Well the weather is getting warmer and it is time to either coat the floor or leave it bare. I checked local and to polish the floor is about $3500, another wants $5000 to grind and epoxy coat, and to order U-coatit will cost about $1600. I know a coated floor is easier to clean, but I can buy several maverick parts cars, new tools and equipment with that money also. So what to do? Robert
Just buy some floor epoxy and do it yourself. Save yourself lots of money. That way you can buy more mav parts. My 2cents
No matter what you do...sealing it will keep moisture at bay.This is especially good if you plan to store the car in this garage.Moisture wicks up through the concrete and will rust your car from underneath.I Park mine on a 20mil plastic tarp in the garage to keep the moisture at bay when I park it for the winter.The better the paint material...the more abuse it will take.If you want to do it on the cheap...buy some masonary paint and just re-touch it from year to year.Just be certain the concrete is clean and dry or nothing will stick for long.Good luck!!
I would opt for the DIY epoxy. With most floor finishes, as long as you follow the instructions for floor prep and don't rush it, it is hard to get it wrong. Epoxy is the toughest stuff out there. There are also epoxy kits available at Lowes and Home Depot ... typically enough for 1.5 car garages, so you would need multiple kits. It will be the easiest painting job you ever do ... runs should self-level.... just keep it off the walls. Why does the one company want to grind the concrete? Perfect finish or is that part of their prep? I mean, it is essentially a brand new slab you are dealing with. I was a Sherwin-Williams rep 10 years ago, and don't know the exact prep steps for epoxy ... with other finishes, it is typically a thorough de-greasing and a chemical etch, and then you are ready to go. If there is some other prep involved for epoxy, I would be surprised. I did concrete stain for mine at that time. Epoxies were still a bit out of reach for DIY. Melted the stain the first time I shot brake cleaner around .... It's OK ... my garage isn't meant to be pretty ... a lot of work gets done there ... One corner is a collage of paint overspray.
the VT is nice but...high maintenance... it costs me $200 to have mine stripped, waxed and buffed...24x36 after the frontend and motor build it's ready for cleaning again... but it's purty... (until some clown does a burnout on it) ...Frank...
I used Sherwin Williams Epoxy on mine about 12 years ago. Cost me about $200 for my 25x28 garage back then.
The epoxy covering, I used on my floor was made by Rustoleum. I got it from Home Depot. I believe my total investment for the kit, was less then $150.00. The kit includes a cleaner. It is so easy to keep clean. Sometimes I just use a dry rag. Other times, I use a little brake clean.
I stopped by Sherwin Williams at lunch today to check to see what they have. they sell H&C epoxy $75 for the kit that covers 200-250sf. they also sell a contractor kit that covers up to 1000sf but I didn't ask about it cause I didn't know about it till I read the information I got from them. they also recommend putting a clear coat over the it which comes in gallons and covers up to 400sf and is $62 a gallon. So based on all this I figured it will cost about 600-700 bucks to coat the garage floor. Robert
2 coats of epoxy followed by 2 coats of clearcoat. I can drag a studded track across it without any noticeable scratching. Prep it really good, my floor was really clean but still I rented an orbital scrubber ($25) w/ a good degreaser. I believe I have $700 into my floor (30x40) and about 10 hours of my labor, worth every penny imo! Good luck
Also, don't forget to throw the sand in. My neighbor's does not have any and an Epoxy floor is worse than ice with water/ oil on it.
I just left mine bare concrete, that way I can do what I want without having to worry about it. I would think the worse thing would be, if you went to the trouble to do it, then it pealed or something. I clean mine once a year, and it's fine.
