Garage Floor Epoxy - How to Apply to Concrete?
For people asking whether garage floor epoxy can be used on concrete or not, the answer is a simple yes. If you don’t know it yet, this type of paint is actually created for garage floors made of bare concrete. However, there’s a certain procedure as far as applying these paints on the floor is concerned. And the first step is to check whether the garage floor epoxy paint would work on the floor or not.
However unfortunate, there are certain types of concrete floors wherein this paint can’t be used. For starters it can’t be applied on a concrete floor treated with a sealer. A concrete sealer is a compound applied on the floor or walls to keep both liquids and moisture away. This is one way to protect the concrete. This compound is used mostly on walls to keep the rain, snow, and other weather elements out. But then again, some builders use it on the floor as well.
The thing is, if your garage floor is treated with a concrete sealer, you can’t use epoxy paint to it. If you want to know if your floor is, spill half a glass of liquid onto one area of the floor. On an untreated concrete, the water will be absorbed to the surface of the concrete. But if the water just stays on top, the floor is sealed. In other words, you can’t possibly use garage floor epoxy on it. Worse, you may not use any type of paint at all. If you really want to, you have to go to great lengths to remove the seal first. If that’s very inconvenient for you, it is advisable that you just settle for other floor covering options.
Now if your floor is not treated, you can start the preparations to apply the epoxy paint. This means that you have to start cleaning the floor from one corner to the other. The goal is to remove all debris from the floor so that they won’t stick to the paint. Use a pressure washer to clean the garage floor, if you have one. If there’s any part of the floor that is chipped and cracked, you have to repair it first.
It would take sometime for the garage floor epoxy to dry. If it is summer, the estimated drying time is four to six hours. During winter and the cold months, it would take twice as long. This means that you have to plan ahead. Start early. By doing so, you can finish the painting job in just one day.