Garage Floor finishes

[IgotDANUTZ]

Just curious what you all would recommend? Looks more and more like im gonna be booted from the man cave and have to set up shop in the garage!

[Calgary Dave]

20x20 Polished porcelain!! http://www.cvreefers.org/images/smilies/pimp.gif

http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o312/CalgaryDave/test/IMG_3349.jpg
http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o312/CalgaryDave/test/IMG_3352.jpg

[IgotDANUTZ]

Yeha i saw this before, price will be way too high though

[Calgary Dave]

Someone on here, cant remember who, painted their floor..complete with grout lines and it looked fantastic! One of our fellow table builders I think. It can't be too expensive. Just don't know how durable it is if you're going to put vehicle traffic on it.

[Irish]

What are you starting with, a concrete floor?

Someone on here, cant remember who, painted their floor..complete with grout lines and it looked fantastic! One of our fellow table builders I think. It can't be too expensive. Just don't know how durable it is if you're going to put vehicle traffic on it.

Thissa one:
http://perfectmancave.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4704

The second page has a link with the whole construction process.

[Guma]

Yeah that was me... Here is a finished picture of the floor.
Took me about 2 weeks to do this, but most the work was prepping the concrete to take the paint. Once I started actually painting it took about 3 days.

http://gumataotao.albumpost.com//albums/PokerRoom/IMG_3892.sized.jpg

[Quads]

Astroturf.
(yes, I'm serious)

[wyatt880]

I just bought a couple of these:

http://www.rustoleum.com/CBGProduct.asp?pid=16

Has not been warm enough to do this yet, but I have a few friends that have done it and have no complaints. I got it for $56 a kit I think at Menards.

[IgotDANUTZ]

astroturf??????? what ya mean?

[IgotDANUTZ]

starting with concrete and ill have to use something to clean it pretty good. Any other suggestions

[Debacle]

Buddy of mine used this shit to do his garage. http://www.quikretecoatings.com/epoxyGarageFloorCoat.jsp

it actually turned out pretty nice. You have to acid etch it first, but it looks good. I tried the same thing by using the 1 part paint rather than the 2 part epoxy and it isnt holding up so well. Whenever there is standing water on it the paint peels right off the floor. But Quikrete said they will make it right, just waiting for them to come thru

[Irish]

Buddy of mine used this shit to do his garage. http://www.quikretecoatings.com/epoxyGarageFloorCoat.jsp

it actually turned out pretty nice. You have to acid etch it first, but it looks good. I tried the same thing by using the 1 part paint rather than the 2 part epoxy and it isnt holding up so well. Whenever there is standing water on it the paint peels right off the floor. But Quikrete said they will make it right, just waiting for them to come thru

I used that stuff on my workshop floor and it came out pretty nice. I have a few spots that I didn't prep the concrete well that peeled a little, but for the most part it's held up well (3 years and running).

[Debacle]

You use the 2 part epoxy, or the 1 part paintlike stuff? I liked it that I could get it tinted. The finish (before it pealed) was nice and I loved the paint flecks you could put in it. Im prolly going to have to get a pressure washer and take it all up and start new. But, quikrete is paying for the new finish so ill just be out a bit of time.

[Irish]

I think it was the 2 part stuff. You had to clean and etch the existing floor, then there's a prime coat, then the actual paint. I had areas on the floor that were already painted, so in some of those areas where I couldn't get it really clean is where I get a little peeling. This was on a 50 year old sub-grade basement floor - I'd imagine if you have a relatively new and clean concrete slab you'd get really good results.

I went with a gunmetal grey color with the paint flecks, which are a nice touch. I'll try to take some pictures when I get home.

[Guma]

Prepping the concrete to take the paint is by far the most time consuming part of the job. But if you do not take your time and rush through this part, you will get peeling and bubbling of the paint. If it is old and already painted like Irish had, I would recommend getting something to scrape all the old paint off. Even though the floor I was doing was new, I still had to take an angle grinder to a lot of spots to get up mortar mix and dripped paint.

When I used the Behr concrete paint I cleaned the floor first with soap and water. Then starts the etching part. HAVE LOTS OF VENTILATION! I mopped it on, let it sit for 10 mins per section and then soaked with water and used a squeegee to push the water out of the garage. You absolutely have to get all the residue off the concrete. If it leaves a white powder residue on the concrete you will have to etch that part again or the paint will not stick to it.

I do believe there was a prep coat of some sort of primer before I started painting. But the primer was clear. It was a little hard to tell where I had already painted when doing the primer coat.

[dermaestro]

I hired out for a guy to do the epoxy flooring. He specializes in heavy duty warehouses so I figured it would hold up to my truck and jack stands. It's been in for 7 or 8 years now and not one complaint with its durability.

I've spilled oil, transmission fluid, you name it and it all wipes up clean.

The only issue I have with it is that it's slippery when wet. Since I did a light color, water and other light colored liquids are hard to see.

[philthyanimal]

What is the best way to get a logo on painted concrete and then later have the floor epoxied?

I'm envisioning a Portland Trail Blazers themed man cave for my garage. I was either going to paint the logo on my own, but then found a shop that would do custom decals. Would the epoxy destroy the decaled logo?

[Quads]

You'd have to do a test on it, but you could do it by hand with smaller brushes, then cover it in the clear epoxy based paint. Much like they do the lines, logos, adverts, etc in an ice hockey arena.

It's would be a lot of work but it would be 10X bad ass once it was done.

[Irish]

What is the best way to get a logo on painted concrete and then later have the floor epoxied?

I'm envisioning a Portland Trail Blazers themed man cave for my garage. I was either going to paint the logo on my own, but then found a shop that would do custom decals. Would the epoxy destroy the decal logo?

A couple of different options, depending on how much you're looking to spend. Your cheapest alternative (next to painting it yourself) is probably to check in with a company that does advertising floor decals, like those arrow or stop sign decals you see at the car dealerships. I believe 3M has a line of vinyl material specifically for floor decals.

Another alternative is to find a place that does the decals for gymnasiums or sports complexes. Something like this
http://www.ddisigns.com/sportsfloorgraphics.htm
http://www.ddisigns.com/floorgraphicsdecals.htm

Either way, you may be better off applying the decal after you paint/epoxy the floor. I would think that a clear epoxy or polyurethane coat may stain the decal or turn a tad yellow with time. I'm no expert though, you're best bet is to talk to a few decal manufacturers and get their opinions on what you're trying to do.