Garage Floor Coatings?

Ashraf Farrag · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:13 pm

Anyone done this to their garage floor?

I hear the cheap stuff just comes up and doesn't hold very well...

I've got a new garage floor, and I'd like to keep it nice and clean so I know exactly when I've acquired a new fluid drip

I was pointed to:
http://www.musclegloss.com

Comments?

Regards,
--Ashraf
THSCC Tech Director
Vice President Mazda Sports Car Club of NC

Adam Ligon · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 2:30 pm

No matter which brand or type you use, surface prep is THE most important step. If you skimp there you might as well not bother with the whole thing.

Karl Shultz · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 8:35 pm

I used Rustoleum's "Epoxitech" stuff. Worked brilliantly...for about a year. Now it's starting to come up in the high traffic areas like the path between the jack/tool cabinets and the race car. The stuff is a waste of time.

And Adam's right, that floor better be freaking SPOTLESS or it won't work. I don't think that is my problem - the missing paint is well away from the formerly stained parts of garage floor. I suspect this paint just isn't very good...or I put it on too thin.

Todd Breakey · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 10:52 pm

Another system that I have heard good things about is UCoatIt. Matter of fact, it has been used on Two Guys Garage so it must be good.

The bad thing is it is WAY expensive. Like ~$500 for a 2 car garage with the fleck and "Automotive Flooring" grade paint.

Looks REAL nice though and they have like 7 different colors and several different colors of fleck.

Check it out at www.ucoatit.com

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

I'm planning on eventually doing Armstrong PVC tiles. They're like $0.30 a piece, require little to no surface prep, are more durable than the epoxy, can be scraped up and replaced if needed, and can be done in sections.

If anyone out there knows where to get a lot of these for cheap, let me know. These are industrial-type tiles you always see on the floor in stores and such. Look like linoleum with the flakes and all.

I'm planning to do tan tiles, but checkerboard is tempting

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Wed Sep 10, 2003 11:26 pm

Are those the thicker tiles with the sticky backing at Home Depot? Some of those have a really nice finish.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Jason Mauldin wrote:

Are those the thicker tiles with the sticky backing at Home Depot? Some of those have a really nice finish.

I wouldn't trust the ones with the built-in adhesive like you would use in your bathroom - the linoleum-looking ones are solid color all the way through (think for chips), not glossy (for traction), and you use a separate adhesive.

I'm still looking for more thoughts or personal experience on this type of tile for a garage if anyone has any experience.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2003 5:42 pm

I used the Rustoleum 2-part stuff from Lowe's. If I had done better prep, I would have got better results. Couple of spots have come up due to hot tires, but otherwise, I'm pretty satisfied so far...

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 8:18 am

I am dredging up this old post....

I just closed yesterday on a new house WITH garage. No more working on the car in the gravel driveway. :twisted:

Anyhow, it sounds like the surface prep is key. I assume any floor covering product had directions for surface prep on the package. But what are the tricks to doing this? Just soap and water? Special chemical cleaning solution? Something to etch the surface to allow better bonding? Tips on how to remove any small oil/grease spots? The house is empty now, so I would kind of like to do this before I move all of my stuff in.

Michael Westerfield · **Posted:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 9:55 am

Richard Casto wrote:

I am dredging up this old post....

I just closed yesterday on a new house WITH garage. No more working on the car in the gravel driveway. :twisted:

Anyhow, it sounds like the surface prep is key. I assume any floor covering product had directions for surface prep on the package. But what are the tricks to doing this? Just soap and water? Special chemical cleaning solution? Something to etch the surface to allow better bonding? Tips on how to remove any small oil/grease spots? The house is empty now, so I would kind of like to do this before I move all of my stuff in.

I'm also interested in doing this soon. Anyone have any suggestions?

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Richard Casto wrote:

I am dredging up this old post....

I just closed yesterday on a new house WITH garage. No more working on the car in the gravel driveway. :twisted:

Anyhow, it sounds like the surface prep is key. I assume any floor covering product had directions for surface prep on the package. But what are the tricks to doing this? Just soap and water? Special chemical cleaning solution? Something to etch the surface to allow better bonding? Tips on how to remove any small oil/grease spots? The house is empty now, so I would kind of like to do this before I move all of my stuff in.

I still can't imagine why anyone wants to use the epoxy on a garage floor. It's a pain in the ass to prep and work with, I have NEVER heard of anyone being completely pleased with the final result, and every instance I have seen has worn off in high-traffic areas within a few years.

Is anyone actually happy with theirs after 5+ years? Why not do something more permanent?

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 10:22 am

My understanding from using a concrete stain on a very used garage floor and from reading the instructions for the epoxy coatings is that surface prep is critical. As I recall we used various concrete cleaners with lots of water even before the garage (destroyed by Fran) was rebuilt. Then we did it again with the new garage. Etching with muriatic acid was involved also. We went with stain due to $$$ issues and concern that we wouldn't get the floor clean enough to have the epoxy hold up (down

). Stain is OK but it doesn't hold up to solvents like brake cleaner, as least when put down very heavily like we did.

Edit to add: I should emphasize that overall I glad that we at least put down stain. The light color (biege) really helps compared to dirty concrete. I don't have to worry about pealing/chipping, etc. and we still have "color" everywhere, even where brake cleaner has "smudged" the color. If anyone in the Club wants to see what ours looks like after about 7 years of moderate use, PM me. We live in NW Raleigh.

Gordon Taylor · **Joined:** Fri Aug 29, 2003 9:19 am **Posts:** 51

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2004/04 ... 0home.html

jimpastorius · **Posted:** Fri Apr 30, 2004 10:49 am

Kiwi Tile http://www.kiwitile.com/

Looks pretty interesting. The cost is $3.90 per tile. So my new 22X20 garage would cost about $1,800. Yea, it is a lot more than the expoy.

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Gordon Taylor wrote:

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2004/04/30/cx_bs_0430home.html

Steve D'G is the guy I get most of my BMW parts from. He has an *excellent* writeup on his garage at http://www.ultimategarage.com/.

I may just go and start my garage tile (<$1 per sq foot) project this weekend

I've been inspired!

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