Garage Concrete Flooring And Epoxy Based Paint
For quite a long time now Epoxy paints have been on the scene. Their characteristics of being oil and grease-resistant coupled with hardness and long life makes their use ideal for industrial floors. But, of late homeowners too have been using them.
It’s not uncommon to see their application on garage and outdoor concrete floors of many of the householders. They provide a protective coating to your dull and gray floors while making it convenient to have clean floors.Some of the benefits of epoxy floor paint include: Long lasting, rustproof, waterproof, heat resistant, salt and acid resistance, Nontoxic when dry and reduced maintenance costs.Major advantage being it is inexpensive for many homeowners. Concrete floor paints do not last long if the floor gets humid or attracts moisture from beneath or the atmosphere as they won’t last long under such conditions.
Epoxies are classified into three categories, namely, 100% solids, solvent based and water based. The strongest ones being the 100% solids and are the most expensive that need to be handled by experts only. The most often used epoxies for industrial applications are the solvent based category.They contain 40-60% solids. Ventilation is of prime importance if you decide to use epoxy paints for your garage or basement floor.
You can get them from stores dealing with industrial materials.The cheapest type is the water-based epoxies. Because of their strength they are recommended for being used for residences. Most of the home improvement stores offer these epoxies.Nowadays epoxies are available in various colors.
Certain manufacturers offer the facility of computerized color mixing too.
Most of the available brands are recommended for exteriors only. This statement is true for some of the stronger coatings. For some, living in unkind weather it may be worthwhile to explore the possibility of using acid based or acrylic concrete stains before zeroing in on the use of epoxy concrete paint.
The process of applying epoxy paint starts with the preparation of your garage floor.Most of the epoxy coating failures i have witnessed are as a result of wrong or little surface preparation. At the outset you have to clean the floor with a hard bristled brush and subsequently clear the debris created. Next, you should use a mild acid for scrubbing of floor for a thorough cleaning. This technique is also called as acid etching.
Next, you need to scrub the floor with a solution of warm water and soap and clearing that away. Your floor may still continue to have some water soluble impurities and you are required to scrub a de-greaser on the surface of the floor and finally wash it off.The mild acid does not remove grease and oils from the garage floors. Make sure the rinsing water does not stick to the surface of the floor, if it sticks, then repeat the greasing process all over.
After all the cleaning you need to leave the floor for overnight drying. The epoxy floor coating applied should be of uniform consistency. To prevent the formation of blisters and discoloring of the floor, you should ensure that humidity levels are not abnormally high or low. Generally it suffices to apply two to three coats of paint.
A proper installation ensures years of service and a regular maintenance further enhances is life.
