Garage floor epoxy paint anyone have suggestions?

I am in the process of selling my house and trying to buy a house. Whatever I end up with will have a two car garage that I'd like to treat the floors with a epoxy finish that seals it and makes it easier to clean. There are quite a few products out there right now.
Issues and thoughts concerning this are,
1) ease of application
2) ability to kick and dry this time of year(day temps 68, nights 39-45
Brands and prices of kits

I have seen the rustoleum products that seem to be the most reasonable price wise,
and others from companies like Por 15.
Not sure if it is something I can even do in the winter or if it will have to wait until spring. It would be nice to do before moving in, but may not be practical!

From what I've seen around here the key, just like any paint, is preparation. You must get the floor totally free of any grease and oil that may have been soaking into the concrete for years, and it also needs to be fully cured (one of my boys paid the home builder to epoxy seal his new garage floor before they moved in, and the moisture cooking off of the month old concrete lifted the surface). Once it's clean & oil free, using a floor buffer with a sanding disc is a good idea, to give the surface some tooth to hold the paint. Once that's all done, and the mess cleaned up (not pressure washed ;)) I would think that you'd want to put a good heater into the closed space for a few days to try to bring the surface up to temp as much as you can.

After looking up epoxy kits online, home depot had a great product comparison chart pdf file from Rustoleum. The kit that sounds right for a quick winter move is the
152 oz. Gray Polycuramine 2.5 Car Garage Floor Kit for $199.00 for a two car garage. can be used down to 40 degrees, drying time 8-10 hours for light traffic and 24 hours for vehicle use, and it has a low volital chemical index as well as its proportedly :
Rust-Oleum RockSolid 152 oz. Gray Polycuramine 2.5 Car Garage Floor Kit offers unsurpassed durability. Unique polycuramine formula is 20 times stronger than epoxy. Resists salt, oil, gas and other harsh chemicals, this is one of the toughest floor coatings available. Works great on workshop floors, garage floors and other interior concrete surfaces. Zero VOC's and a low odor make it a great choice for indoor applications. Easy to maintain, lasts a lifetime while still looking fantastic.

Question is has anyone used this? Does it work? Thanks, Steve.

one thing to remember is sealed concrete is slick as it gets. drive in on a wet spot and you aint stopping. also those pretty little chips make it impossible to find a dropped screw or nut. my build room is epoxied but i wish i had thrown away those chips.

Thanks for the imput guys. Hopefully my offer today will be accepted

I just did that for the same reason as you, I just moved and had an empty garage to work with. I used sherwinn williams industrial epoxy coating and mixed in some sand like stuff for traction. I did not use those little flakes, for the reason as the guy said above, I've heard it makes it friggin impossible to find anything you drop, and its hard enough normally.
I did it last february actually, and the temps were very borderline but it worked. Temps were not much above freezing, it did take a good 3 days to set up enough for foot traffic since it was so cold, but in the end it did fully harden.
Also, agreeing with another guy above, prep is HUGE. Since I knew I only had one chance to do it with an empty space I acid washed the floor multiple times rinsing down between washes. More to etch it rather than clean because concrete guys that pour floors like that trowel the living hell out of the floor and it was GLASS smooth, so I didn't want to risk the epoxy lifting. It was so glazed it took several washes before it felt like 120 grit sandpaper.
I believe it was around $300 bucks for a 3 car garage and I was happy with the product, especially since I knew I was pushing it temperature wise big time.

Tcodi thanks that helps. The stuff you added for traction, does it make it hard to sweep up? or use a roller to slide under a car your working on"

No it does not inhibit sweeping or rolling anything at all, even stuff with steel wheels are fine like hydraulic jacks, etc. Even grinding disc dust sweeps out almost perfectly clean. Calling it sand is a stretch to be honest, but that was the best general description I could think of. If it is sand it is the finest sand I've ever seen.
It was called "shark bite," and also a sherwinn williams product. It wasn't expensive at all to add that in considering I was spending $300 as it was.
After doing it, I kind of thought it would have been fine without it actually, probably because I took so much time and effort to acid etch the floor. I think the shark bite is really for people who are coating a floor that is left with the steel trowel smooth finish, but I was worried the coating would peel a few years down the road if I left it so smooth.

Thank for the clarification. Everyone I know has never complained about not being able to stop driving on their epoxied floors, but I know that finish is slick and water on it seems iffy!

no problem.

last thing, if you do acid wash it for cleaning/roughening, that is one item I would NOT recommend the sherwinn williams acid stuff. After buying a gallon of theirs for $20 or something, I needed more and went to Home Depot where they sell 2 gallons at a time for something like $15 total, and it was way stronger.
Home depot calls it muriatic acid and it's in the garden section.
Reeks like all hell too and the fumes are really nasty so be ready if you choose to do that.

if you keep it really clean no problem but you roll in with wet tires it can happen. a friend had it in his shop and had one go through the wall. small spot of trans fluid. we all know what happens when one wheel locks up and slides. :(

Attachment 64930Check out the UCoatit brand. Put it in my shop 7 years ago and holds up well.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by buzz4041

Attachment 64930Check out the UCoatit brand. Put it in my shop 7 years ago and holds up well.

---

Yeah, but you polish your floor more than your work in there ! Tee Hee. Just pullin yer leg Buzz.

Thanks Buzz and others! I put another offer on yet another house today, that has a nice size two car garage, and a shed out back. Cross your fingers for me on this one! I need to have a place to move into when escrow closes on this place.
I noticed Rustoleum has a grip additive for their paint you can buy. I think whatever happens at this point painting will wait until spring or summer when it warms up a bit, we are dropping do the high 30's low 40's pretty regularly and the rain has started.. you never know, I might have time and warm weather! ;)

Steve, missed your post while at SEMA, sorry for the late reply.

I used the Rustoleum kit12-13 years ago on my shop floor..........seems the price has gone up quite a bit since. Anyway, it's been great.....durable against all forms of shop abuse except gouging of hammered metal that breaks away the concrete surface (though the paint still stuck to the chips.........lol). No acid etch needed, the material in the kit does a sufficient etch..........I even called their tech line because of my skepticism and they STRONGLY recommended against acid etch (probably for liability reasons). I've recommended that product many times as it has been extremely satisfactory in actual service.

Have you had any problems stopping upon entering the garage, due to slipperyness?

No, but I don't usually have those conditions so can't say it wouldn't happen if going too fast. Being mindful of the possibility then driving for the conditions should be the solution.

Fingers crossed for you Steve! Good luck getting the house...

Thanks guys, nothing like a divorce, a house sale, and potential house purchase, a job strike, and a used truck purchased without pink slip to add a little tobasco to your day!:eek::rolleyes:**)