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What concrete sealer for my shop floor??

19K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  yager 
#1 ·
Ok, I finally got the floor poured in my shop.

I want to put some kind of a sealer on it to help with clean up and to keep the concrete dust down.

What is the best sealer or paint for this??

I would like something that is easy to apply and of course will not cost me too much.

Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
I got some Baer's junk at HD for ~$35 including the cleaner...

went on easy with a roller, just don't drive on it for a week, no matter what the instructions say...

Looks OK, and oil spills wipe up easily without soaking in... the prime reason i bought it!
 
#3 ·
I painted mine with 2 part epoxy from the paint store, painted it a lightish grey. cleans up great ! paint color is too light and shows EVERY bit of dirt. If i could do it over again i'd probably just clear coat it with something. dunno how durable thompson's water seal or similar products are. Cost me about $200 clams to put 2 coats of epoxy on my whole floor.

- jack
 
#4 ·
What really works good is two part epoxy on concrete shop floors. I own a concrete company and we've done this many times. Add one cup of fine silica sand to each gal of epoxy and keep stirring before each application. The sand will create a light texture and keep you from slipping but still allow oil to be wiped up simply without staining the floor. The epoxy dries very hard and can take alot of abuse without chipping or cracking.
 
#5 ·
I put just plain concrete sealer like what you would use on a driveway.....
Big Mistake.... Carb Cleaner (my general purpose solvent) reacts with it and makes a gummy mess that will burn your skin with extended contact....

1st time it happened It took my a while to figure out why my shoulder felt like is was on fire while laying on the floor setting up some gears for a buddy...
 
#6 ·
I second the don't use clear sealer. I used a low-solids sealer on mine since my dad used a high-solid on his. Mine doesn't do as bad, but still not good. Use a two part epoxy the first time. If you use sealer, you will have to acid etch it for the epoxy later if you decide you want that. Lowe's and Home Depot both sell a garage floor coating, but I don't know anything about it. Spend the money up front and you won't have to worry later.
 
#7 ·
I've been looking at a product called Seal Hard made by L&M construction chemicals. Not sure how expensive it is but it's used on warehouse floors. I figure if it can handle forklifts and everything else, it will be good enough for my small garage. It's a surface hardner and a sealer.

I'm sure it costs WAY more than I'm willing to spend, but I thought I'd throw the idea out.

:beer:
 
#8 ·
2 part epoxy, medium grey, mix some sand in it so you don't slip all over the place.
Do it right the 1st time here. If you seal it, it will cost way more to refinish and a hell of a lot more work.
 
#12 ·
I don't know what the previous owners used on my Garage floor, but I'd like to smack them one! :mad:
That stuff has been chipping since we moved in and it gets tracked into the house, break cleaner makes it dissolve into a gooey mess and the chips stick to everything I work on. I’ve been trying to think of a way to chip it all off. I might empty out the garage and go for some sort of industrial acid. Maybe even a big sander of some sort. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Make sure you do it right...the first time, this is no place to cheep out.
 
#13 ·
Eskimo said:
Wow..I have the Baer's stuff on my floor, and the brake cleaner we were using on my friend's truck did a GREAT job of stripping the expoy up... :mad:
Epoxy is a loose term. With all the new VOC laws we have in cali the paint and coating companies are having a hard making anything that will last and can be sold to the genreal public.

Real Epoxies will laugh and brake clean. I coated the inside of my gas tank with real epoxie and it's doing just fine. Anything on the shelf that states it's epoxie and only has one part and or states it's water based don't waste your money!

Real epoxies has resin and a catalyst. The higher the ratio of Resin to catalyst the better grade it is. I never use 1:1 ,3:1 or 4:1 is what I normally use and the 5:1 for the extreme jobs. BTW Polyester resin is not epoxie!
 
#15 ·
Eskimo said:
Wow..I have the Baer's stuff on my floor, and the brake cleaner we were using on my friend's truck did a GREAT job of stripping the expoy up... :mad:
Really? I have it on mine also and not even the etch primer activator that is part acid will touch the stuff. Did you mix it correctly? Mine was 3 parts mix and 1 part activator. The can got hot to the touch and had to sit for an hour after mixed before I could paint it on.
 
#17 ·
MellowYellow said:
MattS,
What did you use?
Behr garage floor paint. It comes in a box with a gallon of base, but only 3 pints in the gallon and then one pint of activator you add to that, floor cleaner and these chips you can throw on after your roll it if you want to. It even came with a video. I did not watch it. :D

I threw the floor cleaner out and got 5 gallons of acid and cleaned the floor REAL good. Power washed it let dry, run your finger across the floor, if it's white and chalky keep power washing till it's clean. I think this is the key to a good bond.

I got it at home depot but I can't find it on either their website or behr's website! :(
 
#18 ·
Rust-oleum has a kit just like you're talking about. (2part epoxy) It was right next to all the standard garage floor paint. The 'garage' version was ~$60 comes in grey or tan with the little colored flakes. the 'industrial' version which I assume is stronger/better was ~$90. only comes in grey with no flakes

I saw it last night at Home Depot.
 
#20 ·
Bare concrete is best for welding. I painted mine with 2 part epoxy and the splatter from welding mars up the paint on the floor some. Even knowing that now I'd still paint the floor again.
problem with a redish color instead of the light grey like I used.
I've found that having a small piece of luan (2'x3') on the floor under where I'm welding stops 95% of the splatter.

- jack
 
#21 ·
About three months ago I did the 2 car garage with the "one part epoxy" that home depot sells. I did it in white to increase the effective lighting.There is no way the shop will ever be empty enough to paint the floor. At least my girl has a nice place to park her TJ. It does hold up well though. Prep is the key
 
#22 ·
I'm useing "Saltshield" -- "Water Based Silicate Sealer"

http://www.specco.com/Products.htm

this company is the bomb, they make industrial floor stuff, will sell 5 gal. min and ship ups...

im not even gonna tell you which product to use, the guys asked me 1000 questions and told me to use that one.

On NEW concreete (ie green/ no cures) they have products that reacts with the concreet and actually makes it harder.. but aged stuff can only be sealed...

I love this stuff its awsome... Its NOT a coating, it feels like concreet and looks like concreet, just nothing soaks in. (oil acids, anything you can put on it will not soack in, watter just beads up till it evaporates) stuff WILL stain it but lift off over time. For example i can paint on the floor and it will show the paint but over 3-4 weeks it just goes away..

This stuff eliminates all dusting too...

5 gals did my 20x24 garage np.... simple flood coat/20min to put it on.....

Anyone in the raleigh NC area want to buy a 5 gal pail? (i bought 2) ill take $50 New was over $90 + shipping (hazmat too)

good luck

-yag
 
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