First of all, dont know where this would belong, so Mods...feel free to move this to the appropriat forum.

Ok, moving into a new house with garage and planning on doing the shinny floor finish like you find on many performance shop. Mainly to prevent oil/grease stains.
Have you don this to your garage before?
What parts would i need? I *think* all i need is the epoxy and the paint. But again, never done this before and have no idea what i need to buy. But i know that i dont need any puddy to fill in cracks b/c the garage is unmolested by cars yet.
I'm not planning on spending much (but i have no idea how much it would cost anyway:p )

Any advice/parts would be appreciated.

jonathan

Just go to home depot or other hardware store and just pick up a a 5 gallon of concrete sealer.. that should do the trick...thatll stop stiining, however it may just be a clear... if you want a gray shiny type finsh they should have it right next to the sealer.

I'm pretty sure you want a two part epoxy system. My uncle used the Home Depot stuff on his new floor, and the heat from the tires lifted the paint off the concrete when the car was parked. He was wiring a new movie theater, and they had some leftover epoxy paint for the floor, so he used that, and hasn't had any problems since.

You might want to consider mixing in a bit of sand to keep it from being too slippery.

You will need to scrupulously clean the floor, then use a preparation agent (like muriatic acid - or similar) prior to applying the finish/sealer. Use something specifically designed for garage floors, otherwise the hot tires will lift the paint. The right stuff is very expensive.

-Keith-

For about $15 go to Lowe's or Home depot and get a can of the concrete sealer. Just hose off the garage floor, hand scrub spots you don't like/ don't want sealed in, then use a paint roller and roll the stuff on. I recently moved into a new house and that was the first thing I did. Well worth it. Now with all the maintenance I've been doing( engine oil everywhere, transmission oil drips) it is really great. Oil just wipes off, no stains whatsoever.

Note - this sealer is just clear. I have seen lots of problems with the colored paints that people put down, with the tires wearing away the paint and it looking terrible. I recommend the clear sealant myself.

Thanks for the replies guys.
So concrete sealer would do the trick? Does that also prevent oil/grease stains? And how many coats does it require?

Also, what do i need to do in preparation to clean the floor? Would water and scrub work?
thanks again

yes, my concrete sealer has prevented oil stains and things like that. of course i don't let the oil sit there very long, maybe an hour tops, but no oil stains. i don't have any cars that drip oil ( yet, knock on wood ) but the sealer claims no oil will penetrate it.
as for cleaning, since my garage was only a month old, with light use, i was able to just hose it down with tap water, sweep with a shop broom, and scrub with some kitchen cleaners to get mud clumps up and paint splatters from construction. in the end it looked good.
the product will tell you if need multiple coats but it shouldn't need more than one. you will see when you try that once the first coat dries anymore coats just sit on the top and don't soak in. this stuff truly seals the floor.

Do you know what brand to get? I've searched "Concrete Sealer" on Lowes and Homedpot and they didn't have what i need.

mine was something like this at this link - Valspar Severe Weather Clear Patio and Stone Sealer (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=8610-000000004-8610)

Originally posted by LDragon
mine was something like this at this link - Valspar Severe Weather Clear Patio and Stone Sealer (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=8610-000000004-8610)

thanks for the link. Average rating of 1.0 for the product?:lol: :lol:
Well, i was looking at this:
concrete sealer (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=90968-000000004-90968)

Is 5gallon too much for a regular 2car garage?

Originally posted by Subies
Is 5gallon too much for a regular 2car garage?
yes... 1-2 should do fine... depends on how much absorbs in... you should probably do 2 coats...

For the serious stuff like you originally talked about in your initial post, check out www.ucoatit.com (http://www.ucoatit.com)

Be warned though, the stuff ain't cheap. Something like $300 for just the paint kit and another $234 for the nifty flecks and clear coat. But it has a very long lifespan and guarantee.

Originally posted by Jarrod Li
For the serious stuff like you originally talked about in your initial post, check out www.ucoatit.com (http://www.ucoatit.com)

Be warned though, the stuff ain't cheap. Something like $300 for just the paint kit and another $234 for the nifty flecks and clear coat. But it has a very long lifespan and guarantee.

Yeah, i was reading old issues os SCC and they were using their products. I would get them if they were cheaper:( .

Wait a minute. I am forgetting what it is called but they have an ad in the back of almost every car magazine.

The product is a two part epoxy coating (w/ bag of flecks, optional to use) enough to cover 250sq ft in a box for $79.

Autozone isn't selling enough of these DIY kits so all stores are getting rid of them for $20!

I'm going back to the store tomorrow to buy a couple kits.

Go check it out!!!


Drew

Originally posted by Drew888
Wait a minute. I am forgetting what it is called but they have an ad in the back of almost every car magazine.

The product is a two part epoxy coating (w/ bag of flecks, optional to use) enough to cover 250sq ft in a box for $79.

Autozone isn't selling enough of these DIY kits so all stores are getting rid of them for $20!

I'm going back to the store tomorrow to buy a couple kits.

Go check it out!!!


Drew

Thanks for the info. Let me know how it turns out and tell me what it's called.

Epoxy
On an old floor: clean well first with muriatic acid (be very careful using it) and let completely dry.
Let new concrete age for a few months before putting an epoxy coating.

Matt -

Originally posted by MattJP
Epoxy
On an old floor: clean well first with muriatic acid (be very careful using it) and let completely dry.
Let new concrete age for a few months before putting an epoxy coating.

Matt -


Matt, where do I pick up this muriatic acid? I used a huge power washer on the floor and I've still got some huge stains from the prior owners.

Originally posted by grindMARC
Matt, where do I pick up this muriatic acid? I used a huge power washer on the floor and I've still got some huge stains from the prior owners.
you get it at any place that sells pool cleaning stuff... WalMart or Target might have it too... or like home depot or lowes...

Handyman magazine covered this in this month's issue, though it seems the other replies pretty much summed it up.

www.musclegloss.com

Here's the scoop!!

You can get the stuff you need at home depot! They sell an Epoxy paint for specifically garage floors. I believe you can get it in two colors. I got the grey. They even have special paint chips so you can sprinkle them on the floor as you paint to give it a cool professional look. The paint chips are black, blue, and white. I did it a year ago this month and it still looks awesome. I live in New England so its see's snow, ice, sand, and salt. And after this past winter (we got tons of snow) it held up great. It's still shines like the day I put it down.

Basically the kit comes in a box with one gallon of paint and 1 quart epoxy. You mix them together and presto, your ready to paint. And one last thing, make sure the floor is as clean as you can get it.

No more cement dust either. It sweeps up really nice. I believe it was about $40 bucks for a one car garage.

Eric

748eric:
I just saw that today at Lowes...exact samething you explained except it was $55. I would have gotten that but it's only for one car garage..and i dont feel like to buy another one.

But, I did buy this:
Valspar mansory sealer (http://www.lowes.com/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=90967-000000004-90967)

It works great and easy to apply. And i've tested it afterwards, the water just beads, didn't penetrate through the cement. Good stuff for a fraction of the cost.

jonathan

Try Griot's Garage:

Floor paint:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&L3=L3_3080&SKU=90011

Or floor tiles (nice):
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&L3=L3_3080&SKU=91358

Originally posted by grindMARC



Matt, where do I pick up this muriatic acid? I used a huge power washer on the floor and I've still got some huge stains from the prior owners.

Try any pool supply store. We used to use muriatic acid to clean our pool, so you should be able to get ahold of it there. Also try Walgreens if you can't find it there.

Originally posted by NicGordon
Try Griot's Garage:

Floor paint:
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&L3=L3_3080&SKU=90011

Or floor tiles (nice):
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&L3=L3_3080&SKU=91358

That's a nice site. Thanks for the product tip.

Also, is it too late for me to apply those garage floor paint to my already masonry coated garage floor? Or will i need to do some cleaning? The more i read about it, the more i want those garage paint!!:D

thanks