I'm going to rent the polishing machine to refinish my garage cement floor. I know I need to use an angle grinder to get into the corners, but was wondering if any of you guys have done this before, and can offer a few pointers. I also have a Shop Vac for dust removal. After the refinishing I plan on sealing the floor with a polyurethane sealer. Can you guys recommend a specific sealing product, maybe even one with color, that will assure good results? Seems to me the easier and cheapest way to accomplish a refinish. I have no interest in the epoxies as Ive seen several of those fail over time. Cant afford Racedeck or anything like that. This will be a springtime project, so Im still a few weeks out, Im in the info gathering stage now. The garage floor is 24x24, and the machine rental is 125.00 for the day, so cost is falling in line nicely. Thanks to all.

quote:

Originally posted by apf383:
I'm going to rent the polishing machine to refinish my garage cement floor. I know I need to use an angle grinder to get into the corners, but was wondering if any of you guys have done this before, and can offer a few pointers. I also have a Shop Vac for dust removal. After the refinishing I plan on sealing the floor with a polyurethane sealer. Can you guys recommend a specific sealing product, maybe even one with color, that will assure good results? Seems to me the easier and cheapest way to accomplish a refinish. I have no interest in the epoxies as Ive seen several of those fail over time. Cant afford Racedeck or anything like that. This will be a springtime project, so Im still a few weeks out, Im in the info gathering stage now. The garage floor is 24x24, and the machine rental is 125.00 for the day, so cost is falling in line nicely. Thanks to all.

If you don't care for an epoxy, I can't see you really liking a polyurethane since the majority of polyurethanes are single component and would be less durable than an epoxy. You don't say why you are renting a concrete polisher. Is there that much defect in the floor?

I would probably go with a concrete stain like H&C (the solvent based if you are parking cars on it). If the concrete is previous sealed and sealed well, the surface will probably need to be shot peened to make a stain last.

Why do you have to coat the floor with anything? I never really understood the purpose of coating a garage floor.

The slab was originally poured during the winter a few years back. The builder had his contractor paint the floor shortly after that, just before we moved in. Either they never waited for the cement to cure, or the paint never cured because of the cold, but the floor looks like crap. You could just rub your shoe over the surface, and the paint comes right up in a grey powder. Structurally the concrete is sound, no cracks, and just a few spots of oil stain. I am planning on getting a polished and sealed look like you fine in a Costco, something industreal, along those lines requiring no or minimal maintenance.

Use a HEPA vac and a good respirator when grinding.

quote:

Originally posted by 1967Goat:
Why do you have to coat the floor with anything? I never really understood the purpose of coating a garage floor.

Stain resistance primarily.

quote:

Originally posted by apf383:
The slab was originally poured during the winter a few years back. The builder had his contractor paint the floor shortly after that, just before we moved in. Either they never waited for the cement to cure, or the paint never cured because of the cold, but the floor looks like crap. You could just rub your shoe over the surface, and the paint comes right up in a grey powder. Structurally the concrete is sound, no cracks, and just a few spots of oil stain. I am planning on getting a polished and sealed look like you fine in a Costco, something industreal, along those lines requiring minimal retouching.

Oh you're looking for polished concrete then. That's not necessarily cheap either. You've got the cost to remove whatever you've got on there now plus the polishing. If you do the removal of the previous that obviously brings down the cost.

you'll need to get all the old covering off, sanding down the top layer to remove old paint, epoxy and any oil stains/fluid stains.

For any covering to stick you'll need to acid etch the floor first before applying any coating.

So even if Im renting a machine the will remove about 1/8" layer of concrete, additional surface polishing is required after that? Even when taking all this material down, it still needs to be chemically etched before a sealer is applied? The floor is in excellent shape. I just thought I can hit it with the machine, then apply a sealer. Thanks.

Its possible.

You need to read the instructions on the material for which you have selected to coat the floor, they all have specifications, and temperature of application is a key spec.

I'm not sure that you will need to do much more than sand but you need to check with the manufacturer, every one I've looked at and almost every thread I've read says chemical etching (acid etching) is required prior to application.

There are a few videos on YouTube regarding how to put down epoxy floors....probably worth watching.

My Cousin did his floor but didn't use enough of the "grit" they suggest you sprinkle as it's curing. That winter he fell and broke an ankle in the garage. The floor is TOO smooth.

Thanks guys. It shouldnt be too tough. Can you guys recommend any particular sealant? Ive heard it has the potential get slippery. Thanks FN.

Stay away from anything at Home Depot, Lowe's etc. They will not hold up.

I have been looking closely at these polyurea / polyaspartic coatings.

http://allgaragefloors.com/pol...-floor-coating-kits/

Installed professionally (a 2 part product), they run about $4.00 per sq ft. A little bit cheaper than professional epoxy which is about $5.00 per sq ft here. Quite a few advantages over epoxy including UV resistance and a much longer warranty than epoxy (if professionally done).

It seems they now have a single part system for DIY (2 part systems the pros use cure too fast for DIY). Several vendors mentioned in this article - Garage Flooring LLC, ArmorPoxy and Legacy Industrial. cost of the product seems to be under $1.00 per sq ft.

Has anyone used these?

Find the product you want and follow the directions to the absolute letter

Garage/concrete coatings WILL fail. When? Who knows. Depends on how much attention to the surface prep (the single most important factor) how it’s used etc. many many variables

First off where in NY are you. If you are close enough I’ll come out and give you a hand as I do this on a large commercial scale for a living.
Next. If you plan on using a urethane coating on slab on grade construction it will fail. The moisture will come through the concrete and cause the urethane to fail. Epoxy is the only option on a slab on grade application at least for your first coat.
Do not grind the floor smooth if you plan on using a coating. The new coating needs a profile to “grab”. You are better off renting a shot blaster or acid etching the floor.
The hard part here is the prep work.
If you’re close enough I ask have some material left over I can get you. It’s tinted light grey.
Email is in my profile for any questions.

Ranger, those kits look like they would be the ticket. Ive got some more investigation to do on them. I read the article, and visited the website of one of Legacy Industrial, one of the vendors mentioned in the article. I'm going to get some material samples from them. Thanks

snwghst, as anything else, its all in the prep, thanks.

ffemt44, em sent. We've spoken before, thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by FN in MT:
There are a few videos on YouTube regarding how to put down epoxy floors....probably worth watching.

My Cousin did his floor but didn't use enough of the "grit" they suggest you sprinkle as it's curing. That winter he fell and broke an ankle in the garage. The floor is TOO smooth.

***THIS***

Soo much this! I learned that lesson from a friend of mine. I used a 2 part epoxy to seal my floor. If it calls for 1 bag, USE 3! I'm pretty sure you can get the bags in the paint section in Home Depot.

When it gets cold outside, that stuff gets like an Ice Rink! I tripled up on the bags of grit (silica sand?) and it helps a lot! I mixed it in with the epoxy, a pain in the ass to stir, but well worth it in the winter!

I tossed those decorative sprinkles on top. It makes a difference, it breaks up a solid color floor.

My concrete slab was new, and didn't need to be polished, I still needed to clean and etch it. Clean up after is the key: make sure ALL the soap/cleaner/acid is washed off. Pressure washer helps. I used a cheap paint brush on the corners and the seams, rolled the rest of it out. Tossed 2 fans in there on a warm summer weekend...
IIRC, you still can't put a car on it for about 7-10 days.

Benjamin Moore makes a silicone cement sealer that has served me well. I do not go with a color because wear spots where the wheels run all of the time, will appear much more quickly than with a clear version of the same thing.

Personally, I believe there are many reasons to seal a cement floor. You eliminate the dust that always seems to haunt you. Also, the sealer will prevent stains when you spill oil or anything else. Also, water can be more easily removed and you don't get wet concrete that takes forever to dry.