Posts Tagged ‘concrete’

Epoxy paints have been in the market for many years.  As these are quite sturdy, and durable apart from offering resistance to oils and greases, they find a wide application in industrial floors. But in the past few years it is being used by homeowners also.

Homeowners use epoxy paints for garage floors and basement floors.These paints can cover dull, gray concrete and provide you with easy to clean surfaces. Some of the many advantages of having epoxy floor paints are that they have a long life, are waterproof and don’t get rusted while offering resistance to heat, salt and acid.Major advantage being it is inexpensive for many homeowners. If your floor has spots that are always wet or sweats then you shouldn’t apply concrete floor paint because there is too much moisture coming from underneath and the paint won’t last very long.

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 comprise of 40-60% solids. Application of solvent based epoxies on the floor of your garage or basement makes it necessary to keep your floor ventilated.

You have to go to industrial supply stores to find them.The cheapest type is the water-based epoxies. Because of their strength they are recommended for being used for residences.They are conveniently available at any home improvement store. There is quite a vast range of available colors.

Some manufacturers offer computerized color matching also.
Generally the manufacturers claim that these epoxies are good for external applications only. And, that is right 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 first step before you apply epoxy paint on your garage floor, is to prepare the floor.Most of the epoxy coating failures i have witnessed are as a result of wrong or little surface preparation.  First of all you need to scrub the floor with a hard brush and then clear the rubbish so generated.  Next, you should use a mild acid for scrubbing of floor for a thorough cleaning. This technique is also called as acid etching.

The process of acid etching is followed by scrubbing of the concrete floor, using a warm soap solution in water and clearing it away.At the end of it all, you may still be left with certain water soluble impurities that need to be rid of by scrubbing the floor with a de-greaser and rinsing it off with water.The mild acid does not remove grease and oils from the garage floors. It’s of utmost importance to check that rinsing water is not stuck on the garage floor, for if it remains there, you have to repeat the exercise once again.

After doing these, the garage floor should then be left overnight to dry. The epoxy floor coating applied should be of uniform consistency. You should also see that humidity level is within the acceptable limits ,else the coating may form blisters or get discolored. Two to three coats of the paint are usually adequate.

If you do a proper install of epoxy paints, you a assured of years of service and if you maintain the surface regularly you can further its lifespan.

Do it yourself concrete staining is the cheapest and easiest way to enhance the appearance of your concrete surfaces. The other options of achieving similar looks of your concrete floor, like epoxy floor, are rather expensive and may not fall in the category of DIY project as they involve tearing of the existing floor to be covered with new or decorative overlays.But before you begin your staining project there are a few things you need to know.

There simply are two types of concrete staining namely, acid staining and acrylic staining. Acid stains work by chemically reacting with free lime in the surface to produce a natural looking, translucent color.They create a mottled, variegated, multi-hued coloring. The interesting part is that as every concrete behaves differently to acids, the stains created on one floor can’t be reproduced on another floor. Acrylic stains on the other hand are water borne pigments that seep thru the pores and adhere to the surface of the floor, thus producing a more consistent semi translucent color as if obtained from a dye. A very positive aspect of acrylic stains is that they help to conceal some of the defects or discoloration, but acid stains on the contrary, tend to highlight such limitations.

Acid and acrylic stains work equally good on many of the floors and you have to choose one, depending on the kind of looks you wish to have.

Yet, there are situations where a particular type may be found to give better results. For instance, exterior concrete older than ten to fifteen years may not be to hold acid stains as it has already lost most of the free lime on its surface. Such a concrete would give excellent results with acrylic stains because of its increased porosity over time. You can’t get this with epoxy flooring. Acid stains work well with newer concrete because of the availability of free lime. A good feature of acrylic stains is that it will be able to conceal minor repairs like patches and scaling on an old floor. Any patching materials will stand out with acid stains. For smooth trowel led interior surfaces with less porosity, acid stains are usually better because they don’t require as much penetration to color the concrete.