The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Garage Floor Paint - any recommendations?

Not sure about how many brands there are, but I'd recommend Urethane that's used on boiler room and mechanical room floors. It comes in 2 shades of gray.
Its pretty durable and will take a lot of abuse; and its a semi-gloss so its easy to clean.

I did the Rustoleum 2 part from HD. It;s been down 8 years and is holding up very well.

I just followed the directions and the install was easy. If I remember it has a 7 day wait time before driving on it.

My nephew used the 2-part and has been happy with it. A little harder than straight out of the bucket but his has held up very good and he does some heavy stuff.
On the other hand I cheaped out and bought the stuff you can use straight out of the bucket. Its held up pretty good for the past 10 years but the bay I use the most needs a recoat!

...jay, I vote two part. Do it before ANYTHING goes in or on the concrete. There may be a wait time but I washed my down with Muriatic acid to etch it some and doing it before walls and stuff go up would make it a lot easier.

...but I know you'll research and do your usual good job. What ever you use, read the instructions first. LOL

My shop was built sometime in the 70's. All they did was seal the concrete. Once. Easy to clean up. Easy to mop up. Doesn't stain. Etc.

From one planner to another: I think I would wait. More cure, better temps, tools or metal may will get dropped by erection crew. Also the finished building will protect from wind, weather and bird poop that could cause problems during application and drying. I know some guys that do floors for a living. Their No. 1 tip: proper prep, according to directions for the product you choose.
Just use a nationally known brand that is made for garage floors. I guess epoxy would be best of course. If I was doing it, I would not worry about not finding a part on the floor.
The speckled looks so much nicer and will make the whole garage.

I did the Quikcrete 2 part epoxy (tan) and left out the speckles for the same reason

Make sure the concrete is COMPLETELY dry before putting the paint down. Mine was but there was a water problem outside one of the side access doors (grading problem, standing puddle) and although it hadn't rained in several days, after application the paint peeled up in a semi circle about a foot into the garage.

I like the smooth finish much better than the acid etched and have never had a slipping problem.

Here is an older thread on floor sealers. I would contact your concrete installer to see how long or green it could be. One of my boys is a concrete installer but isn't around at this time. I can ask when he returns The Sealcrete we used at work was in industrial warehouse with machinery and high forklift usage and held up well. Reapplication was easy as well as cleanup. Good luck
Dan

My day job is concrete floor coatings.

Your concrete is green. This combined with how they sealed and trowelled it will dictate proper prep to ensure adhesion of "any" coating.

Polyeurea and epoxy are tough as hell and urethane are good too.

They can all be made in any color.

I can't stress enough the importance of getting a local concrete floor coating company to help you because of green concrete. 20 year old concrete is easy as can be but not green.

Not trying to be rude but... planning a floor coating comes at the same time as planning the concrete pour. They have sealers that are for green concrete that you can paint immediately or later making prep super easy.

I hope I am proceeding in the right direction. I just purchased 3 gallons of the two part Quikcrete epoxy concrete coating. The garage floor has a smooth finish. I was planning to wait a full 28 days or longer before applying the epoxy. I am fairly certain that I will need to use muriatic acid to etch the concrete before I apply the epoxy coating. What are your thoughts?

Seriously, you are heading for trouble. Smooth concrete is not the kind of concrete you want to paint. I am advising you to contact a local concrete coatings expert that will assess and advise best steps.

The longer you leave it to cure the harder it is getting. Call someone today! Sooner rather than later is your best action plan because the solution will be time sensitive at this point. Every single day that passes from now for 90 days it's getting harder and harder.

Acid may or may not be your answer. There are bead blasters and concrete diamond grinders that may be your best option for adhesion. You simply cannot expect "any" coating to adhere without proper prep.

I'm in western Canada so a shop visit is a little out of my way but certainly you'd have someone that'd be happy to help from your region.

The risk most folks run is "trying" to put a concrete paint on and what can happen is certain areas may or may not adhere so you'll have a hell of a mess and then the coating brand is blamed unjustly. It's the concrete and prep that is ALWAYS to blame. Coatings companies HATE complaints so they do everything within their ability to make concrete coatings stick to concrete but are subject to two things 1) concrete condition 2) proper prep.

The 28 days, often quoted, is to obtain rated strength, not for painting.
Testing per below would give some comfort level.
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/long-need-wait-before-putting-epoxy-paint-new-concrete-91844.html

90 days would seem reasonable. You can wait. It won't hurt.

Curious what you decided Lugnutz?

My concrete man doesn't think I should apply any epoxy until 28 days are up. He said the same about etching the concrete - wait a full 28 days.
Then I will etch the concrete with acid per the Quikcrete Epoxy instructions.

The Quikcrete Epoxy floor coating recommends acid etching the concrete. My concrete man gave the shop floor a smooth finish. The outside areas have a broom finish.

The shop floor area is very smooth and the epoxy needs something rough to adhere to. THIS VIDEO shows an area where I did a test with diluted muriatic acid. I think the acid etching will do the trick nicely.

I used the acid to etch my smooth floor that was over 2 years old. It worked very well! Paint has been down for 12 years or so & except for 2 baseball size spots, it is holding up very well. I used urethane paint & clear from Ryzel corp. but I do not believe they are still in business.
Bill

Here is part one of the acid etching process. I completed 90% of the shop floor today. A few touch up places will be done tomorrow.
VIDEO - ACID ETCHING SHOP FLOOR

The epoxy floor coating went well. Floor was acid etched and then washed and vacuumed.
Moisture test showed no moisture coming up from the concrete. Concrete has cured for 42 days.
Watch the VIDEO.

Jay