Floors, whats the best, coating, stick on, bare, what do you have, what have you seen

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  • vpt
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2009
    • 8806

    Floors, whats the best, coating, stick on, bare, what do you have, what have you seen

    I want to do something with the floor in my shop. Mainly under the hoist for fluids and stuff. I always thought I wanted to do the roll on, brush on epoxy coating. But it is quite a lot of work it seems mostly to clean and prep the floor before coating. I also hear some people complain about peal up and wear out with the coating.

    So lately I have been seeing pics of floors where 'stick on' tiles have been used and looks nice. Anyone have any experience with the stick on tiles and how they hold up to abuse? I'd assume they are fairly easily replaced if something happens to one.

    Looking for ideas. Shop has a cement floor. It seems all vehicle fluids, welding splatter from the MIG, lots of grinding material, and all kinds of metal wheels from the cherry picker, trans jack, etc.

    I like the checkered look, this shop sparked my stick on tile interest.

    Andy
  • kendall
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2006
    • 2501

    #2
    There are a lot that are able to handle spills without getting stained. Few that will handle hot weld splatter or chips though, And most will deform under any appreciable weight.

    A good floor paint in a common color with periodic touch ups is the method I used in the foot areas, sealer and a bucket of water with spic and span or TSP coupled with a good scrub brush every week for the work areas.

    That floor in the pic doesn't look like a working shop.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by kendall View Post
      That floor in the pic doesn't look like a working shop.
      Amen to everything kendall said. I put down an epoxy floor coating I bought from Sam's Club when I built my shop. Since the concrete floor was brand new it did not have any stains, etc that I had to deal with nor did I have to move any equipment etc.

      Pros

      It sure increased the light in the shop since I used an off white coating.

      It's easy to clean up spills and easier to sweep & mop than bare concrete.

      I did not have any problems with pealing since it was a virgin floor.

      Cons

      A lot of work to put down and did not cover as well as expected. Buy at least one extra kit.

      Does not hold up in my welding area, but that really was not unexpected.

      Comments

      Make sure you have plenty of ventilation and try to schedule it for a day in the 70's to low 80's max. This will give you more working time before it sets up. Also shoot for as low of humidity as possible.

      Since it sounds like you're thinking about doing this on an existing floor, clean it like you're going to perform surgery on it. Some manufacturers suggest etching the floor and that sounds like a good idea.

      Wear some old golf shoes when putting down the floor. They will allow you to walk on the wet floor and the little marks from the spikes will "heal" themselves before it sets up.

      Comment

      • Mike of the North
        Senior Member
        • Mar 2008
        • 167

        #4
        I used a concrete stain on my floor, it is holding up OK, but gas softens it. There is a good forum called Garage Journal that has a flooring section that might contain some good info for you. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/f...splay.php?f=20
        Mike
        Brandon MI
        2003 MINI Cooper S JCW#249
        1971 Opel GT
        1985 Ford 3910LP

        Comment

        • J Weber
          Member
          • Apr 2010
          • 78

          #5
          I have had problems making any paint stick long term to concrete.Color in the mix when pouring is the best way.Here is the 2nd best IMHO.
          We had a warehouse at my last place of employment.They drove big trucks,forklifts and pallet jacks all over this place.If you looked close the concrete was not in the best of shape.Big chips and cracks everywhere.But floor all looked uniform paper bag brown and shiny. I asked one of the guys working there about it,He showed me what they used and it was a concrete and terrazzo sealer.They even had a floor buffer to make it shine.Scratch it,black tire marks...just strip that part and recoat.This stuff is basically a water based floor wax.A 5 gal bucket will go a long way.

          Comment

          • Fasttrack
            Senior Member
            • Jul 2005
            • 6295

            #6
            Is there any reason not to keep the concrete bare beyond aesthetics? I was never concerned with oil stains - any spills get cleaned up with absorbent, but the stain never bothered me... I say just wipe the whole thing down with used oil right off the bat (just kidding)

            Comment

            • JoeLee
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2009
              • 10873

              #7
              My shop floor is polished and sealed concrete. Smooth as glass, sweeps real easy with out raising dust and heavy machines slide or roll with ease.
              No problem with spills or hot chips/sparks etc. Caution slipper when wet! But it never gets wet.

              JL....................

              Comment

              • vpt
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2009
                • 8806

                #8
                Yes, that was one another thing, my shop gets wet from rain or snow.

                I just looked up that ZEP stuff which sounds like the "wax" mentioned. Sounds very interesting but I imagine slippery when wet too.

                Andy

                Comment

                • vpt
                  Senior Member
                  • Dec 2009
                  • 8806

                  #9
                  Anyone have any experience with the POR stuff? I know I got some of the rust POR paint on the floor years ago and it is still there. lol

                  Andy

                  Comment

                  • Fasttrack
                    Senior Member
                    • Jul 2005
                    • 6295

                    #10
                    Originally posted by vpt View Post
                    Anyone have any experience with the POR stuff? I know I got some of the rust POR paint on the floor years ago and it is still there. lol

                    http://www.por15.com/Floor-Armor-Con...g/products/15/
                    I have had great results with their product on steel, including their high heat paint but never tried the concrete stuff. Have you considered sodium silicate? It does a great job permanently sealing concrete.

                    Comment

                    • vpt
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2009
                      • 8806

                      #11
                      Thats interesting. http://www.wetsealers.com/CONSEAL1000.html
                      Andy

                      Comment

                      • Mr Fixit
                        Senior Member
                        • Nov 2010
                        • 1349

                        #12
                        vpt,
                        I was able to seal my shop when first built so I don't have any used floor experience, but what I did find at the masonary supply company in town was many types of sealers that are very resistant to any liquids and heavy wheeled equipment and what I used was a clear sealer. The other advantage of sealing the floor is you don't have any cement dust from the floor wearing down and it is much easyer to cleanup after an oil spill or gasoline.
                        Just one more idea for you to chew on. Let us know what you do, allways like to here how it works out.

                        Best of luck Chris
                        Mr fixit for the family

                        Comment

                        • Ian B
                          Senior Member
                          • Dec 2002
                          • 2928

                          #13
                          Joe,

                          You mention a 'polished and sealed' floor. I'm in the process of getting a new workshop, the floor will be finished by power trowelling - those machines like flying saucers that keep skimming th esurface with steel blades until the concrete's set. This will give it the polish. Did you do this, and did you do anything further?

                          Ian
                          All of the gear, no idea...

                          Comment

                          • MrFluffy
                            Senior Member
                            • Jan 2006
                            • 1475

                            #14
                            Don't polish a normal concrete mix unless you have additives in there to aid traction. It'll be like a skating rink when you get even plain water on it otherwise. We did a outdoor bbq area testing our power float before doing the house proper, and it was a bit lethal when it was damp. We had to add grit to a screed on top of it in the end. For my workshop, I only used the power float twice to get it level, not polish at all. That left a gritty level surface but it doesn't give you that shiny hard coating on top.
                            I think next time I do a workshop type floor I might experiment with some traction assisting additives and try polishing it to a better surface.

                            Comment

                            • JoeLee
                              Senior Member
                              • Aug 2009
                              • 10873

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Ian B View Post
                              Joe,

                              You mention a 'polished and sealed' floor. I'm in the process of getting a new workshop, the floor will be finished by power trowelling - those machines like flying saucers that keep skimming th esurface with steel blades until the concrete's set. This will give it the polish. Did you do this, and did you do anything further?

                              Ian
                              Yes that is how I did my floor,with a power trowel. After the concrete has started to set I went to work on it. I would have to sprinkle water here and there to get the cream to come to the surface and you have to watch how you feather the trowels on the machine too. I think it's also called burning in. This type of finish also makes for a much harder surface. It's easy to sweep and oil spills are easy to wipe up.
                              The next day I rolled a coat of crystal clear concrete floor sealer on it.
                              I forgot to mention that when I poured the floor I screeded it and used a bull float to get it as flat as possible. I didn't want any dips in it.

                              JL......................
                              Last edited by JoeLee; 08-04-2012, 10:34 AM.

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