High Quality Commercial Grade DIY Floor Project
"I have been looking for a good Commercial grade garage floor
Epoxy system with color flakes and had a hard time till I
stumble onto your web site. Most of the product that I find out
there are the lower grade product that I’m not interested on, by
the way this is for my own personal use in my 550 square foot,
standard two car garage, that is the reason I want a good
system. I understand I can purchase from you such products. I
will need some advise on what you’ll recommend based on my
needs. I see you carry two types of epoxy at two different
prices. Please I would greatly appreciate if someone could get
back to me with the type of product and all the necessary
material to do an epoxy flake floor system with a clear top coat
finish. Thank you."-
Franco 1/15
Thank you for the kind email. The
simplest system is simply to roll down a coat of epoxy and
sprinkle some colored flakes on top of it. You are wise to seek
a more commercial/professional system, but still within a DIY
budget and skill set.
Here is a suggest system (with a few
options included):
1) Surface prep: folks go
from simple sweeping to Shot Blasting or Grinding. Each floor is
different and some floors are not suitable for coating no matter
how you attempt to prepare it. We cannot make official
recommendations - it is truly your call, but check out our
page
on surface prep.
2) Epoxy primer: epoxy
floor primers are optional and most floor epoxy manufacturers do
not require or sell them. That said, many (not all) experienced
epoxy floor contractors recommend or require it. They claim
better results, better bond, etc. Consider it extra insurance
for a problem free project. You might prime and wait a few weeks
before continuing. If bad stuff happens (peeling, lifting,
bubbles, etc.) it is only the thin coat of primer involved.
Recommended primer ESP 155 1/2 gal unit covers about 150 square
feet (not for sale in Southern California). Order 4 units for
your 2 car garage.
3) Roll down a coat of solvent free
Industrial Floor Epoxy. A 1.5 gal unit will cover just under 200
square feet. Colors are light gray or beige. Order 3 units for
your 2 car garage. apply with a short roller. Order 2- 4
rollers. Let the epoxy cure for one or more days.
4) Order colored chips direct from
the chip manufacture. You pick color and percent of each color.
100% chip coverage requires 1 pound of chips per 7-10 square
feet. That said, most 2 car garages use two or three 10 pound
bags of chips. Order chips direct from
Chips Unlimited.
5) Next a clear middle coat of epoxy
or polyurethane is applied and the chips are sprinkled onto the
wet coating and then application roller is rolled over the chips
and coating (called back rolling). The roller picks up the chips
and re-deposits them. Add more chips as needed, fix mistakes
with a paper towel wipe-up. Epoxy middle coat: thicker, no
odor, but all epoxies yellow without special top coating. Two
part poly middle coat: thin to start with, but also roll on thin
not thick, smelly, leaves some texture from the chips, not
for sale in California, doesn't yellow. If using epoxy - Order 4
units of Low V Floor. If using 2 part poly - Order 2 - 3 units
of Acrylic Poly UV Plus 2 part poly.
Note that the added materials for
the epoxy middle chip coat add about $400 to the total
cost compared to the Acrylic Poly Plus middle coat.
6) The clear topcoat over the chips
in step 5 is the same Acrylic Poly UV plus. Two coats rolled on
thin if going over an epoxy/chip, middle coat. Order 4 units of
Acrylic Poly Plus (2 coats). One or two coats if going
over the same Acrylic Poly UV plus used with the chips in the
middle poly/chip layer.
LOTS OF ADDITIONAL
EPOXY FLOOR INFO - ARTICLES - WEB SITES - AT THE
EPOXY
FLOOR LINKS PAGE
PRODUCT SUMMARY - 2 part poly middle
coat with chips: 4 units ESP 155 primer; 3 units Industrial
Floor Epoxy; 4 units Acrylic Poly UV Plus; optional short
nap rollers (2-4) for the Industrial Floor Epoxy layer.
PRODUCT SUMMARY - Low V Floor clear
epoxy middle coat with chips: 4 units of ESP 155 primer; 3 units
of Industrial Floor Epoxy; 3 units of Low V Floor Epoxy; 4 units
of Acrylic Poly UV Plus; optional short nap rollers (2-4)
PRODUCT SUMMARY - 20-30 pounds of
chips ordered directly from Chips Unlimited.
COST ESTIMATES - (either system) -
about $3 to $4 per square foot plus Chips (chips are under $150)
PURCHASE ALL
THESE PRODUCTS (LESS THE CHIPS) AT OUR THIRD PARTY, PRIMARY
STORE
CLICK HERE. OR CALL 603 435 7199
