Garage floor coating recommendations

[rsqfyrmedic]

Howdy all....building a new detached garage for the rig and looking at a product called Armorpoxy. Supposedly has a commercial/military grade topcoat and thicker than the water based epoxy from the big box stores. Looking to protect the new concrete floor and would love to hear from anyone that's tried a garage coating and could share insights. I'll be handling the labor. We have a 39' Diesel pusher that weighs 33k lbs dry so we need something pretty "heavy duty" and won't peel under that weight. Thanks in advance!

[Blackdiamond]

I just did a water based product from Armorpoxy, won the kit in a contest, you can read my write up at Garage Journal.

One thing I would do differently is practice throwing the flakes (if you are done that) I am upset at myself for not doing that, it still looks way better than before but could done a much better job.

[macjom]

About 7 years ago, a pro did the epoxy coating on my garage's flooring and it looks nice until now.

[BrianinMichigan]

My garage floor was 20 years old when we epoxyed it. I did a lot of inquiring about floor prep. I had to use xylene to get up the oils and had a guy come in and sandblasted the floor. I used Tnemec epoxy. It is sold only to industrial painters. ( I had connections ) I put a urethane clear coat over top of the paint flakes. It's been 10 years and all is still intact. We have a dirt driveway and it has put some wear on the clear coat, but still looks good after cleaning. My connection told me to use urethane and not clear epoxy because it wouldn't yellow from the chemicals in the car tires.

[Bruce_Brown]

fred42 wrote:
Although not a garage, I am contracting a slab pour now for a house addition. My contractor said if I were planning to later add a coating or tile the floor, that it is important that they do not use a "Cure and Seal" product during the slab install. These products provide a barrier to help with the hydration but hinder adhesion of other products later. I plan to use the old method of lightly spraying water on the slab and covering with plastic until it has fully cured.

I hope theyre planning on a vapor barrier under the concrete.

[dougrainer]

I should mention that a CLEAN surface is extremely important to a good install on any floor product. In my case, I have a 3 1/2 car garage and I first acid washed it and then used a gas Power Washer and spent 4 hours just using the jet nozzle cleaning the concrete surface. Very tedious, but the results are worth it. BTW, the Epoxy I used as well as friends and Son in law, after 8 years when I was doing mine a few years ago he went to HD and rented a industrial Floor buffer and used that on his Epoxy coat and turned the finish which had dulled over those years and restored it to its original shine. Doug

[fred42]

Although not a garage, I am contracting a slab pour now for a house addition. My contractor said if I were planning to later add a coating or tile the floor, that it is important that they do not use a "Cure and Seal" product during the slab install. These products provide a barrier to help with the hydration but hinder adhesion of other products later. I plan to use the old method of lightly spraying water on the slab and covering with plastic until it has fully cured.

[dodge_guy]

PastorCharlie wrote:
I've never seen a painted concrete highway or bridge. They hold up pretty well with all the heavy traffic on them. Build them right and they do not need any cosmetics to make them serviceable or look good.

No, but it looks so much better and is easy to clean when it’s done. It just gives it a much more “appealing look”.

[dougrainer]

My friends and I use Epoxy Coat. BEST STUFF IN THE WORLD. Even Brake fluid will not harm it. Takes 3 to 5 days to get it. Doug

https://epoxy-coat.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjw6qqDBhB-EiwACBs6x62OjqzTky3HL8YY2z5BzkbkADb65jMhQWLVY8WvIegwvN...

[PastorCharlie]

I've never seen a painted concrete highway or bridge. They hold up pretty well with all the heavy traffic on them. Build them right and they do not need any cosmetics to make them serviceable or look good.

[Bruce_Brown]

Agreed on the vapor barrier. If you don't have one don't bother coating it, it won't stay down anyway.

Side note, part of my real job was selling concrete coatings.

[RLS7201]

PastorCharlie wrote:
I had the concrete polished to a glaze when they poured my shop. Doesn't need a top coat if done right during construction.

X2
My 68 year old garage floor was polished at construction time. Still looks nice and is easy to clean.

Richard

[dodge_guy]

In my attached garage 28X20 I used Rustoleum 2 part Epoxy. It lasts about 10 years before it needs to be recoated. Once dry any epoxy is rock hard and will hold up under the weight of your MH. I needed 2 color kits (4 gal) and 2 clear kits (2gal).

[rgatijnet1]

A lot depends on if you use a vapor barrier under the concrete and how long it has been allowed to cure/dry. Coat it too soon and you will have issues. It takes at least 30 days for the concrete to cure and if no vapor barrier is used, there may still be some moisture coming up through the slab. We used to tape a piece of plastic visqueen about 3' square over the slab in a few locations and let it sit for a day or so to check to see if any moisture is still present. If the slab is completely dry than the Armorpoxy coating should work fine.

[C20]

We did a really nice coating on ours. If I knew how to post a pic on here I would. Pm me for an email address and I’ll send you a pic