Which Garage Floor Is Best for Your Shop?

Which Garage Floor Treatment Is Best for Your Shop: Paint, Epoxy, Stain, Mats, Tiles or Polished?

Photography Credit: David S. Wallens

GRM moved its offices into an art deco-era building a few years ago, and the 50-year-old concrete floors had seen better days. After reviewing available floor finishes, we decided that epoxy coatings seemed to occupy the sweet spot in our cost-benefit analysis.

We had seen a UCoat It epoxy floor in Jay Leno’s shop, and figured that the product was more than suitable for our new display area and storage room. The entire process didn’t take too long, and we’re happy with the results. As an added bonus the UCoat It materials were on the lower end of the cost scale for an epoxy floor coating.

Photography Credits: Tom Heath

Step 1: We started the process by filling in the low spots on the floor with a self-leveling underlayment. This step isn’t always necessary, but underlayment is cheaper than using a thicker coat of epoxy to achieve a level finished floor.

Step 2: Before mixing any of the epoxy coating components, we carefully read the instructions and safety information. We found out that weather conditions are an important factor in applying the coating; ideally the temperature should be around 68 degrees Fahrenheit with less than 75 percent relative humidity.

Step 3: Once the floor was roughly level and cured, we began preparing the surface by cleaning it thoroughly. After taking care of the dust, oil and debris, we washed the surface with a muriatic acid and water solution and a stiff-bristled brush. This step reduces the alkalinity of the concrete itself, allowing it to bond more successfully with the UCoat It materials.

After the acid wash, we rinsed the floor to neutralize the acid. If rinsing isn’t an option, a baking soda and water mix can be mopped onto the floor as a substitute.

Step 4: Mixing the UCoat It materials is simple. In a plastic bucket, we combined a can of activator, a can of the base color and a bottle of the co-plastimer additive. As soon these components came together, the epoxy mix began to thicken.

Working time with the mix is about an hour under ideal conditions, but elevated humidity can shorten that time. Don’t dawdle or your epoxy could harden in the bucket.

Step 5: The first coat is called the bond coat, and we applied it to the still-damp floor with a roller, just like paint. The stuff isn’t intended to create a uniform color, but it does penetrate and seal the floor, preparing it for the finish coat.

If you’re shorthanded, work in sections so you can cover the area evenly. The seams between these sections won’t be noticeable after the finish coat has been applied. Additional coats of the epoxy will bond with this first coat easily—that’s why it’s called the bond coat. The bond coat should be dry to the touch after four to six hours.

We applied the top coat within 72 hours after the bond coat, but you can apply the finish coat as soon as the floor is dry to the touch. If more than 72 hours elapse, the bond coat must be scuffed, vacuumed and wiped with a tack rag. The top coat goes on just like the bond coat, although the co-plastimer isn’t required this time around.

Step 6: We wanted to give our floor some extra visual appeal, so we also used a UFleck-AF kit. This kit includes a high-gloss urethane and decorative flakes; the latter adheres to the epoxy to give a terrazzo-like appearance. To ensure even and random distribution of the flakes, we used a technique vaguely similar to that of feeding chickens on the farm.

Step 7: Finally, we used the UGloss-AF to seal the flakes and further enhance the shine of our finished floor. Using the kit requires the same basic steps that we followed for the bond and finish coats. The result? A highly reflective surface that really adds visual pop to the end product. It also smoothed the flakes that we applied in the previous step.

We let the gloss coat dry for 12 hours before we started walking on it. According to the instructions, the floor cures to full strength in five to seven days, so don’t ruin your hard work by dragging parts across it too soon.