When I first started spending long days in my garage doing woodworking projects, I quickly got tired of looking at my worn concrete floor. It was covered in patchy sections of an old tan epoxy that had flaked or worn straight through in most spots and had lots of oil-stains from the leaky Nissan. That's when I decided it was time to give the floor a makeover - a new epoxy coating! This is the AFTER picture - keep following along if you want to see what it looked like in the beginning or if you're thinking about doing the same for your shop floor.
AFTER all the hard work...
Getting Started
Here's what you'll need to get started if you decide to tackle this project. Some of these things are optional and depend on your specific job.
Materials + Supplies:
*Epoxy Floor Coating (2-gallons was enough for my two-car garage)
*Colored Flakes (optional)
*Chip Brushes
*3/8" Nap Rollers (epoxy)
*1/4" Nap Rollers (clear coat)
*Paint Roller Tray
*Painter's Tape
*Mixing Bucket + Stir Sticks (or drill with mixing paddle)
*Spike Shoes (I made my own...see below)
*Diamond Abrasive Floor Grinder (if removing prior coating is necessary)
*Degreasing/Cleaning Liquid
*Caulk (apply in small cracks and at edges of garage)
*Bondo All-Purpose Putty (for filling any large chips, holes, or recesses)
Tools:
Here's an idea of what my garage looked like BEFORE the new epoxy coating.
Step 1: The Prep Work
If you've done even a few painting projects, you know this is the most important step. This is especially true with epoxy since it's even more unforgiving and expensive than most paints
and if you mess it up you're going to have a lot of grinding to do to fix your problem. So don't cut corners and do it right!
Unfortunately for me, I had a previous epoxy coating that was failing that needed to be taken care of before applying the new coating. If you have new, clean concrete you can most likely skip the majority of this prep work.
Removing the Old Coating
I rented a floor maintainer with a diamond-abrasive wheel attachment from the hardware store to grind off the majority of the old coating. This was a SLOW and labor intensive process. This was by far the worst part of the project. I probably spent a full day from morning until late afternoon grinding and washing out the sludge. Rinse and repeat until the majority of the old epoxy coating is gone. I highly recommend wet grinding - grinding dry will produce fine concrete dust that can do all kinds of damage to your body.
A few pictures from the grinding process...
There were still some minor areas that had old epoxy stuck to them, but I figured if they were stuck on so well they were unlikely to flake off. After completely washing out the slurry of stuff from grinding, it was ready for the next step.
Cleaning
It's important to remove all dust and grime to let the epoxy bond properly to your concrete. This is especially true if you have oily spots anywhere in your garage. We had some at the front center of the garage where my wife's leaky Nissan parked before the garage became a full fledged woodshop. I used a concentrated commercial degreaser with hot water and scrubbed all areas of the floor with a deck brush. Following the scrubbing, the entire garage was rinsed thoroughly with clean water and allowed to dry completely.
Filling Holes, Cracks, and Recesses
One thing that will make your finished floor look flawless in the end is taking care of all of the small little cracks and divots before applying the epoxy. Most garage floor epoxy will NOT fill in cracks unless they are the most hairline variety. I had some holes drilled in my floor from a previous owner and some large divots that needed filled. I also had deep cracks forming in the bottom of the control joints of the garage (the cross pattern of grooves) that I wanted to fill. I used a Sherwin Williams urethanized elastomeric caulk called Sher Max to fill these cracks and also some that formed where the floor met the stem walls. It has been five years and this caulk has proven how durable it is.
Next, I used Bondo All-Purpose Putty to fill the holes and divots. Once it dried and cured completely I used a power sander to sand it flush. Blow the dust away when you're done.
Taping
Tape off the bottom of all your walls, steps, and any areas you don't want the epoxy to adhere to. I taped the line where my garage door closes so I would have a clean, straight line and not have any epoxy showing on the outside when the garage door was closed. All of the white spots you see in the picture were the places that were filled with Bondo.
Step 2: Applying the Epoxy
The hard part is done - time to transform your ugly concrete floor into a surface you can eat dinner from! Gather all your supplies and make sure you have everything ready since epoxy has a limited working time. If possible, pick an overcast day with moderate temperatures and no rain in the forecast. I laid everything out on a drop cloth on the driveway in front of my garage. If you plan on putting down flakes, spike shoes are highly recommended. You can buy a pair, or just MacGyver some like I did with a pair of old tennis shoes, a wood form cut to the same shape as the shoe, and some lag screws. This allows you to walk over the wet epoxy surface while scattering flakes. The spots your pointed shoes leave fill in quickly since the wet epoxy is self-leveling.
TIP: If you are using flakes, separate them into even portions per square of your garage to make sure you get the same coverage on each area. I had four bags for my four squares.
Mixing
Get your game plan in mind on what you'll be painting in what order and then you'll be ready to mix. If you have multiple gallons of epoxy only mix what you can apply in an hour or less. I had two gallons for my two-car garage and did it one gallon at a time. Each gallon covered two "squares" of the garage floor and the first gallon was also used for the surrounding stem walls. If you're using a two-part epoxy (most garage floor epoxies), measure and mix in a separate container according to your manufacturer's instructions. Mixing thoroughly is important as improperly mixed epoxy may never cure and/or not adhere properly. You could use paint mixing sticks, but I opted for a power drill along with a silicone mixing paddle.
Brushing and Rolling
I used one-time use "chip brushes" to cut in around edges and to paint the stem walls before rolling. Once that was done, I switched to the 3/8" nap roller on an extension pole to roll on a generous coat of epoxy in each square. I was able to do all the edging and the first two squares with one gallon of epoxy.
Make it Rain...Flakes
It's time to make it rain... colored epoxy flakes. Strap on your spike shoes, get your pre- measured flakes, and start scattering. Do your best to scatter them evenly throughout each area. Don't worry if there are a couple big clumps that fall together - excess flakes can be swept away with a stiff-bristled broom after the floor dries.
Repeat
Repeat the brushing and rolling and flake scattering until you finish each section of your garage. Use your excess epoxy if possible - if not, set it aside and let it cure completely so it can be disposed of.
Step 3: Clear Coat
This step is not completely necessary, but many epoxy kits come with a clear topcoat or you can purchase one separately. It will add some nice sheen to the floor and give your floor more protection. I used a 1/4" nap roller for application. Use a stiff-bristled broom to loosen any extra flakes followed by a blower to send them out the door.
Step 4: Admire Your Work!
Stand back and admire your work! Check your epoxy specs and make sure you are past the full cure period before you start to move heavy items on to the floor. I believe mine was less than 48 hours.
Comments