Posts Tagged ‘epoxy’

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.

Epoxy concrete paints are applied on surfaces that have heavy traffic of any kind, basements and garages are the usual target here. They also work well on laundry room floors, shop floors, brick pavers, concrete slabs, kennels, pole barns, interior floors and on wooden car trailers. Many paints can’t resist various chemicals and other contaminants, but epoxy fights well against, water, oil, grease, dirt and other debris. This is made possible through the use of tough resins that are mixed on application. It’s because of this they are the most efficient solution for your floors.

There are three types of epoxy adhesive paints. First, hundred percent solids do not contain solvents that evaporate. Number two are solvent based epoxies that penetrate and adhere quite well, but these are dangerous to health and you will have to vent your garage while you are applying them to the surface, due to heavy fumes. Thrid option are water based paints that have anti-slip texture, are cheaper and thinner while not containing any dangerous fumes. They need a lot of air the dry properly and in time.

When you are applying your paint to the surface, you have to clean it with a hard bristled broom first to get rid of all the dirt, and then use some soapy water on that smae floor so the sweeping will be easier. You need to use a degreaser to remove all those soluble contaminants so your entire surface will be cleaned. You can check is your epoxy garage flooring clean by spraying some water to see will it stick on the flooring. you will then have to leave your coating to dry until the next day. The following morning is the right time to apply your paint. A fantastic finishing coating will need two or three layers of paint. To get rid of those spills and paint drips, you need to have a clean rag made of cotton near you, as well as some epoxy thinner that will clean solvent based paints well.

Its toughness, its durability, its easy to clean finish, its salt and acid resistance is what endears me to this paint. Well, but these can only be attained from proper preparation, proper application and the time that you will give it to cure before you bring back your vehicle or allow traffic back.

Epoxy floors are considered to be very good for places where there are lots of chances for the floor getting damaged. And it’s because epoxy garage paint is quite durable material. It is hard to find a type of floor that can endure everything that these floor can in such long periods of time.

Their resistance power is much more than any other type of flooring. These are able to endure a lot of tear and wear, as well as being indifferent to dust and dirt. They can be cleaned quite easily. Epoxy paint is best used in garages, according to the people who used it for different purposes. This is because of the reason that in garages a lot of activities are conducted that can damage the floor.

To apply epoxy paint on your garage floor is not such a hard task. You can achieve this if you follow few simple rules. The entire epoxy coating process can be divided to four smaller parts. Etching the concrete is the first thing you will have to do when starting with the work. This helps in preparing the floor for epoxy coating. One should also clean the floor before applying the coating.

You will get better adhesion of the epoxy coating if you keep etching and cleaning your garage floor. Another step is very important, and that is to check is there any moisture present on the floor. The concrete should be sealed so that floor is free from the risk of moisture which would diminish the efficiency of the epoxy coating.

Sealing also helps in bonding the floor with the epoxy coating. After this the epoxy coating can be applied to the floor. This can be done by using a brush, roller or even a spray. There will be no epoxy coating bonding if your floor is not dry enough, water doesn’t allow for that action to take place.

Top coat is the last step you have to take. Applying the topcoat to the epoxy floor is very necessary. You have to apply the top coat if you want the best epoxy coating results, that’s just the way it is.

I can bet you have seen quite a number of epoxy flooring with bubbles on them. The size of bubbles varies a lot, from an inch in diameter to as small as pinhead. You can find them in groups or scaterred around the floor. This is usually due to a phenomenon called ‘out gassing’. And it happens when the epoxy begins to dry up. Because the temperature rises, air is hotter and it expands into a bubble under the epoxy coating.

To prevent bubbles being formed in epoxy floors application of a primer is recommended. Also never apply the coating in direct rays of the sun and always use a drill of a slower speed when mixing the coating.

Use medium roller if you already decided to use one. You need to take care how you apply the epoxy, make slow, gentle motions. This will be helpful in preventing bubbles from being formed in epoxy coatings.

You can use rotary scrubber ans some sandpaper to remove all those bubbles on your epoxy floor. Use some sandpaper to roughen the bubbled area as a first step. Then scrupulously clean the dust. Then with a rag wipe the surface area with a strong solvent. After this another coating can be applied. Fisheyes is another type of bubbles that can occur. One of the reasons is the silicone that remained on the surface.

This can be cleaned by scrubbing the surface area with sandpaper of a medium grit. When you are finished with this, you can clean the entire place with solvent dipped rag. Now you can apply that epoxy coating you prepared for the session.

Consider shot blasting or sand blasting the entire epoxy coating in case the bubbles are spread all over that floor. You will need to sand blast the entire area of epoxy coating first. Afterwards clean the problem area with acid. You can isolate the entire area, in case it is rather small. Repair the area and then apply the coating again.

The moisture is one more reason why bubbles appear in our epoxy garage floors. To verify this break one of the blisters thus formed and see if there is any moisture inside.

In case you are thinking how hard it is to repair those epoxy floors, stop it right now. There are plenty of people who find this job quite hard. In case you have a handyman skills, you can do this task without blinking. You can easily repair your epoxy garage floor. The truth is, we can all do this if we try.

Get some epoxy repait kits from the local home improvement store, or have them delivered to you from some internet store. You will be given a complete package and it would contain everything that you need to repair your epoxy floor.

There would be epoxy patches included, and they would be the ones you have to put on the damaged areas. You can use these repair kits on all floor types, no matter what kind of traffic that floor gets.

Epoxy paint applied on your concrete surface will easily be repaired. It is a biggest reason so many people like to have this covering option for their floor. Applying epoxy paint on your floor takes a bit more time, but making necesary repairs is not that troublesome at all.

You should not braek the tiles or concrete just to fix the epoxy paint that is on them, that is not necessary. It is possible for this to happem with ceramic tiles, but not with epoxy paint. The process of repair is so easy you can do it yourself. I am sure you will not have to hire a handy man to to this job for you, mix the solvents and apply epoxy paint on the area that is damaged.

After you read all the information on the label, you can start with the work. It’s best to buy branded kits and use the products that are odor-free so you can apply them with easy. One more great thing is that a repair kit will dry out in a record time.

This means that you will be able to use your garage to full extent in a quick manner. When you apply the repair putty, 24 hours are needed for it to do its work.