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View Full Version : Got the Epoxy-Coat for my new shop



chevynut
09-11-2014, 12:15 PM
Getting ready to finish my new shop floor before it gets cold on me again. I researched all the different floor coatings, sealers, tiles, etc. and even got a quote for grinding, polishing and sealing the floor.....$5 per square foot!

After looking at several different epoxies, talking to company reps, and settling on Epoxy-Coat I found out that Lowes sells it. I ordered THREE kits of Epoxy-Coat (500 SF per kit) and they arrived a couple days ago. Lowes price is quite a bit lower than directly from Epoxy-Coat. I got the Taupe basecoat with beige mix flakes and clearcoat. I was going to just do a basecoat color, but my GF insists that I have to do the chips to make it look nicer. So I did. :)

My purchase must have prompted them to raise the price :eek:, because I got it for $430 per kit (plus 10% off since a friend who works there got it for me). It's now listed at $463.50 per kit. I got all 3 kits for $1204 including tax. That's only 80 cents per square foot. I have 1300 square feet to do. The price for the same kit is $506.85 directly from the company.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_546053-21374-ECP-E-0200_0__?productId=50074193&Ntt=epoxy+coat&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Depoxy%2Bcoat&facetInfo=
http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/815720/815720001325.jpg

http://www.epoxy-coat.com/media/wysiwyg/base-colors.png


So now I have to get all the junk out of my way, prep the floor, and put the stuff on. Any tips from those who have done this?

567chevys
09-11-2014, 07:44 PM
Hurry Up and get it done !!

The guy that built my shop did some type of Epoxy Coat , Its nasty stuff .

I need to redo it but have no Clue !

Sid

chevynut
09-11-2014, 08:26 PM
Well it's probably not going to happen for a week or so. I swore I would get it done in July, but I didn't. :( Now I have the epoxy and it's cold and rainy tonight, possibly snow by morning. Then next week it's supposed to warm up into the 70's and 80's again, but I'm probably going elk hunting for a week.

I'll get it done one way or another in the next month. I'm leaving to visit my daughter in Vermont on October 8, and I want to have it done by then.

I found out that the application temperature is 40-70F and I turned the heater on to 68F to keep the concrete from getting cold.

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
09-12-2014, 05:49 AM
proper prep is a must. :geek:

567chevys
09-12-2014, 03:32 PM
I would think you would want to Acid Etch or sand blast the concrete to make it stick ?

Sid

chevynut
09-12-2014, 05:44 PM
The kit comes with the acid etch/prep materials. Ideally you'd want to shot blast the concrete before putting the epoxy down, but I don't know how to get that done. I have heard that pressure blasting helps after you etch it, so I plan to do that.

chevynut
09-22-2014, 09:02 PM
Well I'm getting ready to apply the epoxy soon. But before that I have to complete a 6-foot cedar privacy fence for a 1500 SF area to store stuff, and fix a leak in my water line to my house. It's always something.....

I had a question for anyone who has done this. My floor is clean and cured, and I know I need to etch it. It has saw cuts in it for the break lines. If I fill the cuts and epoxy over them, they will eventually crack and leave a crack in the epoxy. I was wondering if I should apply the epoxy first, let it cure, then seal the cracks with some caulk that will match. That way if the concrete moves, the caulk will allow it to move a little. If needed, I could also re-caulk.

What do you guys think? I plan to call the company to get some advice on that and application details.

chevynut
10-27-2014, 03:01 PM
It's been over a month since my last post on this (so much for "soon") but today I power washed the entire floor (3 times). I got almost everything off of it so very little hand work to do scraping or grinding paint off. I was surprised how much the blasting opened the pores in the concrete surface. Tomorrow I think I'll get the rest of the paint off, and start etching. I may be spreading epoxy this weekend if I can get enough help. I don't think it's a 1 person job. ;)

Also noticed something weird with my lights. When I first turn them on they're dark in the middle and stay that way for a while, until they warm up. These are all brand new T8 bulbs and new fixtures. Any idea what's causing this?

3723 3724 3725

Fladiver64
10-27-2014, 06:52 PM
The cause is the lower mercury content in newer bulbs. Best thing to do is leave then on for 15 hours straight to "break them in" then they will brighten up faster as they age.

chevynut
11-13-2014, 12:35 PM
Here's a couple of pics of the finished floor. It took two days of application with 3 of us working. We did the base and chips on Saturday, and the clear on Sunday. My girlfriend did the mixing, my son and I did the squeegeeing, my son did the rolling, and I spread the chips. I don't think I would have wanted to attempt this with less help.

3753 3754

JT56
11-13-2014, 02:25 PM
Looks to pretty to get dirty!

Rick_L
11-13-2014, 05:05 PM
Looking good. Post a followup after it's fully done.

I noticed your comment about the T8 bulbs. I just installed a new T8 fixture a couple of weeks ago and noticed the same thing. They seem to get brighter in the middle the longer they are on. I don't know what bulbs you bought. This fixture had "alto" bulbs, whiter than standard bulbs. I put up another pair of T8 fixtures earlier, those had "natural light" bulbs, those did not seem to do that. Now I have 3 different colors of bulbs, which is kind of a distraction.

toms57
11-13-2014, 08:54 PM
Floor looks great.

Tom

chevynut
11-13-2014, 08:57 PM
Rick, my bulbs are the T8 daylight white ones. They do come to full brightness eventually, but when it's cold it takes a long time. I like the daylight white T12 bulbs in my other shop so I put these in the new shop.

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
11-14-2014, 05:23 AM
nice job, does look good. :cool:

Rick_L
11-14-2014, 08:12 AM
Rick, my bulbs are the T8 daylight white ones.

Actually, daylight white is what I have with the latest fixture. Had to go back and look at the packaging. The othe T8 fixture is "natural light" and it's a little whiter/bluer. I'm thinking I prefer the "daylight white" also.

Fladiver64
11-14-2014, 04:31 PM
New shop floor looks great to me. I noticed the discussion of the different "color" for bulbs and I would caution against relying on the names such as "natural Light" or daylight", check on the side of the box there should be a color temperature listed in degrees Kelvin. You will see 3200K, 5000K, maybe even as high as 6000K. This is the real color of the bulb and I have seen "daylight bulbs from 3200 to 5500 and there is a big difference. The lower numbers tend to be more yellow and as you get higher to white and then toward blue/purple. Those ridiculous almost purple car head lights are 8500K as an example. I tend to prefer a light about 5000K for work lights but some people consider that too white. The key is finding the one you like and getting the same color temperature, I find different color temperature buld hard on the eyes.

56-210Sedan
11-14-2014, 05:02 PM
That turned out very nice, good job:cool:

chevynut
11-15-2014, 08:32 AM
Fladiver, you're right about the color temperature. I recently bought some LED lights for my travel trailer and they are a bit too white for me. Seems like in a shop the white light is great, but in a living space I like a "warmer" light. I will probably try some of the "warm white" LEDs and see if I like them better. I'll probably get brighter ones to slightly offset the difference in color so I still get a high light level (lumens).

The Philips "Alto" bulbs are 4100K and are considered "Cool White". I believe my bulbs are Philips "Daylight Deluxe" and are 6500K and 2750 lumens. I just noticed they have an 8-year warranty too. ;)

I have eleven 4-bulb fixtures in my new shop. Each bulb is 32 watts so I have a total of 1408 watts. It seems plenty bright for me. Plus I have 6 recessed LED fixtures in my "man cave" corner. :)

BTW, how are you doing on your 57 4DHT project?

56-210Sedan
11-15-2014, 11:26 AM
Laszlo, kinda curious on the shop floor coating. If a person wanted to just do a certain area of there shop do you think this is achievable or would it create a chance to cause it to peel up at the edge? my thought is i have a area that is going to be used for entertainment at times could this be done for such and area without problems.

chevynut
11-15-2014, 11:54 AM
Marty, from what I've seen with this stuff I doubt you'd have any peeling problems at edges unless you didn't prep it right and there was contamination. Keep in mind that I have an edge all along my 18 foot door. It looks great everywhere.

I did encounter some bubbling of the clearcoat that I didn't catch in time. They say it's from the concrete gassing. If I had it to do again I would put baking soda water on the concrete to stop the acid activity. The base bubbled just a little but I got all of the bubbles down with a blower, as they tell you to do. The clear didn't bubble at all after we applied it and I didn't expect it to because the base was already cured. However, a couple of hours after we put it down I was in the other shop and noticed the bubbles....it was too late to do anything about them because I couldn't walk on the epoxy anymore as it was too cured to use the spiked shoes anymore. So I let it cure and sanded them down and polished the epoxy.

56-210Sedan
11-16-2014, 02:00 PM
Thanks for the information Laszlo i appreciate it, think this may be something i do in the future.

Fladiver64
11-16-2014, 09:59 PM
I have not done much on the 4DRHT project as that thing called work has gotten int he way. The shop I am going to be building in has been moving forward and we expect to get the slab pored this week or next provided the weather holds. Then it is on to assemble of a steel building, so eventually I will get to work on the car.


Fladiver, you're right about the color temperature. I recently bought some LED lights for my travel trailer and they are a bit too white for me. Seems like in a shop the white light is great, but in a living space I like a "warmer" light. I will probably try some of the "warm white" LEDs and see if I like them better. I'll probably get brighter ones to slightly offset the difference in color so I still get a high light level (lumens).

The Philips "Alto" bulbs are 4100K and are considered "Cool White". I believe my bulbs are Philips "Daylight Deluxe" and are 6500K and 2750 lumens. I just noticed they have an 8-year warranty too. ;)

I have eleven 4-bulb fixtures in my new shop. Each bulb is 32 watts so I have a total of 1408 watts. It seems plenty bright for me. Plus I have 6 recessed LED fixtures in my "man cave" corner. :)

BTW, how are you doing on your 57 4DHT project?