Garage floor: Sealer or epoxy?

[Boeing]

How long should I wait to seal/paint a NEW concrete floor? How long does it take for CRACKS to show up on a NEW concrete floor? and they WILL occur...as sure as "change is coming":ashamed:

 

[Danno1]

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30 days min for paint/sealer.

Cracks? Could be days, could be years.


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[dodge man]

I used some stuff I bought off the shelf, I think Rust Oleum brand. It was a two part epoxy and not cheap. It really hasn't held up that well, but I didn't do a very good job on the prep. I had already painted my floor with a cheap paint, and didn't strip the old paint off, just power washed it off. It had the color chips I sprinkeled on the wet paint, and it does keep it from being slick. If I had to do it all over again, I just leave the natural concrete.

 

[RPW]

In the process of builing my barn with a concrete slab. Am planning on using the epoxy on it. I've already got a minor crack and I figure that by doing the epoxy I'll keep from getting any more cracks. I can understand the cracks in this Texas heat wave. I had asked the concrete people if I should have either covered or sprayed water on the concrete for the first few days to slow the curing and they said no. I wonder if my gut was right.

 

[orezok]

I've read that moisture in the concrete before applying the coating is about the biggest problem there is. And, if it's new concrete, it's prob still damp? There have ways to check it; you should research them as I can't recall how.

I wanted to paint our garage floor, & after reading so many horror stories of the coatings peeling, chipping, etc., I decided it wasn't worth the gamble/ money/ effort/ time, etc. Doesn't look that bad as-is, & could certainly look worse.

The flooring we use on our schools requires that moisture is below a certain percent before we place. We use a test pack that basically contains salt and it is taped to the floor for 48 hours. It's then weighed and the amount of moisture is determined. The tests are not cheap so as a pre-test, we just tape a foot square piece of poly sheet to the floor with duct tape. Let it sit for 48 hours and if you see any moisture on the plastic, it's probably too high.

 

[jamtuc]

We just epoxied our hanger floor here at work. I have not read all the other posts yet but will throw in my 2 cents.
1.Make sure the concrete is dry enough. If you tape down a piece of clear plastic it should not gather moisture under it.
2. Use the higher priced 2 part epoxy paint. The single stage paint comes up when you drive on it.
3. Ensure if you put the sealer on that it is epoxy based sealer. Somehow the guy who picked up the sealer got a water based sealer (which is what Lowes gave him) oil goes right through the sealer stops at the epoxy and you end up with a stain you cant get out.

 

[Boeing]

EPOXY SEALER???
I looked at the beautiful epoxy paint photos, they are quite beautiful.
I recall from corporate jet hangars that shiny equals....slick. If you add the non-skid or sand you lose the shiny.
I checked on the prices of the epoxies, we're looking at at least $500 for my 960'. Sealers are much less expensive and I THINK, not slick.
The last post referred to EPOXY SEALER....which I can't understand....
Please help me out here.
BTW, this is for a 24X40 shop/garage tractor driving on it....maybe some water and mud drips.

 

[Soundguy]

I have the epoxy paint with a traction mod.. it's shiney and not slipery.

it's not a sand.. it's a granulated plastic as far as I know..

soundguy

 

[SPIKER]

Today was the 1st full day of drying for my water based concrete sealer (I used the Rustoleum Brand of stain and sealers.) I wanted more Blue in the floor but it is mostly a green over the Pewter base color. It turned out not really all that transparency as far as the stain goes but came out OK. We had some issues with the way we acid etched the floor. I used two 5 gallon buckets and we moped the floor with heavy cotton mops. where the buckets sat there are rings in the floor due to the acid splash over and the buckets holding the acid concentrated against them. it was/is a pewter semi-transparent base stain with a turquoise/patina over-spray. when mixed it looked pretty good but ended up turning green aver top the Pewter. I wanted more of a slate blueish color but I think I can get used to the grey/grass color. It has 2 coats of clear sealer on top with the anti-skid stuff in the walking paths inside the barn. it is still has a good shine but spraying the sealer there was no real good way to get the sealer only where I wanted it so I ended up putting it onto a paper plate and blowing over the plate while stepping backwards to get the most even pattern I could. I sprayed the sealer over the top of the anti-skid and except for a couple places where the anti-skid got too much in one spot it was good. the heavy spots of anti-skid appear white in the sealer but it is good & anti-skid...
I added photos and a couple moves to see pour & finish and the prep...
Mark http://s87.photobucket.com/albums/k130/WPSPIKER/BARN photos/

 

[Boeing]

That's one beautiful barm Striker.
Question, with NEW concrete do I need to "acid wash" prior to sealing?
I'm thinking a sealer with transparent color added.
Thanks, Rob:thumbsup: