It aint the Garage Mahal but the color's right

[Doug Shepard]

While I wait a few days for the epoxy paint to cure on the LH side of my shop (garage) thought I'd post a few pics. Ended up using Sherwin Williams Shield-Crete WB 2 part epoxy which went on without any hiccups. By far the most labor intensive and time consuming part of the whole process was surface prepping the concrete.

Weekend 1 was spent patching concrete

Weekend 2 (a 4 day weekend over the holiday) was spent on the RH side. LOTs of scrubbing with degreaser, scraping off some 40 yr old overspray from the block walls that had gotten on the front part of the floor, power-washing, sanding, cursing, etc. But finally got things cleaned up enough to paint. By late in the week the epoxy had cured enough to move everything over to the painted side.

Weekend 3 - More of the same type of stuff as Weekend 2 except there was a lot more overspray from the walls onto the floors. Way too much to just scrape off this time. Used 2 gallons of HD paint remover. Also decided to include an acid etch step even though it's not supposed to be required for this paint. Lots of powerwashing in between those steps plus the degreaser phase to get all the chemicals rinsed off. Got the 2nd coat put on late yesterday. Cant move things back into their homes until Wed. or Thurs. evening.

Think I'll also wash down the walls before I put things back and they're easy to get at.

Here's pics of the RH side before starting this (scuze the bad lighting) along with an example of some of the stuff needing patching.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39050&d=1148258077
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=39051&d=1148258086

RH side after painting with everything shoved over on the left
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Deju vu except it's the LH side this time
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[Jim Becker]

That really brightened things up, Doug.

[Charles Wilson]

I too am working in a garage.

What was your purpose for painting the garage floor?

I get some water marks on the floor from a hard rain but no standing water, droplets, etc. I was thinking of drylocking the floor to cut down on moisture but don't think that it would stand up to the traffic (cars, machinery, and tools). Does the epoxy deal with this problem?

Regards,
Chuck

[Al Navas]

... I was thinking of drylocking the floor to cut down on moisture but don't think that it would stand up to the traffic (cars, machinery, and tools). Does the epoxy deal with this problem?...
Chuck,

I think you are referring to the moisture problem when you ask if epoxy deals with the problem.

I believe the epoxy may actually fail if you have a moisture problem. Although it will seem to slow moisture inflow a little at the beginning, the epoxy is likely to start delaminating in large sheets if the moisture problem is bad.

I am sure others will contribute their feedback and experience with moisture problems and epoxy.

If you refer to holding up to traffic, then the answer is a definite YES! It does very well. In fact, many garage epoxies were designed with this in mind.


Al

[Doug Shepard]

That really brightened things up, Doug.
Yeah - I'm really glad I went with a white instead of the gray or beige that the Borgs carry. I was hoping it would have that effect and I like the way it turned out.


I too am working in a garage.

What was your purpose for painting the garage floor?

I get some water marks on the floor from a hard rain but no standing water, droplets, etc. I was thinking of drylocking the floor to cut down on moisture but don't think that it would stand up to the traffic (cars, machinery, and tools). Does the epoxy deal with this problem?

Regards,
Chuck

I was mainly going for easier cleanup. It's unbelievable how much easier it is to sweep the painted surface vs. the original concrete. Plus if need be I could run a mop over it if something gets spilled. As far as trapping water goes, I bought a large floor squeegee to push any excess water dripping from wet (or frozen) vehicles out the door. The old concrete would have just absorbed it over time, and I'm sure some of the areas requiring patches were due to winter salt leeching into the concrete. I think this would all sit on the surface of the epoxy without the squeegee to push it out the door.