We use epoxy floor paint on those floors that have to endure heavy traffic, from vehicles and humans. Most popular areas are garage and basement, but it is not unusual to find epoxy paint on shop floors, laundry room floors, concrete slabs, kennels, brick pavers or pole barns. The wide range of use is caused by the floor finish which can resist many types of dirt like oil, grease, water and similar messes. A tough epoxy resin helps to make this possible. And this mixture is what makes it the most cost effective choice for most floor coatings.
You will be able to find three different types of epoxies. First are 100% solids which do not have any solvents that can evaporate, they are totally pure. Next come the solvent based epoxy paints that will adhere and penetrate quite well. The drawback is that they are dangerous to health and when you work with them, you have to ventilate the area. It is not recommended to breathe the fumes that emanate. And at last, we have water based paints that are a lot cheaper but also thinner. They maintain anti slip texture and are not hazardous at all. But unlike previous two types, they need a lot more ventilation to dry up.
Before applying the epoxy floor paint, you have to clean the floor and clean it good. You can use brush and you can get yourself a floor buffer to clean it. I know that floor scrubber is not something you might have, but you can easily rent one. It will pay off for sure, since cleaning floors before applying paint is a tough job and it needs to be done well. There should be no debris left, and no moisture on the floor you want to decorate.
You can use warm soapy water on concrete surfaces to get rid of the oils. Oil is quite stubborn and won’t go away so easily. But you have to clean it because it can create bubbles in the coating, and that won’t do you any good. When it comes to soluble contaminants, a degreaser could be your best friend. Scrubbing it over the area and rinsing it should be a process that you will repeat few times. The best way to know your floor is finally clean is to check the water. If it doesn’t stick to the floor, you managed to do it all right.
To get rid of the moisture, leave the floor to dry overnight. The next day is the painting day. Make sure that there isn’t any moisture left by putting a plastic bag on the floor. If tomorrow you find small drops on water on it, it means that you will have to wait a bit more. It is important that it’s all dry, because you don’t want to have any bubbles in your epoxy coating. Choose a day that will be warm, but not a day just before the rain, since then will be a lot of moisture in the air.
You will need 2 or 3 coats to prepare for a good finish. Make sure there is a clean cotton rag to clean the drips. Apply the paint with the same thickness through the entire surface. Once you have it all finished, you can polish the new flooring. Now you have a tough and durable garage that is resistant to all the salt and acids.