Introduction

This text is the direct result of years of research in the coatings industry, trial and error, and development of best practices for our installation crews of epoxy coatings. This is written with the novice in mind who has never before coated a floor, but would like to. It has been my observation in the contracting business that there are three groups of people who want to have a garage floor coating, and no matter which group you fall in, I believe not only can you do it yourself, you SHOULD do it yourself. That may seem strange coming from someone who installs floor coatings for a living, but let me explain myself.
y

There are those who would simply like to hire it done professionally. Lack of time, lack of knowledge, or maybe they have too much money to spend. When you hire it done, you really dont know what you are getting, and you are assuming the pro really does have the skills and knowledge to do a professional job. This may be the case, but it may not. The truth is, I see a lot of people in the business that really have no business installing epoxy floors. They have never been to any special training, just perhaps some experience with a paint roller. The most common type to traverse into the business is a painter, who says heck, I can paint a wall, why not the floor too. Well my friends, concrete floors are a completely different animal when it comes to coatings, number one being you dont drive a car on a wall! What you will find in this document will arm you with knowledge greater than many contractors in the business. So, even if you decide not to do it yourself, you will be armed with the knowledge to hire it done like a pro. You will be able to screen and select a contractor who will give you a professional job. There are those who want to do it themselves for a sense of accomplishment. I would probably fall into this category. I like to do everything myself, I am a real hands on person. But thats me, and there are plenty of others who are the same way. Congrats, you have in your hands all the information you need to install an epoxy floor in your garage like a pro. I dont need to convince you to do it yourself because you have already convinced yourself. There are those who want to do it themselves simply because they cannot afford to have it done professionally. Nothing wrong with that. You will likely save 6075% by doing it yourself, depending on what system you decide on. That translates into $600-$1000 for a standard two car garage.

This site will cover everything from start to finish, such as selecting tools and materials, surface preparation, the coating process and troubleshooting specific problems you may encounter. The typical two car garage can be done in on a weekend.

There is currently much misinformation and terrible products available to the general public for installing their own garage floor coating, which is the real reason for writing this. It has disgusted me for so long when I show up to quote someone for their garage floor that has applied a do-it-yourself kit found at their local home center that the homeowner reported failing and peeling up less than a month after it was put down. I can promise you most people report following the directions to a fault. How can these products continue to be sold when they do not work? I have never seen any of the home center kits last more than a year. Its embarrassing really, and puts my whole industry under critical review. The cold hard truth is, the epoxy kits found at the home centers are a cheap grade waterborne epoxy that has no place on a floor. Water based epoxies are great in the right places and have a long pot life so they are very user friendly to apply. They are routinely used in industrial settings for machine painting where powder coating would be impractical. But they dont adhere particularly well to concrete and have a low impact resistance which makes them less than desirable for flooring. The bottom line is, armed with the right information and the right products, you can install an epoxy floor in your garage that will last a very long time at much less cost than a contractor would charge and achieve the same or better result. YOU CAN DO IT.

History of epoxy
Most people refer to epoxy as a paint, and it is classified as such. However, epoxy once cured is really a hard, durable plastic. Epoxies are used in a multitude of industries as coatings and adhesives, with different properties depending on the formulation the coating or adhesive is intended to be used. The inside of a tomato can for instance is coated with a very quick curing thermoplastic epoxy so the tomato acids dont eat away at the metal of the can. Epoxy is used in the electronics industry on circuit boards as an electrical insulator. It is used in the auto and marine industries to make fiberglass hulls and bodies.

Basically an epoxy refers to a catalyzed plastic. A resin (typically Bisphenol-A, made popular by the baby bottle scare) and a hardener (a polyamine). When the resin and hardener come in contact with each other, a catalytic reaction occurs causing the two to chemically bind to each other, allowing them to harden and creating a chemical crosslink to each other. This is why epoxies can be recoated only within a short period of time. Epoxies form a very smooth and glossy surface which cannot be recoated once cured. But before final curing is complete, another coat of epoxy will bond because the cross-linking reaction is not finished yet, so any additional epoxy will bond to the previous coat. This is also why the substrate must have a certain texture to it in order to bond to anything an epoxy is coated with. Epoxy doesnt chemically bond with concrete, only to itself. Therefore we must create a mechanical bond by preparing the surface and creating a texture. This is what we refer to as surface profile.

Key terms
A mil is a 1/1000th of an inch. DFT or Dry Film Thickness. Coatings are measured in mils. 1 liquid gallon of a material spread over 100 sqft will yield 16 mils of material. However, when the non-solids evaporate such as water or solvent, the thickness will be reduced. A gallon of material known to be 50% solids applied over 100 sqft will yield 16 mils, but only 8 mils when cured. This is known as the dry film thickness. 100% solids epoxy does not have any components that evaporate, so when 16 mils are applied, 16 mils will be present in the cured coating. Pot Life refers to how long material will last in a container once it is mixed. Backrolling refers to the process of rolling the floor with a paint roller once material has been spread out with a squeegee. This is the final leveling process to even out the epoxy.

Type of epoxy for flooring

There are three main types of epoxy for flooring: 100% solids, solvent based, and water based. The focus of this installation guide is on 100% solids epoxy since it will perform the best of all the choices. It is a little less user friendly to install than solvent or water based epoxies, but with the proper knowledge going into the job, it can be done professionally even by a novice.

Water and solvent based epoxies are considered more user friendly because they have a long pot life (generally 4-6 hours), but are not as durable and cannot be applied as thick as 100% solids epoxies. 100% solids epoxies meet all these requirements which water and solvent based do not. Strong Adhesion Long Lasting Abrasion resistant Rustproof Waterproof Heat Resistant (no hot tire pick-up) Salt and Acid Resistance

Nontoxic when dry That is why 100% solids epoxies are preferred by professionals. Water based and solvent based epoxies do have their place as coatings, but most professionals will tell you a garage floor is not one of them!

Types of epoxy flooring

There are many types of epoxy floors, but we are going to focus on only three, as this is what you will find in most garages. They are all easy to maintain and clean, although they all have their advantages over each other. It is mostly personal preference, but depending on what you are trying to achieve and the existing condition of your garage, you may lean toward one or the other. They are in order of expense and work involved to install from least to most.

Colored Epoxy This floor consists of:

y y

Primer coat Color coat

The advantage of this floor is that it is the most economical. However, without too much added expense the next floor is much better looking. I dont recommend this type of floor if you care at all about how your garage floor looks like. I do however leave this as an option because it is so cheap and your goal may only be to have a floor that will last a long time, wont dust and is easy to clean. Oil and grease wont be absorbed into the concrete; they can be wiped up and degreased with simple green or 409 like any other solid surface. Random Broadcast with Clear Coat This floor consists of:
y y y y

Primer coat Color coat Random broadcast of vinyl chips Clear coat

This floor is the best compromise between expense and attractiveness. The reason being is that vinyl chips are broadcast into the floor. When you install an epoxy floor, this will become crystal clear why the flake chips are used. First, the chips can be any blend of colors so they can complement the color of epoxy or anything else in the garage. Second, no matter how careful you are, no matter how clean you are, the garage is open to the outside and debris will enter the

garage and get stuck in the surface of the epoxy. I dont care how perfect you are, it just isnt going to happen. Your garage isnt a clean room with updraft ventilation. Even the smallest particle will land and cure into the epoxy. Remember, once you are finished, the surface will remain tacky for at least 8-12 hours and anything that disrupts the surface will look like a flaw. Not to mention, your garage floor may not be in pristine shape to begin with. Are there any chips of concrete that flaked off the surface? Are there any stones that popped the surface off? Do you have a slat damaged surface? The small vinyl chips will do a VERY good job at disrupting the surface and making all those imperfections look absolutely normal. This is why I dont even offer the first floor option to my customers. It makes a world of difference, take my word for it, and requires only minimally more material and time to do. Full Broadcast, or Broadcast to Rejection with Clear Coat This floor consists of:
y y y y y y

Primer coat Color coat Broadcast vinyl chips into color coat until the floor is completely covered Let floor cure Reclaim loose chips Clear coat

This is the Cadillac of garage floors, and we routinely install this floor even in $1million + estates for their garages. We charge big bucks. You however can do it yourself and save a ton. This type floor will help hide those imperfections in the concrete even better than the random broadcast floor because when those chips are broadcast we are adding so much more material and thickness. This floor is the most work and most expensive, but I think it is actually the most forgiving from an installation standpoint. You can make many more mistakes and still have a beautiful outcome.

Quick tips
y y y y

y y

Mix all epoxy thoroughly at least two minutes Take time to measure all epoxy accurately Use clean buckets for measuring epoxy Warmer epoxies set much faster than cooler epoxies, so store your epoxy in a cool place for at least 24 hours prior to mixing. Not cold, but not in the garage either if its the middle of summer. Keep stored in the house. Wear rubber gloves when using epoxies Keep the A resin and B hardener separate and double check which one you are measuring. Epoxies mixed in the wrong ratio will not harden.

y y y

y y

Clean epoxy off your skin as soon as possible Do not apply epoxy on dirty or structurally unstable surfaces Do not use epoxy on applications in direct sunlight, they will yellow. This does not mean you cannot install epoxy in your garage because the sun hits it when you open your garage door. This means epoxy will form an amber hue over a period of time with continuous direct sunlight exposure. In our experience this has never been an issue with garage floors, and why we never extend the coating past the garage door. I will discuss this later on during the installation portion. Once an epoxy is mixed, the clock is ticking. The chemical reaction has started and you only have a certain amount of time to work with it. Epoxy cures exothermically. It gives heat off as it cures.but the warmer it is, the faster it will cure, a chain reaction so to speak. Once mixed, it will be rock solid within 45 minutes and smoking hot if left in the container it is mixed in! If it is spread out you have a much longer working time because the heat given off by curing is allowed to dissipate. So, once mixed always dump the entire contents on the floor as soon as possible. Do not stir epoxy only by hand; instead use a drill mixer of proper size Do not use Epoxies when temperatures of the air or the substrate will drop below 40 degrees F.

Materials and equipement list

Ill break this up into two sections, first is the tools, and second is the materials for the floor. Tools: Stand up grinder Concrete vacuum Hand Grinder with diamond cup wheel and shroud These items will be used for mechanical floor preparation and you probably dont have, but you can rent from your local tool rental place. My closest home center actually does rent all three of those items, for about $120 a day for all three. The alternative to mechanical prep is acid etching, but can only be done in certain situations. See the floor preparation section for more details. If you are able to acid etch the floor, you will need a 1 gallon bottle of muriatic acid (available at your local home center) and a gallon bottle of household clear ammonia (available at most any grocery store). These supplies I can find all at the home center: Dust mask Tarp (6x8) to mix on Drill with mixing paddle

5 Gal pails with graduations (2) Acetone, Xylene, or M.E.K. (1 Gal) 3 Chip brushes (at least 3) 6 Mini Roller frame with at least 3 roller covers Mix n Measure containers, 2 Quart (3) Wiping rags, 5 lb box Latex Gloves Duct Tape Putty knife Threaded pole (for squeegee and roller) Dust pan (cheap $1 store one will work) Drywall taping knife (for full broadcast floor only) Shop Vac or Leaf blower (for full broadcast floorI prefer the leaf blower, and to note most good shop vacs convert to a blower) These supplies you will have to special order: Spiked shoes 3/16 Notched and Flat squeegees 18 Roller Frame 18 Roller, lint free, 3/8 nap (2 for colored epoxy, 3 for random and full broadcast)

Materials For figuring your material needs, calculate how many gallons of epoxy you need and round up to the nearest gallon. It is better to have a little extra than not enough since epoxies are sold by the gallon. Epoxy Primer (1 Gal/every 300 sqft)

Colored Epoxy (1 Gal/every 200 sqft) Aluminum Oxide #24 grit (1 lb/1000 sqft) Crack filling materials (see crack filling section) Random Broadcast Vinyl Chips: 1 lb/every 400 sqft Clear Epoxy: 1 Gal/every 200 sqft Full Broadcast Vinyl Chips: 1lb/every 8 sqft Clear Epoxy 1 Gal/every 100 sqft

Crack Filling
The first task I like to tackle in surface prep is crack filling. The cracks must be filled prior to coating otherwise the coating will just get lost in the crack. This is unsightly and the crack will only be accentuated unless treated prior to coating. But first, let me discuss a little about cracks. There is no such thing as repairing a crack or fixing a crack. If a 4,000 pound slab wants to move, there is no product that can be used on a crack to keep it from doing just that. Cracks in concrete occur for two reasons only. The first is that there has been a stress on the concrete slab that exceeded the tensile strength of the concrete. Concrete has a very high compressive strength and can handle very heavy loads, but has a very low tensile strength, and will break or fracture if the substrate cannot properly support this heavy load. Proper sub grade, the use of reinforcing steel, and correct slab thickness can help prevent cracks in concrete, but it is not exact science and sometimes forces beyond anyones control will still allow movement of the concrete and fracture a slab. Control joints or saw cuts are placed in the slab during installation to control where the slab will crack. So, just because you dont see any cracks doesnt mean they arent there, it just means the slab cracked where the contractor installing the slab intended it toat the saw cut. The second reason slabs crack is called plastic shrinkage. Concrete is a hydrous material, it requires water to activate the growth of cement crystals to gain its strength. Heat and water are the two biggest factors in ultimately determining a slabs strength. Its a popular misconception that concrete is cured once dry and hard. In fact, you dont want concrete to dry out at all during the first few weeks the slab is poured. If the slab does de-hydrate, strength will be lost as the curing process gets interrupted, and although it will re-start when wetted again, it will not gain the strength it would have if it had not dried out in the first place. Think of your body when taking antibiotics. You must continue taking the full prescription of antibiotics even though you

feel fine. The virus hasnt been completely eradicated and you risk the virus taking over again rendering the antibiotic less effective or completely worthless. Plastic shrinkage occurs when either the concrete was placed too wet (too much water in the mix) or the slab was allowed to dry too fast. In the first case, when the concrete has too much water in the mix and the water starts to evaporate, a crack will form as the slab starts to shrink. In the second case, even though there was the correct amount of water in the mix, if the slab is allowed to dry too fast, it has not had enough time for the concrete crystals to grow to replace the evaporating water, and a crack will form. My reason for telling you all this goes back to the first truth that you cannot fix a crack. However, knowing the reason the crack was formed will tell us a lot in how to treat it and the likelihood of whether it will come back or not. All garage floors should be on a footing, meaning the perimeter of the slab has poured footing walls or block walls extending down into the ground below the frost line. This is required by building codes to prevent frost heave and give the structure stability from movement. This alone helps tremendously in preventing dynamic cracks. It does not mean there is reinforcing steel, or a proper sub grade, or sufficient water drainage in the surrounding areas to keep slabs from moving and cracking. Typically, if it is a hairline crack no wider than the thickness of a credit card, and has not moved in recent years, or does not expand or contract with the seasons, it can be considered a shrinkage crack. Shrinkage cracks also normally occur within a short period of time of the slab being poured. There is a fairly good chance if these cracks are filled they wont come back after the slab has been coated. We call these static cracks. Yes, the concrete is cracked but the crack is in a static condition. Otherwise we refer to them as dynamic cracks. You can treat static and dynamic cracks the same way, but I want to discuss them because my preference in dealing with cracks is to treat them in a manner that will have the highest success rate of not returning. There are no guarantees. The best way to treat all cracks is to treat them as dynamic cracks, but the process is more expensive and complicated, but certainly doable even for a novice. Shrinkage Cracks If you have identified all the cracks in your garage to be shrinkage cracks then you can use this method for crack filling. If you have any dynamic cracks or wish to fill in the control joints or saw cuts, there is no reason to use two different crack filling methods. Go straight to the next section on dynamic cracks. The material I prefer for filling shrinkage cracks is found right at your nearest home center. It is called Bondo Concrete, Brick, and Stucco repair compound. It is similar to bondo body repair compound for use on car panels. It comes in a can and has a peanut butter like consistency. It is a two part compound, once mixed, that will harden in about 5-10 minutes, so there is very little working time.

First, use your shop vac or blower and remove any debris from the cracks, joints and cuts you wish to fill. You can also use this compound for filling any holes where stones may have popped off the surface or any other traumatic surface damage. Wearing latex gloves, dump some of the paste on a piece of cardboard and add a little hardener per the directions. Mix with the putty knife until all the hardener has been mixed in. Now you must work quickly. Fill the cracks and surface damage with this compound. Try and get it as flush to the surface as possible. Do not under fill any areas, if anything over fill. We can always come back and grind the surface flush. You may have to make several mixes because the product cures so quickly, so mix small batches. Once you are done and cleaned up, you can get your surface prep equipment out because this stuff will be ready to sand within 20-30 minutes. Dynamic Cracks As I stated before, if you have any dynamic cracks then you will probably want to use this method for crack filling. You dont have toyou can use the previous method I stated as it is far easier and cheaper, but my point is if you want to do a pro job, then you will use this method as it has a higher success rate of cracks not returning. The product was developed for professional use only and why you will never find it at any retail location, but it works like a champ. It is a two part product with a water like consistency that is a polyurea-urethane hybrid. Its water like viscosity allows it to penetrate into both sides of the slab where the crack is, and it cures fast and hard while remaining somewhat flexible. This allows for a limited amount of movement and its ability to penetrate the slab means it wont pop out of the crack. There are a number of product manufacturers but few will sell to the noncontractor. Here is a product manufacturers websites to give you a background into this type of product. I dont know if their suppliers will sell to the DIY crowd or not. You could inquire. Concrete Mender http://www.concretemender.com/rwmender.html This is the procedure for filling cracks and spalls with Concrete Mender: You will need: Concrete Quick Fix cartridge Two part cartridge gun Commercial grade fine sand (Quickrete brand found at home center) Putty knife
y y y

Vacuum or blow debris from joints/cuts, cracks, spalls Load the cartridge in the dual cartridge application gun and affix the static mixing nozzle. Squeeze trigger and apply product directly to the crack to prime it.

y y y y

Immediately fill crack with fine silica sand. It should soak up the product. Apply additional crack fill material and sand until cracks are over filled. Scrape away excess material using putty knife Sprinkle sand over the remaining material and allow to cure 30-40 minutes

Thats it. The crack has been filled with the best possible solution to keep the crack from coming back. The cracks may be overfilled at this point but thats okay, they will get ground down during the floor prep. (You are going to grind the whole floor, right?)

Surface preparation
There are three accepted ways to properly profile the surface: acid etching, shot blasting or surface grinding. My preference is surface grinding, but Ill discuss the different methods. Acid Etching This method is acceptable provided you have a reasonably clean slab without oil/grease on it and no other coatings or sealers have previously been applied, and havent had to do any crack filling. Using latex gloves, fill a 5 gallon pail with 3 gallons of water, and then add a 1 gallon bottle of muriatic acid to the pail. We have created a 3:1 muriatic acid solution. Dump this solution out in small piles on the floor and scrub it in with a stiff deck brush. Dont be stingy. The muriatic acid solution will etch the surface and open the pores of the concrete while removing any weak cement paste from the surface. The solution should fizz when it is applied to the concrete. If it doesnt, then there is something on the concrete that is preventing it from reacting, and you must mechanically prep the floor. It could be silicone, oil/grease, or a cure and seal. Once you are finished, fill the pail again with three gallons of water and add gallon bottle of clear ammonia. This solution should be applied in the same manner as the acid. The purpose of the ammonia is to neutralize the acid so the floor can be rinsed out of the garage safely, and the solutions as I have described will give you approximately a neutral pH. Make sure to do a thorough job rinsing the floor. Use a garden hose and rinse the floor a couple of times to ensure all the residue is gone. Use a mop or squeegee to remove excess water from the floor. Now you must wait for the floor to dry before you can do anything else. It will help greatly to leave the door open and set up a fan or two to keep air circulating. Wait at least 24 hours, but it could take longer depending on temperature and humidity. 100% solids epoxy and water dont mix and if you apply 100% solids epoxy to a damp surface it will not bond. So better to be safe than sorry and wait if you are unsure. It is for this reason, the pros dont acid etch the floor and prefer mechanical means of surface preparation. First, more often than not, there are other sealers, coatings or contaminants that would preclude the use of acid etching. Second, no contractor in their right mind would make a job take an extra day or two because they decided to use acid etching as the means of profiling the surface when they could profile with a grinder or shot blaster, and be on with the epoxy installation immediately. Third, mechanical preparation removes any doubt as to the surface profile that has been obtained.

If a contractor uses acid etching as their means of surface prep, and is able to prime and coat the floor the same day, they are using a water based epoxy, which by every measureable means is an inferior product to use on a garage floor. Shot blasting Hands down, a shot blast prep job is the best surface profile that you can get to prepare a concrete surface for a coating. So why did I say I prefer to surface grind? First, surface grinding is more than adequate for a garage floor. It is not an industrial floor that sees metal wheeled traffic and forklifts, constant traffic, and tooling/parts being dropped on the floor all day long. Second, shot blasting is performed by making overlapping passes across the floor as steel shot is blasted away on the surface. This is very effective for removing any weak areas of the surface and profiling but will leave cornrows in the surface that are slightly noticeable after the floor has been coated. In an industrial environment, these subtle imperfections are not a concern. Third, the type of shot blasting equipment to prep a floor better than a grinder can has power requirements not available in a residential home. 480v Three Phase power does not exist in a home because this kind of power is only needed in industrial settings. This is the power required to run any good shot blasting equipment. Surface Grinding Surface grinding is my preferred method of surface prep for a garage. This is better than acid etching because it removes all doubt as to the quality of the profile on the surface. In addition, you will be able to continue on with your epoxy floor installation immediately after surface prep is complete. Most tool rental places will have a standup concrete grinder available for rent. My local home center does and in addition has a concrete dust vacuum and hand grinder available as a set. The grinding equipment must be used with a vacuum attached. Grinding concrete creates an enormous amount of dust, which is hazardous to breathe. A standard shop vac will not be adequate to handle the amount of dust generated by this process. Its small filter will clog rather quickly and not collect the dust. You must use a vacuum that is designed for the purpose of collecting concrete dust. The hand grinder may or may not be necessary depending on how your garage is set up. Typically you will not need it, but is useful in grinding hard to access areas, removing tough coatings that the small standup grinders cannot, leveling small trip hazards and for grinding flush crack fill material. So at this point all the hard work is done. Surface prep is hard work, but is essential to a long lasting outcome of the floor. Your floor has been prepped, cracks filled and ground flush, and the last thing to do is vacuum the floor. Be thorough here, you dont want any debris on the flooror at least as little as possible. If you are particularly particular, you can always don the dust mask and use a blower after you vacuum to blow out any remaining debris. Now, on to the next step: set up your mix area and get ready to coat the floor!

Primer coat
Set up your mix area. Start by running duct tape across the threshold of the garage. The inside edge of the duct tape can be anywhere the garage door seal touches the ground. I shoot for the middle. Remember I discussed that epoxies will amber under direct and consistent UV exposure. Even UV stable epoxies will degrade somewhat and weather over time, so it is best practice to keep the epoxy in the garage. If you are having a difficult time adhering the duct tape to the concrete, take some acetone on a wiping rag and clean the surface prior to putting the tape down. It would also be good practice to mask off anything else near the ground you do not want to get epoxy on, such as baseboard trim if you have it. Now, take your tarp and lay it out next to the duct tape border you just made and tape the tarp to the duct tape. This tarp is the mixing area and we will need to walk between the garage floor and the mixing area without getting epoxy outside these two areas. So, best practice is to have the mixing area butting up to the garage floor. Now get all your tools and supplies laid out on the tarp. You dont want to have to leave the garage and tarp area once you have epoxy on your spiked shoes. Unless you are just doing a prime and color coat, you will be putting down 3 coats of epoxy. I will discuss the proper method of doing this for the primer coat, but all three coats go down in a similar manner. The goal of the primer coat is to get the floor completely covered as thin as possible with epoxy. We want the primer epoxy to penetrate the concrete as much as possible while developing very little build. The purpose of the primer coat is to develop a solid bond by having maximum penetration of the epoxy into the pores of the concrete and seal them off. All slabs of concrete are continuously passing air and moisture through the slab. The primer coat seals off those capillaries that are passing moisture and air through. When you first put down epoxy, you may notice air bubbles in the surface of the epoxy. If the primer is not thin enough those bubbles will not go away and the capillaries will not be closed off. We have then defeated the purpose of the primer. Then you have a problem since those bubbles will need to be sanded down once the epoxy cures and another primer coat performed. If by the time you are done with the primer coat you can still see areas where the concrete color is showing through, that is okay. I cannot stress enough that you cannot put this coat down thick at all. I tell my guys, THIN to WIN and its not because I am cheap. You can do all the build you want in the next coat, but the primer coat is not the place to do it. I recommend no less than 300 sqft/gallon coverage and often Ill be pushing 400 sqft/gallon. Your prime coat mix will consist of: A resin B hardener Color pack

Acetone, Xylene, or M.E.K. 5-10% by volume First, calculate how much epoxy you need to mix for the primer coat. If you are coating 600 sqft (average 2 car garage), at 300 sqft/gallon you will need 2 gallons. Since most floor coating epoxies (and the one demonstrated in the videos) is 2 parts resin to 1 part hardener we will make some adjustments to how much you mix. The increments on the 5 gallon pail are in gallon increments. To make it easy to understand, for every gallon A resin, you will need to add gallon B hardener. There isnt going to be a smaller mix than that since the limiting factor is your B hardener increment. So your mix is going to be a multiple of gallons. Therefore, instead of a 2 gallon mix, you will mix 2 total gallons, which is 1 gallons A Resin, gallon B Hardener. Obviously there are ways to mix smaller amounts, and you could figure out how to mix exactly 2 gallons, but it isnt necessary. That extra gallon spread out over 600 sqft is less than 1 mil in thickness, which is insignificant. Always mix enough, never not enough; otherwise you will be scrambling to mix another small mix when time is ticking on your first mix. I recommend the use of a color pack in the primer coat. This is not necessary, but is useful to give the prime coat some color as it is a visual indicator of what you have done and what needs to be worked. Dont mix this in until the A and B epoxies are measured out. Also in the prime coat is the addition of solvent. There are primer epoxies available, but the easiest and most economical way to do the whole job is to purchase the volume of epoxy you need for the whole job as a clear and modify as needed for the coat you are doing. Primer epoxies are really just high solids epoxies, which means 100% solids that has the solvent already mixed in. This solvent thins out the epoxy making it more workable and better able to penetrate the concrete. The recommended amount is 5-10% by volume. So if you are mixing 2 gallons of epoxy, then you will measure out between 14-28 oz of solvent. Dont mix this in until the A and B epoxies are measured out. Make sure you have available: Chip Brush Mini Roller frame with mini roller 18 Roller frame with roller Flat blade squeegee Wooden pole for squeegee and roller frame Spike shoes Latex gloves

Mixing bucket Dust pan Drill with mixing paddle Once everything is staged, put on the spike shoes and latex gloves and you are ready to mix. For this example, we are mixing a 2 gallon kit. First, measure 1 gallons of A resin into the 5 gallon graduated pail. Then, add B Hardener to bring up to the 2 gallon mark. This starts the clock, so make a note of the time. Then add a color pack and the solvent. Mix thoroughly for two minutes with the drill and mixing paddle. Move the mixing paddle around the pail ensuring the sides and bottom are scraped with the paddle. Do not mix extremely fast as this will whip air into the epoxy mix. As soon as mixing is complete, take the pail and dump the entire contents evenly across the floor near the back wall. Take the flat blade squeegee and using moderate pressure begin spreading the epoxy evenly by walking the bead back and forth, getting as close to the walls as possible. Its easier if you make an initial pass along the wall lengthwise and then do back and forth passes. When you get to the end of the garage, you will probably still have a small pile left over. Leave it there for now. Set down the squeegee and put the pole on the mini-roller frame. Use this and the 3 chip brush where needed and cut in the edges. Use the pile of epoxy left over to load up the roller before you start cutting in. Once you have finished cutting in, take the wooden pole and attach it to the 18 roller frame. Use the dust pan to scoop up the extra epoxy and dump it into mix bucket. You do not want all this extra epoxy to be spread out on the floor. Remember, THIN to WIN. There will still be too much epoxy on the floor where the pile was, but thats okay. Use your dry 18 roller cover and load up your roller in this spot where the pile was. Now you can start back rolling the floor. Start near the back of the garage at one wall and make a 6 pass with the roller perpendicular to the direction you squeegeed. Roll forwards, then backwards letting the pressure of the roller do the work. You may have to roll it more than once to get the thin coat to roll out evenly. Then pick up the roller at the end of the backstroke and move it over being sure to overlap your next pass. Repeat this process until you reach the other wall. Then move back 6 and repeat, being sure to overlap your previous row. You will probably have to do 3-4 rows until you are completely backed out of the garage. This entire prime coat process shouldnt take longer than 30-40 minutes for a novice from the time the clock started when you first mixed. Just beware that the longer it takes the harder the epoxy will be to roll out, especially when you start pushing 45-60 minutes. This is okay for now, but when you do your finish clear coat, you will have two previous coats to get proficient. This last coat is the one that matters the most, so get your practice in now so you can get the clear coat down faster. As a general rule, I try and be down working the epoxy by the 30 minute point. You will achieve the best results this way. When you do your last coat, it will go down

thicker and the epoxy will more or less self level like glass after you roll it out provided you finished early enough. You dont want to be out working the epoxy after 45 minutes. Thats the point where it gets a little iffy if the epoxy will level out nicely. Now that the prime coat is done, remove the roller covers and discard them into the mix bucket and set that aside. Clean up the roller frames and squeegee, your spike shoes and the mix area. You have a little time to kill. Now, like I said the purpose of the primer is to seal off the surface and provide a good bond. The next coat is a thicker color coat. This has to be put down before the recoat window has expired, which is generally 24 hours for most floor coating epoxies. Most epoxies will have a stated recoat window of say 12-24 hours. Thats fine. I have found it doesnt hurt at all to push that initial window up greatly. I generally like to put down my next coat about 3 hours after the primer coat. At about the 3 hour point the primer coat has achieved enough tack to prevent any out gassing from occurring. You can wait until the next day if you like, Im simply stating that it wont hurt anything if you choose to do it sooner rather than later. Just be warned, the surface will still be tacky, and this is normal. This is why most stated recoat windows are 12-24 hours. At about the 12 hour point, depending on temperature, the surface should be near tack free. It will still be extremely soft, so dont go walking on it with shoes, but shouldnt be tacky if you rub your fingers across it.

Color coat
To do the color coat, switch out the squeegee blade with a 3/16 notched squeegee. This squeegee will gage out the epoxy to the required thickness of 8 mils. This is where you will get your build. At this thickness you will use approximately 1 gallon of epoxy for every 200 sqft. So, for our 600 sqft example, you will need 3 gallons of epoxy. The general rule for color coats is to add 1 pint of colorant for every gallon of epoxy. The amount of colorant doesnt have to be perfectly exact. This isnt like wall paint with a white tint base. It is a clear base, so the amount of color added affects the opacity, not the final color. Now for our example, our mix will be 2 Gallons A Resin and 1 Gallon B Hardener, add 3 pints of epoxy colorant, then mix thoroughly for 2 minutes. Once mixed, dump the contents on the ground and squeegee like the primer coat. Using the notch squeegee, apply moderate pressure to get the lay evenly without leaving any piles. Its okay if there are a few here and there since you will be back rolling the floor to even it all out. If you end up having extra left over when you reach the end, you can either scoop it up with the dustpan or spread it back into the garage as evenly as possible. Then, just like the primer coat, cut in and back roll the entire floor. From here is where the three floor options start to differ. If you are just doing a primer and color coat, skip ahead to the Anti-Slip section

Random chips To do the random chips floor, put your chips in a small mix n measure container. You will walk out over the floor with your spike shoes and broadcast the vinyl chips. This is accomplished by taking a small pinch of chips and throwing them at the ceiling. They should bounce off the ceiling (or close to) and land randomly on the floor. Take care to walk carefully. Its okay to walk in the floor as the spike marks will close up after a few minutes. If you slip and leave long skid marks, you will have to take your mini roller and roll them out, so be careful. Keep walking around throwing small pinches into the air letting them fall where they may. This is done completely by sight. Once you have the look you want, exit the garage and clean up. On your way out its a good idea to unlatch the garage door. Remove the strip of tape at the threshold, pull the garage door down and stick something under it to keep it off the ground. You cant shut the door completely or itll be stuck to the ground. You dont want to leave it wide open either or debris will come floating in landing in the epoxypermanently. You are done for the day. Go to the clear coat section, you will have to no coat the floor with a clear epoxy within 18-24 hours. There is no getting on the floor early as there was with the prime coat to recoat the floor. You have a thick layer of epoxy on the floor that has to get somewhat hard before you can get back on it with epoxy spikes or you will leave marks all over the place. Full Broadcast or Broadcast until Rejection This is the fun part. Start by taking a 5 gallon pail half full of vinyl chips and broadcast them somewhat evenly by taking handfuls and throwing them up in the air. Keep doing this until the entire floor is covered. Its okay to walk on the chips once they are on the ground, you wont hurt anything. Dont throw all the chips just yet, save about 25% of them. You will want to wait 10-15 minutes for the chips to settle. You will find that if the epoxy was thicker in some spots the chips will settle and leave bald spots. Go back out and toss chips in these areas and wait another 15 minutes or so. Use the free time to get everything cleaned up. If there are no more bald spots, there may still be areas that look wet. Toss out the remaining chips until they are gone. You are going to reclaim them after the epoxy cures, but its better to have all the chips on the floor. Exit the garage and unlatch the garage door on your way out. Pull the strip of tape off the ground at the garage threshold now, otherwise itll be stuck to the ground tomorrow! Shut the garage door in the manner as the random chip floor. You are done for the day. After this is down and the floor has been completely broadcasted, there is no recoat window. The top clear coat will bond to the vinyl chips because of the surface texture. This is just another reason this type of floor is so forgiving to install. You will have to wait at least 18 hours to get back on it, but there is no upper time window for recoating. Before you can clear coat however, there is one more step involved over the random chip floor. After the 18 hour minimum cure, the loose chips need to be reclaimed. First, take the drywall taping knife and duct tape it securely to the end of the wooden pole. Use this to scrape the entire floor at a low angle. A typical garage should take about 30 minutes. This smoothes out the floor a little and removes any chips that landed on their sides. It will give the floor a nice uniform look. Some people skip this step, but it really helps give a better finished product. Then take your leaf blower and blow the excess chips into a corner and scoop them up. Do a really

thorough job. I generally blow and scoop up chips 2-3 times. The remaining chips in the corner that cannot be scooped up, just use a shop vac to get them up. It doesnt have to be perfect, there will always be some loose chips floating around, but thats fine, theyll just get mixed into the clear coat and be part of the floor. Now you are ready for the clear coat.

Clear coat
Set up the mix area as you did the day before with duct tape running across the threshold and the tarp adjacent with all your tools and supplies. For this coat you will need clear epoxy at a coverage rate of 200 sqft/gallon on a random chip floor and approximately 100 sqft/gallon on a full broadcast floor. The difference is the amount of texture the full broadcast floor has will soak up a lot of the epoxy and your coverage rate will be much lower. The clear coat is mixed and applied in the same manner as the color coat using the 3/16 notched squeegee except there wont be any pigment in the epoxy. This makes it more difficult to see what has been coated and what hasnt. Just pay extra attention and step back and look at the floor from a low angle after every row of backrolling to see if any spots were missed or any areas where the epoxy may be too heavy. The goal here is to get the final coat as even as possible. If you have to re-roll a few areas, thats fine. As long as you are done by about 45 minutes after the epoxy was mixed you will be okay. Now for the Anti-Slip.

Anti slip
Your finished floor really wont be slippery unless it is wet. And for a garage that a guarantee whether it be rain or snow. You need some traction on the floor or you will regret it. For antislip I prefer #24 grit white aluminum oxide. You can find this locally at most abrasives supply stores, and is typically used for sandblasting. Ask for #24 white aluminum oxide. Its sold in 50 lb bags and is rather cheap. You will need less than a pound and they may just give you that much for free if you ask. The anti-slip is broadcast in the same manner as the random chip floor. Put your aluminum oxide in a small mix n measure or other container. Walk around the floor, taking a small pinch and throw it at the ceiling. It should bounce off the ceiling and land randomly in the floor. Keep doing this until you have the coverage that you like. You may want to put a little extra near any steps if you have them. A little goes a long way, so you dont need to go overboard. Just broadcast into the air as I have described and this will prevent un-natural piles from occurring. Now unlatch the garage door, remove the tape at the threshold, prop up the door and let it sit for 24 hours.

The finished Floor & Final Thoughts

Your floor is finished! The final coat will take a minimum of 24 hours before it can take foot traffic. I would wait 48 hours before placing any objects on the floor and 72 hours before driving a vehicle on the floor. The full cure time for 100% solids epoxy is generally 7 days to reach full strength. Full strength is around 14,000 psi compressive strength, which is about four times that of normal concrete. So the floor you just completed is pretty darn tough. Its not bullet proof and not scratch proof, but its the best floor available today in terms of durability and price. Final thoughts Although this job can be done by one person, the job is a lot easier having an extra person helping. My suggestion is to find a friend, relative, or neighbor that wants to do their garage as well. This way, you can split the cost of the specialty tools and any rental equipment you may need. The job will get done faster and you wont have any problems getting the epoxy done in the allotted time. The material cost to install this floor will be higher than the budget do it yourself kits found at the home centers. But you will have a quality floor that will not fail which is anywhere from 1440 mils thick depending on what system you chose to install. This is far superior to the waterborne epoxy systems sold to most DIYers that average 3-5 mils in thickness. The point is, the cheap waterborne kits, even if they dont peel up, will still likely start wearing through to the concrete within a year, and you will either need to touch it up or recoat the floor again. The system you have just put down should last in excess of 15 years. Remember I stated that epoxies cannot be recoated after the initial 24 hour recoat window. That is to say, they cannot be recoated without putting a surface profile on the floor again. The clear coat of epoxy is your wearing surface. You will be able to restore your floor to like new condition 15 years from now if you like by applying another coat of clear epoxy. This is relatively simple to do compared to the job you will have just finished. First, use a degreaser such as simple green and scrub/rinse the floor. Then use a floor sander that is available at your local tool rental and sand the entire floor with 80 grit sandpaper. This will give you a sufficient profile for recoating. Vacuum up the dust and you are ready to recoat with clear epoxy. It would be a good idea to add some additional no slip to the new coat of clear.

Supplier Info
The best way to purchase 100% solids epoxy as I stated earlier is to figure out how much you need for the whole job and purchase it in a clear formula. This is most cost effective and will result in less wasted product. Lets say for your 600 sqft job you need: Primer: 2 gallons

Color Coat: 3 gallons Clear Coat: 3 gallons Total: 8 gallons Now, most epoxies will come in 1, 3, 5, or 15 gallon kits. The larger size kits will save you a little on a per gallon price. So in this example I would get 3 3 gallon kits. Mostly because I need to mix 3 gallons for the last two coats. In this case it would be a no brainer to measure because you would just mix the whole 3 gallon kit. I highly recommend that you still mix in a separate pail, even though the directions may state to pour part B into part A. The reason is there will be unmixed resin on the sides of the container that it is shipped in. When you pour the epoxy out on the floor, some of the unmixed resin will become entrained with the mixed epoxy and you may end up with patches that will remain sticky on the floor and never cure. It may not happen, but new pails are cheap insurance. So always pour A and B components into a new pail to mix. Now to get your color, most manufacturers sell epoxy colorant. For the primer coat, no matter what your mix size you really only need to add about 1 pint per three gallon mix. It may still be a little translucent on the floor but thats okay. Some installers dont add any colorant in the primer coat. It is my preference to add a little color. When doing the color coat, you will need to figure 1 pint of colorant per gallon, so in this scenario I would need 3 pints for the color coat and 1 pint for the prime coat. This is a total of 2 quarts of colorant. Where to buy There may be somewhere locally for you to purchase epoxy. Sherwin Williams does not carry 100% solids epoxy in their retail stores. They do sell 100% solids epoxy in their industrial stores under the General Polymers label. However, they will generally not sell to homeowners, not because you do not have the ability to do it, but because they like to protect their contractor base. You may find this out if you contact other paint store suppliers as well. That is not to say there arent stores that wont sell to you. There is one in my area that does sell to homeowners. Their product isnt good quality, but its relatively inexpensive. Quality generally parallels price even in this business. But that said, even the cheapest grade 100% solids epoxy will blow the socks off your water based epoxy do-it-yourself kit. We use the Poly-Matrix line of epoxy products as the price is competitive, and I have never run into quality issues. Its the product we used to make the videos. They have an online store that sells everything you need, including the specialty tools. The store caters to contractors, but you should have an understanding of the lingo after reading this to be able to purchase what you need.

They have a bunch of different coatings available, but like I said, just buy one kind of epoxy and buy the colorant separately. The product I like best is the clear 100% solids premium clear epoxy. Their online store is http://www.concretefloorproducts.com