U-coat-it

[y-knot]

Maybe it's a little off the diesel topic, But I have a question for you. One of my great ideals I can up with while waiting for spring was to re-do the garage (see it's not that far off topic, I work on the diesel there). One of the chores I'll be tackling is coating the floor with an epoxy sealer. I wanted to make it look very smooth and shinny, like the floor on Two Guys Garage. They say they used a product called U-COAT-IT. I looked it up and it seems great, they have a wide range of colors and textures. To do my floor it looks like it will run about $700. 00. My question is, Have any of you guy's ever used this product? Do you know of anything else I could use (taking into account I want a smooth,shinny floor)? Has anyone seen a floor coated with this stuff? Any thoughts? I do not mind the price, I just want what is best for the job. Any suggestions or advice on application welcome, Thanks.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

This spring i am doing mine!

 

[bmoeller]

y-not,



Michael Holigan's show "Your New House" did a segment on it. You can watch it on your computer. http://www.michaelholigan.com/mhetv/category.asp?page_number=3 Click next to Concrete Solutions, on View Video to watch them put it down.



Other segments- http://www.michaelholigan.com/search/results.asp?ct=query://b2chost1/michaelholigan&q1=floor+coating

 

[Deezul1]

What happens when you roll a floor jack or loaded creeper on it?It sounds like great stuff if it will stand up to that.

 

[GWDiesel]

shop floor coat

We put a different brand of paint on the floor, and with some fine grit mixed in it to keep from slipping. We rolled 2 coats on with a paint roller, looked great for about 2 years,and when we rolled in the new 03

and left it over night and when we backed out the paint peeled up where the tires sat over night!! (can't remember the brand of floor paint) so be very picky about what you buy IMHO, GWD

 

[JB @ C and L Machine]

I used the U-coat-it and would not recomend it on A. a floor that your going to be doing alot of work and B. an old Floor. I consiter one of my biggest mistakes and a great learning experiance of what not to buy. IF you want pics I can E-mail you. JB

 

[Philip]

A place I used to work at had epoxy floors in it.



If you use a cutting torch or welder any. Then the floor will have burnt spots.



The commerical applied epoxy floors have around a 10 year life span. With wheeled traffic it is shorter. By wheeled traffic I mean forklifts or light trucks.



Use light colors on the floor. Dark colors will show scratches bad.





Now this is with the commerical applied finishes. These are normally applied at a thickness of a 1/4". The type you are looking at is around 1/32 or less. So the life of the floor will be shorter compared to the commerical floor.



If you do use this flooring. Be sure to add some form of grit to it. Epoxy floors get slick with anything liquid on it.

 

[Mel Swanson]

y-knot... ... . There are a bunch of solutions for enhancing your concrete floor. One thing not recommended is paint. If youPAINT concrete you will not be happy when it starts lifting off.

If you are one of those guys that needs to know as much as he can about a project subject matter. :-{} Go here:

http://www.decorative-concrete.net

and click on DCN FORUM.

If you are a fan of KISS go to Home Depot. They have several concrete solutions. Don't buy the concrete PAINT .

I have found the concrete stain (colored if you desire) works real good after you have cleaned grease and paint from the surface. If day to day activity damages the surface it can be toughed up. Then topcoat it with their one part epoxy. Follow the application and prep instructions and you should have years of good service. Green (new) concrete is not a candidate for surface applications.

 

[gocirino]

U Coat It

I used the U Coat It system last year on my shop. I would not recommend this system either. The chemicals had a reaction and the clear coat had major orange pealing and separation. U Coat It would NOT stand behind their product and basically said I was on my own. They were actually rude about it too! I don't need to deal with companies like that and neither should anyone else!

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Wow I posted a year ago about U coat it and was alll ready to do it this spring! I don't think so anymore. I just may go back to my origional idea of Herculiner or another rhino type liner but need to do some more research.

 

[y-knot]

Thanks for all the response, It's nice to have a large group to draw from. I was not going to consider any type of paint, I have seen what happens. Also I did want the floor to be very smooth, I know it can get slick, but I will use runner (Mats) to walk on. The garage will never see any heavy pressure, Just roll around tool boxes, jacks and so fourth. I have been to Home Depot, they only had Behr and Rustoleum products. Both were more of a thin paint type product. I will research it more, I have plenty of time. Thanks for all the comments.

 

[SMorneau]

There are a couple of big suppliers of floor coatings. I don't remember the name of the company but they offer coatings for every use and compatibility (diesel fuel, traffic, etc). The also make many types of patching compounds for concrete and tar. I would think an internet surf would turn up a company like this where you could beat the price of the other stuff.

 

[daveshoe]

sealer

Go to a concrete products supply house. [look where they sell bricks also] Concrete is porous and absorbs water. salt from your car will cause dusting and such. You can buy clear sealers that eliminate dusting of the concrete and make it very easy to sweep. They also can make it harder and more abrasion resistant.

All this is achieved by putting the sealer INTO the floor -Not on the floor as the other stuff you describe. A side effect is slickness when wet, but it sounds like you have that covered. I have used these products on old floors in bad condition and the ease of sweeping is vastly improved. BTW-- you do not need to ask me for brand names. The guy behind the counter is an expert.

 

[Tardog]

I'm with Daveshoe , go to a concrete builders supply house. A sealer is a way to start, we use them outside on bridges and highway barriers. It prevents the concrete from obsorbing and from dusting off. I believe that you can then put another (dare I say paint) concrete cover over this with good bonding abilities. Many paints fail not because of the paint but because the concrete is always reacting (read curing ) with the air and the moisture in it. A commercial grade product should due the trick, Good luck

 

[Dkevdog]

We use Rust-Oleum "Concrete Saver" floor epoxy on all of our lab floors at my business. It is the only type of coating (without paying the big$$ for a commercially applied product) that will withstand heavy traffic and corrisive (photo) chemicals. They make several different "grades", and the heavy duty grade is the strongest and most chemical resistant. It will withstand metal wheel traffic, chemical spills, etc. It is very glossy. It will burn with splatter from welding or cutting, but other than that, it works great. It can be purchased through Grainger, and is not cheap.



Kev

 

[Rosco]

I used to work for a company that manufactured large precast underground concrete pumping station's and we used to paint the wall's and floor's with a 2 part industrial paint made by Glidden. It was not cheap stuff and I don't even know if the general public can buy it but it is GOOD paint. When I do my garage this spring I will most likely go this route.