Any recommendations for hangar floor epoxy?

Make sure its 100% Solids (Megaseal), you can spill any chemical and will not harm the floor. I havent tried stripper but Lacquar Thinner, Paint Thinner wont touch it.
 
I've had good luck with the Rustoleum garage floor kit. Two things though:
  1. That stuff is SLIPPERY when wet! And yes, that includes snow on your feet. Mix in some grit!
  2. When painting, only do about 3' before adding color sprinkles, or you'll have a gap where you can't reach.
The kit has everything you need: cleaner, two part epoxy, stir sticks, room in the cans to stir. You only need a throw-away mop, the acid in the cleaner will eat it up pretty bad. Then rinse the floor with water, close the door part way and turn on fans. Let it get good and dry, I gave my garage two nights and a day.

Rustoleum comes in a 2-1/2 car garage kit; you may need two kits for a T hangar, more for a box hangar. Just check the label for square footage. Measure your hangar before going to the store. :D
 
A lifetime ago the Deere dealer I worked for did the floor of the shop bay next to the ones I "owned" when they turned it into a teardown bay for parting out heavy equipment. I cannot recall the name of the product used, but it was professionally applied. Water activated light grey polyurethane, and they added a broadcast sand grit to it on top for traction. Spread it all out, let it self level a bit, walked around on boards strapped to their feet with nails in them spreading the sand. Final step was stand back and spray water over the whole floor with a hose nozzle. You could beat on it with a slag hammer the next day just bounced. I'm sure it had it's limits, but toughest stuff I've ever seen before or since.
 
Dave Theisen said:
Paging @ChemGuy
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave.

I used to develop these types of coatings and then installed them as a side business for several years. What the guys above said is all good info. Stay away from the HD/Lowes sold stuff. Even the 2 part coatings they sell dont last. The material isnt that horrible, but they want you put it on way to thin. When I did garages and commercial floors, we usually did ~15 mils of color coat and another 5-7 mils of topcoat. The 2K rustoleum kit would be about 5-7 mils, and no top coat.

I would recommend a good quality epoxy for your base coat and top coat with a Aliphatic urethane or polyaspartic clear, if you want high gloss and the gloss to last. Your target thickness for the base coat should be 10-15 mils DFT.

You will need to rent a concrete grinder, like the Edco above. Some of the bigger HD have them, or other rental places. Dont forget the grinder heads. Some places rent those separate. When Ive had to rent machines they were about 75-150/day and the heads were extra. If its just a sealer, expect to get 150-300 sq ft/hr from a single head grinder. If you can rent a double head it will go quicker. Use a 4-5 gal shop vac for dust control. Just be prepared to stop every hour or so and tap the dust out of it, and probably trash it when your done. Grind until you see the surface porosity of the concrete. It will probably go from a darker grey to a much lighter gray. Once you grind an area, broom it off and dribble a few drops of water there. If the water instantly soaks into the concrete your good. If it puddles or sits on the surface, you'll need to grind more.
Once the grinding is done, broom up all the dust (could be 20-30Lbs or more....) then go over the surface with the shop vac. Get as much dust up as possible. Also if you want a really good job at some point you need to grind the edges. The edco grinder will leave a strip around the edge about 2-3" wide. I used HF angle grinders with cheap diamond blades for a long time. Get on your knees and just scuff that all up. Doesnt have to be perfect. Keep the grinder flat to prevent gouging. If you have any cracks or seems to fill now is the time. Use a good 2K joint filler. Get some backer rod or sand if needed so you dont have to use so much joint fill.

You can get wide rollers at HD/lowes and those make the job much nicer, use 24" wide. Tap off any areas, poles, doors etc. MIx eopxy based on instructions. BE aware some formulas require you mix and leave it in a mass for 10-20-30 min to start the reaction. Mix a smaller amount first and using a brush cut in about 2-3-4" around the back of the hanger. Mix some more and then pour a line a few inches away from the area you cut in. Usually something 2-3-4" wide is good. If the epoxy is thin and spreads really well you can pour more of it out. If not pour less. The idea is to then spread that out to the desired thickness. Cross roll, so first roll N-S then walk thru if you have spike shoes or leave a spot thats clear so you can roll E-W. Then just repeat these steps until the floor is coated. Spike shoes make it easier to cross roll and fix an heavy or light spots. While you are rolling the color coat is the time to broadcast any chips or sand grit.

Once the color has cured, usually overnight for epoxy, do the same for any clear. Some people use shark grip or other stuff in the clear for grip.

Its not really that hard, but using a good material at 10-15 mils and doing a good job on the grind is key. As a ball park, i was based around atlanta and did jobs over the SE. A garage with chips and clear was about $4/sq ft. Plain color was 3-3.50/sq ft. That was material and install. Material should cast you about $1-1.50/sq ft. You can get some good epoxy at Sherwin williams and PPG porter stores. A couple near me carried 2K epoxy and could order other formulas if needed.

You cna see videos on you tube of people doing installs. Let me know if you have any specific questions.
 
ChemGuy said:
Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Click to expand...

Dude!! I have a bunch!!

Here's the first couple. I might take it to PMs to get into nitty gritty stuff if you don't mind.

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, my time frame is probably about 18 months out. During that time I'm thinking about doing some prep stuff. We're talking crack filling and oil cleaning. There's a product out there that has critters in it. This is one example. You brush it into the concrete over the stain and let it sit. Deeper/older stains will take a while. Time is not a factor just now. In your opinion do you think this is viable? (Both the early crack filling and cleaning.)

Next...

While perusing articles on All Garage Floors I tripped across some info about Single Part Polyurea. I'm curious what your thoughts are about it.
 
You may need to look into breathable epoxies, too. Vapor pressure and vapor transfer can pop the coatings off of just about any surface. That’s one reason coatings fail.
 
Our neighbors just did the garage/mancave/kids hangout/laundry and utility room with linoleum... it is an industrial grade stuff same that is used in hospitals and schools, the best part is comes in squares... should he need to pop one up a replace it not a problem... it actually looks pretty good...
 
Anymouse said:
Dude!! I have a bunch!!

Here's the first couple. I might take it to PMs to get into nitty gritty stuff if you don't mind.

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, my time frame is probably about 18 months out. During that time I'm thinking about doing some prep stuff. We're talking crack filling and oil cleaning. There's a product out there that has critters in it. This is one example. You brush it into the concrete over the stain and let it sit. Deeper/older stains will take a while. Time is not a factor just now. In your opinion do you think this is viable? (Both the early crack filling and cleaning.)

Next...

While perusing articles on All Garage Floors I tripped across some info about Single Part Polyurea. I'm curious what your thoughts are about it.
Click to expand...
I have never used that oil remover, but the reviews seem good. And yes getting the oil stains off is key to good adhesion. I have used industrial degreaser, water and the grinder to remove stains. If you have time that should work.

Now as to the single component products. In theory they will work fine. The issue with them, like the box store stuff, is thickness. Most of those moisture cure materials will only be 3-5 mils. The issue is what if your floor as average surface profile of 1-2 mils...then in some areas you have 1-2 mils of coating and in others 5-7mils. If i was doing a 1K system i would do at least 3 coats. Whether its 2 color coats and a clear top coat or 3 color coats and no top coat. That way you get more like 10-15 mils of total coating thickness.

Some basic numbers to keep in mind on this stuff....1 gallon spread out 1 mil thick is (theoretically) 1604 sq ft. That is for 100% solids. If the material is 50% solvent by volume, then that 1 gallon over 1600 sq ft would yield .5mils of Dry Film Thickness. If we want ~10mils DFT and have 50% solids we will only get about 80 sq ft per gallon....and thats theory. Realistically you'll get about 60sq ft due to whats in roller, surface profile, absorption, etc.

SO if you use a high solids system 70-80-90-100% you get better yield. Just look at the product, figure your DFT sq ft per gallon at 10mils and go from there.

And yes you can fix cracks now. For small surface cracks, use an angle grinder and a thin masonry cutting blade to chase the cracks out some, ie. open them up. Then use a good 2K crack fill to fix them. You can use a rigid or flexible material for this. If you have control joints you want gone, its best to fill those with a flexible 2K joint fill.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
 
I have one. A professional installer I am talking to has said he plans to bead blast as opposed to grind. Thoughts?
 
ebetancourt said:
I have one. A professional installer I am talking to has said he plans to bead blast as opposed to grind. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I think he and you meant shot blast. They use a centrifugal wheel to throw small ball bearings at the floor to break up the surface....Ive never seen anyone use that for a plain epoxy floor. Usually you do that to remove more surface and create a rougher profile for a thick overlay material. But if he can blast it and just take off the top surface sure its fine. If he means a true bead/sand blast, again ive never seen that done to concrete floor. If it removes the top surface laitance so your bonding to good solid concrete, thats all you need.
 
Question. If I have fresh concrete like in a new house, how does that change the surface prep? Do I still need to etch and/or grind?
 
ChemGuy said:
I think he and you meant shot blast. They use a centrifugal wheel to throw small ball bearings at the floor to break up the surface....Ive never seen anyone use that for a plain epoxy floor. Usually you do that to remove more surface and create a rougher profile for a thick overlay material. But if he can blast it and just take off the top surface sure its fine. If he means a true bead/sand blast, again ive never seen that done to concrete floor. If it removes the top surface laitance so your bonding to good solid concrete, thats all you need.
Click to expand...
Thanks. Yes, you are right. He did say shot. The floor has one of those HD epoxy floors. The acid etch didn’t work, and the floor is flaking off.
 
I will give a warning. If your hangar is unheated in cold climates with a high gloss epoxy floor, you are going to bust your ass when the humidity is high and the floor temperature is less than the dew point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top