980 s.f. floor with one 2-car kit, added an additional 20% flakes, and more than adequately covered with Rocksolid clear coat (1 kit per half) with added grip modifiers from Valspar (1 pouch grit per pouch of clear).

I prepped and prepped, scrubbed my new concrete floor with TSP, rinsed, then with etch, then rinsed 2x... that's a lot of scrubbing and rinsing, and I had to do most of my clean up with the wet vac.  Several days of work.  I expected flawless results at that point, of course.

In the end, the surface itself was pretty good.  The cured epoxy seems very tough.  The color was streaked, as the epoxy seems to change shade as it cured and coming back to overlap left visible differences.  Coverage is good, right on the money.  Sharpie marks that I made to index my progress rose right through the epoxy to the top.

The clear coat went further over the epoxy base than the epoxy did over porous concrete.  I have no big complaints about the clear except that it is hard to see and hard to judge how thick it's going on.

We'll see how well it holds up.  I think I did adequate prep, so I have high hopes.  Once I move all of my stuff in and set up shop, I doubt I'll see much of the imperfections, and if I can I hope to be to busy doing shop stuff to care.


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## Investigator (May 12, 2020)

derf said:


> It's hard to beat latex based floor paint. For some reason it holds up better than oil based. I painted my original shop floor with latex based paint because at the time it was less money. When I added on to my shop I decided to splurge and use oil base because I was told it was better. In the high traffic areas, the oil based peeled off, where the latex still has a presence. I was told it is because the latex can breathe and it handles moisture better.



So, just a latex paint, or a specific paint for floors?


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## matthewsx (May 12, 2020)

I suspect there's one for floors, I've used acrylic latex on wood floors and it worked fine. Concrete takes more prep of course, that's what I like about the Thompson's or similar, less work. Also it only costs like $30/gal and goes on with a garden sprayer. 

I've done the epoxy and the feeling of despair when it starts to peel after all that work and money spent is not something I want to repeat.

John


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## Investigator (May 12, 2020)

I was thinking of being able to lighten it up color-wise.  Maybe a brighter gray, , or approaching white.  Something to help make it brighter in the room.  I had given thought to being able to use colors like reds or blues to make a happy space.


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## matthewsx (May 12, 2020)

Investigator said:


> I was thinking of being able to lighten it up color-wise.  Maybe a brighter gray, , or approaching white.  Something to help make it brighter in the room.  I had given thought to being able to use colors like reds or blues to make a happy space.



If you want a different color have them mix it with the concrete. 

You can always do this to make the shop more "happy"




John


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## ACHiPo (May 12, 2020)

I went with RaceDeck for my main garage and am pretty happy.  It feels much better on knees and feet than concrete, is easy to clean, and can be replaced fairly easily if you damage a tile.








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I'd had problems before with both a concrete hardener and epoxy, so decided to try the plastic flooring.


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## FOMOGO (May 12, 2020)

I wouldn't waste my money on Thompsons, it just doesn't hold up. Mike


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## matthewsx (May 12, 2020)

FOMOGO said:


> I wouldn't waste my money on Thompsons, it just doesn't hold up. Mike



It's not supposed to be permanent, that's a good thing because it doesn't require a whole bunch of labor to re-do it. And, if you decide to do something different later it won't take sandblasting to get back to a surface you can use.

And it doesn't specifically need to be Thompson's product, there are plenty of other good water based sealers for concrete.

It's really  a matter of taste, I just have my own experience to go on.


John


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## GL (May 12, 2020)

Buddy of mine has done several garage/shops with U-Coat it, epoxy based with good results. Where I work (heavy truck plant) at one point most of the floor was epoxy coated.  Floor was blasted prior to paint.  In high wear areas, aisles with heavy forklift traffic, shot was added to the mix.  Held up well for 10 years or so.  It does not like weld BBs or cutting torch slag, or anything else red hot landing on it.  It was removed when the next director of operations decided that a polished concrete floor was cooler than epoxy - took most of a year to finish.  For most of us, some kind of sealer is probably enough. Have painted with enamel concrete paint - never had any luck with that.  That’s what I think I know, your mileage may vary.


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## Alcap (May 13, 2020)

My first garage   (about 30 years ago )  I had the masons power trowel it . Then after 30 days used a Benjamin Moore  1 part epoxy  , the instructions had you thin the first coat to get into the pores the 2 full coats . The problems with that -  "hot tire pick-up"  pretty much from the beginning , then years later for the road salts and brime  but those were only under where the cars sat everywhere else looked pretty good though like what was said you have to be careful welding and burning because it will burn into it . Depends where you live it does condensate bad on those winter days that go from cold and dry to warm and moist . I've had to squeegee  and mop it dry just so we wouldn't fall !! I didn't have any machines at that house in the garage . The house we moved last year the garage was about 50 years old and had a very dirty , hand finished , crack , floor after  cleaning and prepping used a Behr primer &  latex one coat epoxy , this doesn't seem like it will hold up as well , spots that brakeclean hit peeled pretty quick and now have a mill and lathes but so far having mats in front of the machines seem to help . Because most of what I do is repairing I like a bright floor and if I had a separate area for machines I would still paint the floor , if there was a welding area I would just seal it with a clear only if it was power troweled .


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## Old Mud (May 13, 2020)

I have always used Water Glass . It's clear but it's great stuff. Easy to apply reasonable and has proven to me buy about 50 years of use. It's even a good additive to concrete itself. it's good for many things.

  Make sure it is 100% Sodium Silicate. and it is mixed 4 or 5 to 1 (I forget which). 

  Like this. 




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## DLF (May 13, 2020)

I have heavy duty epoxy flooring installed. It looks awesome and is highly resistant. I would never put anything on the workshop/garage floor.

1st: It installs really easy once the concrete floor is properly prepared: it must be dead flat without cracks or dings. The finish quality of the epoxy will mirror the concrete floor finish quality.

2nd: if you do not have a vapor barrier installed under the concrete floor you must choose a water based epoxy system. This will allow water vapor to pass through otherwise the epoxy will blister with time

3rd: take care of the color. I chose a lovely yellow and not the mosquitos love to land on the floor and never fly away


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