When renovating your garage, it is always considered a good advice to apply an epoxy on the garage floor due to its benefits, such as protecting your floor and making it easier to clean. It can also make your garage floor like a work of art because you get to choose among hundreds of floor designs, making your garage a comfortable place to stay and work in.
But for some people, they choose not to epoxy their garage due to the idea that, aside from its expensive, it is tedious work. Little did they know that there’s a quick and easy way on how to epoxy garage floor.
What Are the Types of Epoxy Coating?
There are two types of epoxy coating that you can use. The first one is the single coating, it is for beginners who want a simple or basic epoxy coating on their garage floor. It is normally recommended to those who have a smaller garage.
Second is the multiple coating. It involves a primer coat, a base coat and a top coat. This is recommended if you want a long lasting epoxy coat life.
Things You Need to Consider Before Applying Epoxy on Floor
The very fist thing you need to consider is the type of floor that you have. This is very important. You have to check properly if your floor would accept epoxy. Bear in mind that epoxy would not stick if your floor has paint or sealer applied.
If you’re not sure about the presence of sealers on your floor, you can check it by pouring water all over your floor. If the water is absorbed, then there’s a huge chance that your floor doesn’t have a sealer and it’s good for epoxy application.
Another important reminder is to check your garage floor for any signs of cracking or peeling that needs to be repaired. Epoxy won’t be able to smoothen them up. So if you want a smooth, fresh finish with epoxy, repair it first.
Another thing to put into consideration is if your floor has the tendency to moisten. Moisture can make a formation of a white substance and definitely would look bad on your perfect epoxy finish, so if you want to have a spotlessly clean floor, conduct a moisture test.
Simple and Easy Steps on How to Epoxy Your Garage Floor.
Now that you have checked on everything that needs checking, let’s proceed with the application process and how to properly epoxy your garage floor, granting that everything went well with the floor check. The instruction below is for a single coating epoxy. First, you need to gather all the necessary items and tools. Below are the tools and items needed;
- Garage floor epoxy with color flakes
- Degreaser (Available in any Home Depots)
- Acid
- Chemical-resistant rubber boots, rubber gloves, and eye goggles
- Garden Hose
- Plastic sprinkling can
- Long-handled scrub brush
- Paint roller and extension poles
STEP 1: Clean the garage floor with soap and water, make sure that everything is spotless. Use the degreaser to remove nasty stains such as grease and other spots that cannot be removed by water and soap.
STEP 2: Once clean, put on your chemical-resistant rubber boots, rubber gloves, and goggles to protect you from your next activity which is pouring acid on the floor. Acid is used for acid-etching concrete floors, it is the essential part of preparing a floor for epoxy.
Pour the acid on the plastic sprinkling can and mix it with water. Sprinkle the acid on the floor and spread it using a long-handled scrub brush. Then, vacuum the remaining acid and let the floor dry.
STEP 3: Once dry, it’s time to take out the garage floor epoxy. It is available to any hardware store, they can help you choose the best epoxy coat for your garage. Normally, Garage floor epoxy comes in two containers: the epoxy and the thinner. Mix the two and stir them until completely mixed.
After mixing, apply the epoxy to the floor. Use the paint roller and extension poles to spread it on the floor. You only have at least two hours to finish the application of the epoxy or it will become hard and the application would be difficult. Allot a 24-time frame to let it dry.
Conclusion
Single coat epoxy is the easiest way to coat your garage, it has the same sleek and stylishness of the multiple coat epoxy. Apart from it is time-saving, it’s also cheaper. The only difference between the two is that multiple coat epoxy tends to last longer, but it really depends on the user and the purpose of the epoxy coating on your garage.
This only proves that there are some easy and simple ways of applying epoxy to your garage floor. You only have to choose between what you think would be suitable and perfect for your needs