I'm in the early stages of thinking about coating or covering my garage floor. The area where I worked on my Challenger took a bit of beating over the years. I need something that can be cleaned thoroughly as my wife is getting tired of me tracking stuff into the house. I'm curious what experiences folks here have had with professionally installed or commercially available DIY products.
Some observations so far:
My in-laws have rubber interlocking tiles on the garage floor (don't know the brand). Tires rolling on these tiles squeak like bad sneakers, and dirt tends to accumulate in the joints between the tiles and can't be removed easily. Not a fan.
I've seen a couple of installations of the DIY Rustoleum products, but they seem to get very slick when wet, even with grit added for traction. With melted snow and such dropping off the cars doing the winter, I don't want to be slip sliding away.
There's a local company that does a multi-stage epoxy treatment after using some special machines to abrasively clean the surface. Their service is very pricey plus I'd have to completely empty the garage for about a week while they do their thing - not a great option for me at this point.
I've seen RaceDeck or similar products advertised but don't know anyone that's actually used it.
Anyone with experience to share on this topic? Thanks.
I have epoxy without grit. Not terribly slippery.
Power wash the floor really good, muriatic acid etch it, power wash it again. Epoxy paint it.
I don't care for the diy kits you get from the hardware store. The epoxy products from Sherwin Williams are far better.
Last time I was talking to my sherwin guy he said there is a new product out for floors that works better than straight epoxy.
I'll see if I can get that name and post it for you.
Also, if you have a company come to do your floor you will also need to plastic off your walls and such as they will be raising dust and splashing products around. If you do it yourself with a power washer you will be spraying stuff around as well.
I've put mopar ford symbols on the floor, on top of base coast epoxy and then clear epoxied over the base and symbol. Looked sweet!
Thanks for the help cudahunter!
I have race deck under my lift on one side of my garage and it's basically just for car storage. It does look nice and keeps it clean but I wouldn't recommend it if you would be working and jacking up the car all the time. It does buckle up when the sun hits it I guess because it can't move under the lift but it does go down after it cools. The other side of my garage is just concrete with plenty paint and oil stains. The industrial coating would probably be the best but I think eventually it would get beat up depending upon how much work you do.
https://ucoatit.com/racing/
Quote from: cuda hunter on May 20, 2021, 05:47:48 AM
I've put mopar ford symbols on the floor, on top of base coast epoxy and then clear epoxied over the base and symbol. Looked sweet!
:takepicture: Please!
I have Spartacote on my shop floor. While it is exceptionally nice, and very chemical resistant to almost anything I personally would rather just have a concrete floor. Not that I'm ocd, but I am always trying to do everything in my power to keep it from getting scratched. Have to protect the floor when welding also. After 6 years when I mop the floor it still looks awesome. I guess one of the other parts is, I have a teenage son and a couple of Nephews that use my shop quite a bit. Lol. While I always welcome him and his friends to use my shop, I have to continually yell at them and keep emphasizing that there is no scratching of the floor, dragging transmissions, floor jacks with gravel on the floor etc. Gets rocks caught in the tires and that leaves scratches. Anyway long story short, no one care as much about my shop floor as me.
I had a fresh slab so I used an acid stain. It reacts with the chemicals in the concrete to change the color. It goes deep into the concrete so scratches can just be resealed. We will see how it stands up but it sure looks good.
I did a polyaspartic coating on a new floor and it has been a huge regret. not sure if the outfit that did it screwed it up but it sure didn't live up to the hype. while it has a nice tough no-slip surface, it soaks up the slightest oil spill - exactly the opposite of what I was after. I should have just left it bare. Now that I'm full moved in I am not interested in trying to have it redone.
Someone mentioned Racedeck. Originally had this around the pool, but summer and water, very hot and slick, so I moved it.
S/D , floor looks great but like you I'd be afraid of getting something that nice scratched.
D/C , another great looking floor but doesn't look like that's a work shop!
I use 4ft x 6ft horse stall mats. They are 3/4" thick. Easy to clean, easy on the body, walking or kneeing.. Hard rubber.. They are used in several gyms down here, where I got the idea.. Kinda expensive but worth it to me..
Quote from: JonH on May 20, 2021, 06:26:14 AM
https://ucoatit.com/racing/
Now that stuff looks awesome. 3 options to choose from. I really like that.
In my opinion, even after using the commercial products I can get and install there are better products out there that Sherwin won't sell me. My "painter" who has a commercial account can purchase the paints. Very similar to the U coat it products.
I've seen some of it. He paints sewer tanks for municipalities.
For my next garage for myself I will choose an option that is above my skill level.
Quote from: dodj on May 20, 2021, 07:52:56 AM
:takepicture: Please!
Sorry, those garages were done before flat screen phones and flip phones didn't take good pictures.
At that time I didn't hire a professional to come take pictures of my work.
Quote from: Swamp Donkey on May 20, 2021, 07:53:51 AM
I have Spartacote on my shop floor.
That looks great!
I've found that if you clear epoxy on top of epoxy paints the scratching is drastically reduced. Typically though you have to install the clears within a certain amount of time after the initial coat.
I believe there is a way to chemically coat the floor to have clears stick after they have been installed for a time.
I scratched my floor a bunch in my personal garage. Wish I would have known what I know now back in 2000.
Quote from: cuda hunter on May 20, 2021, 05:47:48 AM
Last time I was talking to my sherwin guy he said there is a new product out for floors that works better than straight epoxy.
I
Quote from: Floyd on May 20, 2021, 02:00:13 PM
I did a polyaspartic coating on a new floor and it has been a huge regret. ]
That's the stuff I was talking about. I've heard it's great. But have not seen any of it.
Sorry it's a pain for you and appreciate the tip to stay away.
Quote from: CNUMB on May 20, 2021, 05:08:00 PM
I use 4ft x 6ft horse stall mats.
That is a great idea. I'm going to have to try this one.
Can you use a floor jack on them? I know they are very thick and sturdy.
I would go with the horse stall mats.3/4 in thick should be very durable.If one gets stained or damaged you can replace the one mat.I heard that sometimes with the epoxy floor if you turn the wheel of your car without moving the epoxy will flake off sometimes.
There's a Tractor Supply store near me asking those stall mats. I'll go take a look at them this weekend.
Quote from: cuda hunter on May 20, 2021, 07:07:50 PM
Quote from: CNUMB on May 20, 2021, 05:08:00 PM
I use 4ft x 6ft horse stall mats.
That is a great idea. I'm going to have to try this one.
Can you use a floor jack on them? I know they are very thick and sturdy.
Yes, no issues..Just did a brake job.. I did put down some protection from brake fluid hitting them..
I´m building a new shop at the moment, floor coating is a mix of two stage epoxy resin and quartz sand.
Floor grinded and cleaned, after that primered. Next day epoxy and sand mixed and applied to the floor, they used trowel machine to make surface nice and smooth. Third day, more epoxy resin to seal the surface. 4th day, second round of epoxy for sealing.
I´m happy.
5th day emptied your bank account LOL . Looks great
What about carpet runners around the car?
I get used industrial ones that come from industrial uniform service companies (Cintas, Prudential, Aramark) that do car dealers and shops. The same guys that do uniforms and rags... There's a person at the swap meet that gets better quality used mats that are cycled out. About 10-$20 each
If you coat you floor you need to have you floor tested with a moisture tent to make sure moisture is t seeping through. The old floor in my garage is bad with moisture. It will screw up an epoxy job
Quote from: autoxcuda on May 21, 2021, 09:07:47 AM
If you coat you floor you need to have you floor tested with a moisture tent to make sure moisture is t seeping through. The old floor in my garage is bad with moisture. It will screw up an epoxy job
Yep. Made that mistake in a previous house. It had a detached garage so there was no moisture barrier under the concrete. My Rustoleum epoxy paint started flaming off within a couple of months.
Quote from: cuda hunter on May 20, 2021, 06:57:45 PM
Quote from: dodj on May 20, 2021, 07:52:56 AM
:takepicture: Please!
Sorry, those garages were done before flat screen phones and flip phones didn't take good pictures.
At that time I didn't hire a professional to come take pictures of my work.
This belongs to a friend of mine.
Good thread topic as I will be looking to do the same soon. Thanks for the feedback on RaceDeck, that was my current choice
I'm putting down some New Age flooring in my "showroom". Very thick and reviews were pretty good. About $4/sqft. Going to change the plans for that room to be more of a man cave/garage bar with maybe one car at a time in it.