[s-cars] Epoxy garage floor finishing (NAC)

[djdawson2 at aol.com]

With all due respect for Joe's comments, his last were what I would expect... the old "you can't do this yourself" nonsense.? I had to laugh, as just last week the electrical work was inspected for my permit.? Fairly extensive wiring that includes 3 phase conversion and such.? Everything passed except the one part I hired a contractor to do... the service entry.? The contractor skimped on the ground wiring gauge.

This is the principle reason I never hire anything out that I can possibly do myself.? I find it difficult to believe that someone paying close attention to detail can't put some paint on a floor.

In any event, the materials I've been looking at are certainly pricey.? About $1900 for the Ultra products (3 stage).? Perhaps overkill, but I'd rather it was overdone than under.

I'll let you know how it turns out... and thanks for all the input.

Dave


-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Renneisen <racingiron at comcast.net>
To: djdawson2 at aol.com; s-car-list at audifans.com
Sent: Mon, 12 Nov 2007 5:15 pm
Subject: RE: [s-cars] Epoxy garage floor finishing (NAC)



> I was intending to do a solid color, simply because 
> I like the look of it.? Cost isn't part of the 
> decision.? I do like the idea of slip resistance, 
> but don't really want color variation.? 

You should be able to get vinyl chips in the same color as the epoxy.
Alternatively, you can also mix in silica to give a rough texture
without color variation.

> I also prefer smooth.? The idea of being able to 
> squeegee up a mess is very appealing.? That in 
> mind, I'm not sure which way to go... although I'm 
> sure I don't want a speckled floor.

Squeegee still works fine with my chipped floor.  Trust me, you do NOT
want a smooth epoxy floor.  Any moisture at all on your foot turns it
into a skating rink.

> I'm confused about product.? Some are 
> primer-base-clear.? Others claim clear is not a 
> good idea, and recommend a single product.? Your 
> thoughts?

Keep in mind that many of these are industrial products designed to take
lots of heavy abuse, day-in and day-out.  A home garage is a MUCH more
forgiving environment.  I wouldn't worry about primer unless you have
some kind of contamination that needs to be covered up.  The clear I've
read about is a polyurethane that is apparently super-durable, but also
even more $$$ than the epoxy it covers.

> Also... thickness.? Do you achieve a thick 
> application by applying several coats, or by 
> literally dumping the product out and spreading 
> with a V-notch trowel or similar?

You can do multiple coats, but it's my understanding that, especially
with 100% solids, you can just spread it out to the thickness you need
with squeegee or roller.  You can calculate how much area a given amount
of product will cover at the desired thickness, then just mark that off
and spread it out.

One note about Joe's comments on single-color epoxy: I have had ZERO
issues with my floor even though he'd consider it a single-color epoxy
with decorative chips.  I've had wet tires, hot tires (Summer in TN,
flogged urq), and all manner of chemicals on it.  I'm not a pro, but
that's my BTDT.  Maybe some of the cheaper epoxies will do what he's
describing.

Eric R.
'86 urq
'93 urS



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