Garage Flooring

[Ron Earp]

My wife and I are about to move into a larger house, thank god, and that means I get more garage. I'll have a 2.25 attached to the house and will be building this fall a free-standing 2 car plus shop beside the house. The second one will be a topic for future discussion, but now I'm interested in learning about floor coatings.

I want to coat the floor of the attached garage before I move in during late March. What do you folks recommend? My current small garage floor is uncoated and it looks it. Should I use an expoy based coating? Use a tile type? Any help would be appreciated. I'll have to use the attached garage as a workshop for about a year, so I might as well fix it right.

 

[Brett James-McCall]

Ron,
I used this in my garage http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/pro.jsp?ts=73763&id=17904 along with a sealer first. It os pretty similar to the same stuff the Ford Transmission plant used to use when I worked there. I am sure you could find something similar. I still have half a pot left at home and can check out what is in it if you want.

Brett

 

[Bill Bayard]

Ron,

Epoxy based floor coatings work well, except when there is an issue of moisture from underneath. As tough as epoxy is, it will still peel off the concrete. A tile floor would
be far easier to fix, "as new", if there were a problem. Touching up an epoxy painted floor can easily be done, but the touch ups will show, and unless you address the moisture problem, you'll be screwed again in the future.
If there is no moisture problem, go with the epoxy. It is tough, easy to clean, and far cheaper than tile!

Bill

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Hi Ron,
I can tell you what NOT to use: I got 'epoxy' one-part paint from HD and it has not stayed down, despite acid-washing the floor and following the directions exactly. You are in much better shape if you have a new concrete floor as it won't have oil that has soaked into it preventing adhesion of the paint.
Griot's sells a garage floor paint that is supposed to be very good indeed; like most of the things they sell it tends to be at the top end of the price scale. I think for real durability you want a two-part epoxy paint laid over new concrete that has dried thoroughly, done in warm weather so it cures completely.
A friend of mine in Norfolk has extensive experience with indoor concrete floors and coatings, his company manufactures leveling equipment for them, and I have a call in to him asking about this. When I get some answers, I'll post them.
Lucky you..big new garage. Do we have a gremlin with a green face, for envy?

 

[Jim Glickenhaus]

At home I use Tenemic 2 part paint which works very well. In my shop we have tile which is beyond super.

 

[TimB]

Iused H&Q concrete stain in my last garage and it held up well to jackstands and dragging jacks across it but it would become tacky and buble if you let fuel sit on it. Like that ever happens in one of our garages /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello Ron !!
I have also been doing some research on this. I am not quite ready for the product yet but here is what I found.
floor coat
floor tile 2
floor tile
floor coat 2

There is also another one out (epoxy style), but the name escapes me at the moment. If anyone has had any experience with any of these products, I also would like to hear the pro's and con's.
Regards Brian

 

[Paul]

Ron
I have used aircraft hangar paint on concrete garage floor and it has worked well. It is also an epoxy but preparation is importnt. If the floor has grease on it there is a product called Aquasolve in South Africa made by Plascon,I am sure that there is an equivalent in the US. This will lift out all the grease and oil. The floor then needs to be etched with an acid and I used hydrochloric pool acid which is left for a while and then washed off. One has to be carefull of fumes so protective gear is a must. Allow the floor to dry well and paint.
Hope this helps
Thanks for the this web site I do more browsing than posting but I have got some excellent tips from here to help finish my car off.

 

[Frank Catt]

Ron, never had any long standing joy with floor paints, always coming off due to lack of adhesion, not because the paints do not adhere but because the initial surfaces of concrete floors are too weak to put up with the continuos stress off heavy tools and machinery. I have found that the best solution for me is to lay 19mm MDF flooring grade chipboard in 8 feet by two feet boards with tongue and grooved edges across the whole floor, leaving a 10mm gap all round the edges to be filled with silicone to allow for any movement. The beauty of this system is that it is far cheaper than epoxy paints and if any panel is damaged it is easily replaced. Wood is warmer to work off and smoother for roller wheeled tools to work on. Having said that, my larger workshop is carpeted ! Frank

 

[Fred/Belgium]

Frank,
fully agree with you.I have carpet aswel...old real stuff from my mother in law.if she knows I am dead or she has a hart attack.this being said,do you have some ctcs where I could "find flooring grade chipboards" ?
Fred

 

[Frank Catt]

Fred, it is now normal flooring grade available everywhere in UK and i am sure available even in Belge, I will give you sample when you come to collect your IDAs, Frank

 

Hey Jim, glad to hear you have Tnemec paint on your garage floor at home - I work for Tnemec in Houston! Ron, our standard program is acid-etch followed by two coats of epoxy then two coats of polyester polyurethane for chemical stain resistance and durability. It lasts! There are also other tings you can do for decorative effects.

If you're interested in more details, send me a pm.

 

Brian, I would stay away from anything that is not a two-part catalyzed material. You want catalyzed material, these types of products while withstand stains from brake fluids, oils and gydraulic fluids much better than one-part products. Also, hot tires may stain the floor, and hot wet tires can do even worse. Also, always finish the floor with a polyester urethane as they are even better at resisting staing than the epoxies. We just did a facility in central Texas that rebuilds Black Hawks, Cobras, Apaches and Hueys and that is the system we used. Sorry, I passionate about floors, I've seen way too many fail.

 

I used the Griot's industrial non-lifting floor paint. Its a two part epoxy paint which requires acid etching of the floor first. Unfortunately, it did lift up in the areas where our car tires travel the most. Overall it has held up pretty good. Easy to clean. They also sell floor tile. www.griotsgarage.com

 

[Jools]

Ron, have you thought about contractor grade carpet floor tiles, they are extremly hard wearing,reasonably cheap,can be cleaned/replaced easily in localised areas if they get soiled.. and lastly make a big difference to the overall warmth/comfort of garage. You will never have to drag old cushions or bits of foam around to sit on again!! ( and those parts that you've lovingly spent countless hours polising don't get scratched when you kick them over onto carpet /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif!!)

 

Here's a pic of the peeled area of the garage floor. The rest of it looks pretty nice.

 

I don't know, you guys with pretty floors worry me

 

If you used a two-part epoxy, solvent base prefered, and it's a quality material, you usually see this if the floor is not acid-etched enough. Acid etch-ing one time may work, but after you acid-etch it should feel about like 120 to 150 grit sandpaper. Hot wet tires are a mother, and some of the additives they are putting in tires these days has made it even more important to use high quality material. Does the concrete feel slick where the paint has peeled off?

I've included a picture from my old house. This floor was four years old and had just been washed for spring cleaning. This is how they should look.

 

[Jools]

Your right Earl, but when you have spent as much time as I did searching an elusive oil leak (front crank seal) you begin to REALLY appreciate any little comfort. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif The road to enlightenment definitely does not begin crawling on your back for countless hours underneath a 40!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Brian Kissel]

Hello Jools !!
I am not sure what you have available across the pond, but when I have an oil leak that seems impossible to find, there is hope. There is a dye available that you pour in with the existing motor oil. Then usually with the car in the air, a black light is used to determine the source of the leak. As we all know, just the air under the car will move the oil leak around, so the source is not easily found. This system works great.
Regards Brian