Designing a Nursery

Do you want to add an epoxy floor coating to the concrete floors in the garage of your auto shop? This can really make your service area shine, with a glossy surface that looks great when customers come in. Here are some tips for installing an epoxy floor coating on your own.

Degrease The Floor

You'll want to make sure that there is no grease on the floor before you apply the epoxy coating. Start by spraying the floor down with water, and then pour a degreasing cleaning product directly onto the floor. There should not be a need to mix or dilute the product with water, and it is safe to go down the drain when you are finished. Give the floor a good scrubbing with bristle brushes to remove that layer of grease that is surely stuck to the surface. 

Acid-Etch The Floor

Next you'll need to acid-etch the flooring, which will require that you have the right equipment. You should be wearing rubber boots and gloves, use a container of muriatic acid from your local home improvement store, and have a plastic container to mix in. Muriatic acid doesn't react well with metal, so it is important to use a plastic container. 

You can mix the muriatic acid with water according to the directions, apply it to the floor, and scrub it with your bristle brush. This will allow the epoxy flooring to stick to the floor much better. Wash it away when you're finished to get rid of the muriatic acid on the surface, since the acid will have already reacted with the concrete and the water will further dilute it before going down the drain.

Mix The Epoxy

The epoxy that you purchase will come in two separate containers that need to be mixed together for a reaction to occur. You need to mix the materials together and wait according to the manufacturer's directions, which could be as short as half an hour. 

Apply The Epoxy

You can apply the epoxy to the floors just as if you were painting the surface. Put the epoxy in paint trays, use rollers to cover the surface efficiently, and apply a second coat if the epoxy looks thin. 

Add Color Flakes

If you want the floor to look decorative, you can add color flakes to the top of the epoxy after you have applied the final coat. It will help hide all of the small imperfections in the floor if your concrete has small cracks in it.

Contact a company that offers commercial epoxy flooring services to learn more.