shop floor paint

[83-240D]

well since the oil sponge did not clean the drive completely and the greased lighning left some residue and the simple green did not finish the job i have been given permission to paint the drive.

where do i buy shop floor paint?

anyone got experience with painting concrete?
i know it should be free of dirt but what else?
is concrete thirsty?

[Alberta Luthier]

I painted my shop floor with what they called an epoxy paint. I don't remember what I paid, though it wasn't cheap. I didn't have to mix anything and it seems to have worked out o.k. I doubt it is as tough as the old enamel paints but it stunk less. I don't think I have any brain cells to spare to fumes so went the more modern route.
If I understand this, the 2 parts epoxy are emulsified in a water base and blend and set after you roll it on. I etched the concrete with muriatic (sp?) acid first, as instructed by the paint store guy, and you sure want to not breath that stuff!
Good luck
Chuck (aka Alberta Luthier)

[leathermang]

Did you try the Trisodium Phosphate and Tide for cleaning the floor ?
POR15 in Gray is recommended for painting floors...

[ak300td]

I'm interested in knowing what others have used as well...

I eched our new volunteer fire department floor with muriatic acid and some other volunteers applied a two part epoxy paint. It looks great but has not seen any vehicle use yet to know how well it will perform. The instructions did say that oil stains can pose problems with proper adhesion. Since ours was new it shouldn't be an issue.

I've also seen some garage floor tiles that snap together

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11040645&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=1618&hierPath=114*1618*

and some others that are large mats.

http://www.jnkproducts.com/garage-floor-mats.htm

Note that they recommend the "coin" mat for ease of rolling things around in the shop. The ribbed one seems like a bad design to me...

Good luck,

Chuck

[boneheaddoctor]

Would love to do the epoxy floor treatment too.............but like you comment its been a garage for a good many years.....Not sure when the garage was added but it was sometime after 1963.....and its been there for a good long while as its siding matches the house siding which is original.

A floor that has 80% adheasion is gonna look pretty awefull with the 20% not sticking. Worse than how it looks now.

[billrei]

Why seal the concrete and lose that natural oil absorption!! I figure over time all the oil spills will blend into one...

[TheDuke]

I know of two people who have had good results with U Coat It

[97dieseldriver]

If you can drain the floor, use phosporic acid (from janitorial supply). that will eliminate any grease. It takes out any rust too ( this is the main ingrediant in rust away, lime away, etc)
I have had 16 years of success with H & G Concrete Stain and Seal. It is not glossy, which wont last long anyway but repels oil. Tires will not lift off this stuff.

[83-240D]

Originally Posted by leathermang

Did you try the Trisodium Phosphate and Tide for cleaning the floor ?
POR15 in Gray is recommended for painting floors...

i couldn't find any tsp with real p in it(that does not sound good) so i passed on that. I tried dawn dish detergent and the stain is still there.

[leathermang]

They don't want it in wash water which is put into streams... because it is a fertilizer...
But it can be used for grease removal on things like walls and floors without doing any damage... it is just a great grease dissolver....the worst things I used it for were my red mechanic rags which I had gobs of wheel beaing grease on....