GARAGE FLOOR COATINGS, WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
It looks really cool and it seems like it would be easy to clean. Are there many color options? Can I do it myself? How long does it last? What do I need to know about Resinous Concrete Coatings?
Resinous garage floor coatings and driveway coatings are very popular now and come in many colors. Having a top quality coating professionally installed is nice but it can be really expensive! Why would you pay that kind of money for something so simple? Painters, handymen and homeowners are installing them all over town… What could go wrong? Let’s take a look….
There are four parts to a resinous floor coating:
Crack repair product:
Most floors have small crack that need to be repaired prior to coating. A mixture of silica sand and crack repair material are worked into the void once the crack is opened up with a specialty grinder. With chips applied at 100% coverage you can get away without repairing small cracks but they may still be visible at certain angles in the right lighting.
Color coat(s):
The color that goes down on the floor first. It needs to be applied quickly so chips will stick to it if you are using a 3 coat method.
Chips:
Chips are cast into the still wet 1st or 2nd color coat. They can be applied sporadically (feeding the chickens) or with 100% coverage so the only bits of color coat you see are what soak around the edges of the chips. Feeding the chickens takes practice for the perfectionist eye.
Top coat(s):
Clear Product such as epoxy, Polyaspartic or Poly 90. The poly top coats are UV stable and several times harder than epoxy. It’s all about application. Garage floor coatings work well for one person to put it down with a squeegee while others back roll with a paint roller.
There are a few important considerations when setting up resinous chip coatings. The quantity of solids within your product, the Extremely Violet balance, Proper Crack maintenance, the quantity of product occurring the floor and Prep. The most important of all could be the prep.
Prep:
according to the product you will be putting down, you will discover 3 recognized methods of prep. Grinding, shot blasting or maybe a deep acid etch. The finished product or service is only nearly as good as the prep. A rough profile is necessary from wall to wall. Any spots that aren't properly profiled or still left filthy will at some point Enable loose.
Most do it you kits from your major box shop would require a person colour coat being quickly utilized, a quick smattering of chips and one coat of distinct epoxy that can transform amber in color after a while. If prepped thoroughly it could hold up for some time but there isn’t lots of material to put on.
Crack mend can generally times be the dangle up to the Do-it-yourself form. It takes practice and a few specialty resources just like a grinder/vac to receive it ideal.
A superior solids product Like Graniflex covers totally in one coat and click here is not going to shrink even though drying. While you could address in a single coat knowledgeable installer will normally slender out the main coat and mail it deep into your pores of the ground for the final word adhesion. The chips might be Solid to the slower drying 2nd colour coat with 100% chip coverage. As soon as the chips are adequately scraped and prepped two UV steady Poly prime coats are utilized.
Regardless of whether using it on your self or hiring the massive guns no less than now you might have an concept of what to expect. If you are doing go the cheap route just be well prepared…. It'll cost extra to get rid of a failed coating before you decide to have it skillfully carried out the 2nd time. Thanks for taking the time.
Jon Molden
Blood Sweat & Tears Concrete