Epoxy floors are the new popular trendsetters in the flooring sector. You can never go wrong with choosing Epoxy flooring as your new garage floor. It is one of the toughest and durable finishes that you can apply to a garage floor. Epoxy flooring is known to be one of the best ways of adding a layer of security, elegance, and long-lasting factor to your garages, workshops, or other high traffic floorings. It can completely transform your boring old cement into an elegant garage or showroom, shouting at its customers to gaze at its beauty.
In today’s article, we will have a brief look at when to epoxy garage floors. How epoxy can affect your garage, and what are its significant advantages over many others. So, let’s get started !!
You can opt to epoxy your garage whenever you want to get rid of your boring cement floor and add a layer of protection and elegance in its place. For new slabs, you must wait a min 28 days or more before applying epoxy flooring.
When to Epoxy Garage floor
You can opt to epoxy your garage whenever you want to get rid of your boring cement floor and add a layer of protection and elegance in its place. For new slabs, you must wait a min 28 days or more before applying epoxy flooring.
An epoxy garage is a perfect, long-lasting coating that resists a large number of chemicals and stain substances such as grease, oil, and many other substances that can ruin regular paint. These also provide you with a variety of colors, giving you a personalized touch to your garage. But what are the criteria that need to be passed to know when’s the right time to epoxy the garage? Let’s check it out !!
Step 1
Before applying Epoxy to your garage, you will need to go through a lot of prep work to get the best possible result. You will need to start the first day of your work by removing oil spots, degreasing, cleaning the floor, etching it with a mild acid, and keep scrubbing the cement floor. Then move on to vacuum and rinse the floor to remove moisture and make it clean.
NOTE
This needs to be repeated lots of times to get best results
Doing it all manually can be a very lengthy and hardy process. So I recommend you use a [amazon link=”B07YKN69Y1″ title=”Power Scrubber”/] easily available on Amazon.
Step 2
Moving onto the next steps, check for any cracks in the cement floor. If found, fill the cracks and then move onto apply the first coat of epoxy flooring onto your garage, which is followed by another layer the next day. You don’t need many tools but get yourself a scrubber or a stiff brush along with a vacuum cleaner. If you don’t own one, you can either borrow it from someone or buy a [amazon link=”B083JBZXYS” title=”Vacuum Cleaner”/] easily available on Amazon.
Step 3 Testing for moisture
Strap a plastic bag to your concrete floor and leave it there for 24 hours. Move on to lift the corner of the plastic bag after 24 hours to check for moisture level in the concrete. If the plastic bag is dry underneath, then you can move on covering your garage floor with epoxy flooring. If it’s not dry then, don’t coat the floor with epoxy flooring as the water pressure won’t let the coating stay on the concrete floor.
Similarly, you need to analyze the weather and floor conditions before going for an epoxy floor. Test the floor for dampness and, if continuous moisture is coming up through the concrete from the ground, then your surface might not be suitable for epoxy flooring.
Furthermore, if you are going to be coating a new concrete slab, then wait at least 28 days or more recommended 2 months for the floor to get properly set and dry, before applying epoxy flooring on it. If you are going to apply epoxy flooring on a previously painted floor, then the best approach would be to remove the paint first. This is a must-do task if you are using a solvent-based proxy as your garage proxy flooring.
How to epoxy Garage floors
You can opt to epoxy your garage whenever you want to get rid of your boring cement floor and add a layer of protection and elegance in its place. For new slabs, you must wait a min 28 days or more before applying epoxy flooring. An epoxy garage is a perfect, long-lasting coating that resists a large number of chemicals and stain substances such as grease, oil, and many other substances that can ruin regular paint.
Step 1: Cleaning
You will need to start the first step of applying epoxy flooring by removing oil spots, degreasing, cleaning the floor, etching it with a mild acid, and keep scrubbing the cement floor. Then move on to vacuum and rinse the floor to remove moisture and make it clean. Leave the floor to get completely dry.
Step 2: Etch The Concrete
Use the etching solution provided in the epoxy kit to etch the concrete floor. Mix the solution with water and pour the solution over the floor, and spread it using a brush or broom. Rinse the entire area and leave the concrete to get completely dry.
NOTE
Concrete might take several days before drying completely
Step 3: Room Prep
Start by applying [amazon link=”B001EJMS4M” title=”Multi-Surface Painter’s Tape”/] easily available on Amazon. Cover the bottom of the walls using the tape. I also recommend attaching some plastic sheets near the bottom foot or two of the walls. Furthermore, if it’s possible, you should try to remove the baseboards and create a natural edge for the epoxy floor to cover the whole floor, right next to the walls.
Step 4: Mixing Epoxy
The two-part epoxy consists of resin as the first part and a catalyst/hardener as the 2nd part. These are mixed thoroughly before application to generate the best results. You can start the mixing procedure by stirring the paint for the first few minutes while carefully adding the catalyst/hardener. Keep adding the catalyst while stirring it until the container’s fully emptied. After that, keep mixing for about 3-5 mins to make sure it’s completely mixed.
CAUTION
If you are using decorative chips, don’t add them to the mixture
After stirring, put the lid back on and let the mixture rest for about as much time as specified by the company’s manufacturer.
Step 5: Application
Apply the coating as soon as the epoxy mixture is ready as you will only have 2 hours to apply and even lesser in summers. Make sure you are wearing protective gears and that there’s proper ventilation in the garage as the epoxy mixture will release awful fumes when it’s first applied.
Now move onto the next step and spread the epoxy onto the floor using a 9-inch roller such as [amazon link=”B017JY0GOO” title=”Smooth & Semi-Smooth Surface Roller”/] easily available on Amazon. Make sure to roll an even well-balanced coating all over the surface. For using decorative chips, you can pick them in your hand and spread them over the floor.
PRO TIP
If you are applying second coat, wait at least 12 hours before application
Step 6: Let it Dry
It would take about 24 hours for the garage to get completely dry. But, it’s recommended to give it about 1 week before driving your car in it.
If you are interested and want to start covering your regular old cement floor with premium epoxy covering then i would recommend you to have a look at this [amazon link=”B077YVKGG1″ title=”Rust-Oleum 293517 Rocksolid Polycuramine Garage Floor Coating”/] easily available on Amazon.
Useful Products
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Ending thoughts
In today’s article, we discussed our main query about when to epoxy garage floor? I started by explaining why epoxy helps transform your old plain cement garage floor and how it can add a new sense of style to it. I went on to describe all the steps on when to epoxy garage floor. In the middle part of the article, I discussed how you can apply epoxy flooring over your garage floor in the most effective manner to obtain the best results. In the end part, I proposed a list of products, each having its unique purpose.
That’s all from my side for today. Make sure to follow all the advised do’s and don’ts.