AN EPOXY RESIN FLOOR COATING OFFERS THE IDEAL PROTECTION FOR FLOORS.
Due to their great properties, epoxy resin floors are suitable for workshop floors, balconies, garage floors, warehouses, basement floors, production and industrial halls as well as clean rooms.
Epoxy resin floors are stable, abrasion-resistant, dust- and wear-free, seamless, easy to clean, waterproof and oil-resistant.
Step-by-step instructions - roller coating
In In many garages or workshops you can see the bare concrete, some of which is already cracked or just plain ugly. Although it is a usable space and therefore it is not a catastrophe, it would certainly be visually nicer and look tidier if a nice floor coating was laid over the garage floor. Furthermore, one of the largeThe disadvantages of the concrete floor are that it becomes stained over time and is also not easy to clean. There are many reasons that speak against the concrete floor and the most common are the visual and cleaning problems. If you have decided that you want to seal your garage floor with epoxy resin - we recommend reading our step-by-step instructions. Here you will find useful tips that will support you in your work and make your work easier. These are the materials you will need for the work:
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primer
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Epoxy resin
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Cleaning agent (acetone), sealing roller, bucket, vacuum cleaner if necessary
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High-pressure cleaner or water hose with brush.
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nail shoes
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Agitator
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Paint brush
Step #1 - Check the condition of the garage floor
Before the garage floor receives a coating, the concrete floor must be completely cleared. You have to make sure that the floor is completely solid and intact. Damage and hollow spots must be identified and repairedbe leveled, for example with filler or self-leveling repair compound. The strength of the screed or concrete slab can be checked with a hammer or a scratch test. If parts come loose during this check, the floor should first be solidified before coating is carried out. After repairing, the entire surface is sanded.
Step #2 – Clean Garage Floor
Should the floor be dirty spotn, e.g. have oil stains, dirt or paint residue, we strongly recommend removing these by cleaning the garage floor with a special cleaning agent for concrete floors. The floor must be clean and must not show any major damage. This is very important so that the floor coating can adhere. Now some spatula work is required because you have to take a spatula in your hand and scrape off the stubborn and dried dirt from the floor. After this work, take a vacuum cleaner and remove all particles and dust residues from the floor. Take an oil stain remover and use it to remove the remaining oil stains. You can then use a high-pressure cleaner or a water hose from the garden to hose off the remaining dirt from the floor.
If the floor is still dirty, you can use special concrete cleaners. Allow the cleaning agents to take effect for some time and then try to scrub the concrete floor thoroughly with a scrubber. Pulling it off with a rubber lip will help you remove the protective residue left behind, including water, from the garage. Now rinse everything off with fresh water and your garage should now be ready for coating.
Step #3 - The soil must dry out
Before you coat the garage floor, it must be absolutely dry and not even damp. The surface must then dry thoroughly. It is recommended to check the humidity. This is possible, for example, by covering a certain area with foil: If moisture has formed under the foil after 24 hours, the floor has not yet dried sufficiently. New concrete slabs or screeds must dry out for at least 5 weeks before the coating can be applied.
Step No. 4 – Prime the garage floor
You can only coat the floor after priming the highly absorbent surface, as the floor must be waterproof before coating. The liquid must be thoroughly mixed. The primer must be applied evenly with a paint roller, just as if you were painting the garage floor. The coating material must be spread over the entire floor.
Also, make sure that the individual strips do not overlap.
For floors with an area of 20 square meters or less, we recommend applying two thin coats of primer (2 × 3 kg).
Mix in 1.5% pigment paste.
The primer coat usually needs to dry for at least 2 hours.
Caution is advised in high humidity and high temperatures. Condensation can cause stains. The ideal application temperature is between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. The primer must be cured or almost completely dry, but may still be slightly tacky to prevent the primer and the roller coating from mixing.
Step No. 5 – Apply floor coating with pigment paste and, if necessary, colored flakes.
Take a mixer and start mixing the floor coating.
Mix in 3% pigment paste to achieve a colored result. Start applying in one corner and work your way forward. Once you've poured some of the material onto the floor, you need to work quickly and spread the liquid with a roller. You must spread the liquid across the garage floor in sections.
Ensure the strips do not cross. The self-leveling coatings are particularly easy to apply. They spread themselves across the surface and even out any unevenness. Work quickly and apply the entire coating to the garage floor without interruption.
Optional: Immediately after coating, spread the colored flakes as evenly as possible over the floor. This creates the so-called pigmentation.
The best way is to divide the flakes into 4 portions, coat 1/4 of the base each time and sprinkle the flakes over it, continuing to work steadily until the entire base is finished.
Afterwards, it is important that you adhere to the prescribed drying time so that the coating can dry sufficiently.
Optional
When using colored flakes
Step No. 6 – Apply the second layer of floor coating, see Step No. 5.
We recommend applying a second coat of roller coating after applying the color chips to the epoxy resin. The reason for this sealing is to prevent sharp edges. When the color chips are scattered, they can stand up and form sharp edges. The sealant smooths these edges, resulting in a smoother surface.
Step No. 7 – Allow the coating to harden.
The optimal room temperature for drying is 20°C. The relative humidity must be at least 65 percent. We recommend waiting 7 days before putting any weight on the freshly coated floor.
Accessible after approximately 24 hours.
Chemically cured after approximately 7 days at 20 °C.
Try to be patient during this important process and don't ruin your work by driving your car into the garage too soon. Your patience will ultimately pay off, as your garage and the underlying surface will now be protected from road salt, motor oil, and road grime.
Please note that high temperatures result in faster curing time.
For this reason, work should be carried out in cool temperatures.
In midsummer, caution should be exercised when working in ground-level rooms. The air is warm and humid. Because the warm and moist air hits a floor that is approximately 15 degrees Celsius cooler, condensation forms, which can lead to unsightly stains. The ideal temperature for such work is between 16 and 23 degrees Celsius.
IMPORTANT:
Please only mix as much epoxy resin as you want to use. As soon as the epoxy resin (resin + hardener) is bonded together, you must work quickly, otherwise the epoxy resin will harden. If the speed is too high, excessive heat can be generated, which in turn can lead to the materials hardening more quickly.