Lifting and pealing paint is too often the end product of a homeowner's efforts to dress up their garage with floor paint. The problem is worse than having no finish at all. Dirty, dusty, and stained concrete is usually accepted as the standard for home garages, but the eyesore of blisters, pealing, and chipping of a garage floor gone wrong is testimonial to the homeowner's failure. Fortunately, new technology in flooring, when combined with systems for preparing concrete properly, can now avoid disasters that leave garages looking worse than before the treatment.
Epoxy flooring is weather-resistant, and unharmed by rain, snow, oil, and flooding. This resistance is due to the fact that epoxy coatings, unlike paints, come in two parts. When mixed, a catalyzing process changes these two parts from a liquid to a permanent solid. In contrast, paints are carried in water or solvent bases that evaporate to leave the finish. If you reintroduce one of those carriers to the surface, the paint often is able to re-dissolve back into a liquid state.
Even though painted garage finishes are formulated to resist re-dissolving into their carriers, under stress they can be susceptible to blistering, pealing, and chipping. But water and most solvents have no effect on sealed epoxy surfaces. Epoxy flooring goes on at the job site and requires no seams, creating a continuous membrane that seals what is above from what is below. These epoxy surfaces have been used in food processing plants for over 50 years now. Mold mildew and other contaminants cannot penetrate the epoxy membrane, and wash off easily.
Modern architects often use the flexibility of epoxy flooring to allow spaces to flow together creating expanses of unbroken line. Now the living room and deck patio can appear as a single integrated living space. Exterior gardens and interior upholstery tie together with access walkways provided by colored epoxy flooring. As a result, snow, rain, leaves, and other outdoor changes provide unique variety to the outdoor spaces that can also be enjoyed from the indoor space.
Preparation is everything when applying finishes. You can only expect a surface to stay in place if its substrate is permanent. Obviously, if the substrate crumbles or moves, your surface will move with it. Today, after 40 years of application experience, flooring experts have developed application preparation procedures that help minimize the risk of substrates moving. New floors are especially vulnerable and require extensive preparation. New concrete is dusty for the first few years while the latents of concrete on the surface are kicked, walked, or driven off. Those latents must be removed before quality epoxy topcoats are applied or the topcoats will move with the latents as they break free from the substrate.
One should not rely on retail store clerks to help with a floor that will be used for 10 to 20 years. Factory-direct kits of materials including step-by-step instructions and a 24/7 help line are now available online. With these resources, anyone can put a quality floor down in their garage that will last for decades. Like a car finish, you may get some scratches and marks, but also like a car finish, a little touching up can keep those finishes looking great for decades.
Durall Industrial Flooring offers no-cost, no-obligation quotes for its fully customized kits of materials, including all preparation materials and procedures, for installing industrial quality epoxy or urethane coatings at www.concrete-floor-coatings.com. These beautifully sealed and easy-to-maintain floors come in over 20 colors. The floor finish can be gloss, flat, or satin and may be easily accented with decorative chips. Additionally, the floors may be skid-resistant like emery paper, yet still easy to sweep or squeegee.
For photo examples and more detail, visit www.concrete-floor-coatings.com For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at harvey@durallfmg.com Phone: 800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)
If you want to make your garage floor look beautiful, strong, and lasting, you have to apply paint to surface. It is the best floor covering for garages that are used as a workshop or repair center of cars. There are other options when it comes to improving the floor of your garage. But the use of paints, by far, is your best option.
Once you have decided to paint your garage surface, it is best that you plan ahead. Take note that the solution requires drying time. This means that you are not supposed to use your garage for around 24 to 72 hours after applying it. If you fail to plan, you might end up ruining the project altogether. Painting the floor is best done during the weekends or whenever you're off from work. And start as early possible.
Materials:
1. Paint - epoxy, latex, or polyurethane (Epoxy is the most popular choice) 2. Broom 3. Clean rags or mop 4. Bleach or concrete cleaner 5. Pressure washer or high-pressure hose 6. Degreaser 7. Bristle brush 8. Concrete repair compound 9. Paint primer 10. Paint roller with extension pole Procedure:
1. Test the absorbency of the garage surface. Pour water onto the floor and estimate how long it would sink in. If the water failed to soak and beads form on the surface instead, the paint won't work. This indicates that the floor of your garage is sealed. You would have to first remove that seal with a special compound or use an entirely different floor covering technique altogether.
2. Scrub all oil spots on the floor with a degreaser. Use a stiff bristle brush to speed up the process. Wipe the area with a mop or rag right after. Use a clean rag that can absorb stains.
3. Clean the garage floor with a broom. Make sure that there are no visible foreign objects on the surface. After sweeping, the floor should be ready for a wash. Try to remove all stubborn stains further with the use of bleach or a concrete cleaning compound. Turn on the pressure washer for best results.
4. Completely wash the entire area of the garage. Let it dry. Use a vacuum cleaner to make sure that there would be no dirt on the surface. The floor must be totally dry before proceeding to the next step.
5. Repair any noticeable cracks on the concrete. The concrete repair compound is going to be of use here. Mix the paste and use it to fill the cracks with. Let it dry and you should be ready with your paint.
6. Before applying the solution, you might need to use a primer first. This compound would make sure that the paint would bond well with the concrete. You are going to need the extension pole to reach all corners. Wait for the primer to dry. It may take 8 hours. This is the reason why you should start this garage floor painting project early in the morning.
7. When the primer is dry, the application of the paint would come next. Use a roller to cover the entire floor area. The brush is going to be handy on places that the roller can't reach. You are supposed to put two coats on the surface. Wait for 4 hours before applying the second coat. The coats of paint should be completely dry after 24 hours or so. And you're done. You have successfully painted your garage floor to perfection!
Both Harvey Chichester & Sal Farzin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Harvey Chichester has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Improvement, Management and Install Flooring. Durall Manufacturing, Bloomington, MN, is the only industrial flooring manufacturer that also makes over 500 specialty cleaners. Durall's 40 years of flooring chemical manufacturing experience has produced a special preparation of cleaners and an applicat. Harvey Chichester's top article generates over 9900 views. to your Favourites.
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