SiWhite Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Mods - if this should be in Tools n Fab, feel free to move it! I want to seal the concrete floor in my workshop. It's fairly flat - a bit lumpy in places but that doesn't bother me too much. I'd like to get some really tough epoxy-type paint to stick on the floor, to make it more resistant to oils and spills, and just to make the floor look better. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good product? I'd prefer to have something I can apply myself..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Funny but I was walking through a Roll Royce facility yesterday and the hard but very smooth and shiny concrete floor caught my eye and made me think, wonder what that's done with. So, can't help but would also be interested in the answer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guilford Dave Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Mods - if this should be in Tools n Fab, feel free to move it!I want to seal the concrete floor in my workshop. It's fairly flat - a bit lumpy in places but that doesn't bother me too much. I'd like to get some really tough epoxy-type paint to stick on the floor, to make it more resistant to oils and spills, and just to make the floor look better. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good product? I'd prefer to have something I can apply myself..... Si, I used a heavy duty self levelling screed over the top of mine. Cant remember the name of it at the moment but I can find out for you. I frequently run the Landy in just on a set of rims and that dosnt even mark it. A coat of international garage floor paint to finish and you have a perfectly flat sealed and painted floor. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Yeah great thread - mine is really really dusty, and gets concrete dust all over everything. Any ideas how to resolve it would be great! Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 I carefully hoovered all the dust out (several bags full) and sealed mine with some fancy stuff, then painted over the top, and 2 years later all the "wear areas" are back to bare concrete again Somebody suggested to me that the best thing to do is to tip a tin of gloss paint onto the bare concrete and woosh it around a bit with a broom. I think that's my next step... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiWhite Posted September 7, 2007 Author Share Posted September 7, 2007 Dave - ref the screed - how deep did you pour it? Was it ready mixed or did it come on a truck? I was thinking I could make do with my lumpy floor but researching this topic prior to posting the topic, I saw some frankly awesome mirror-flat floors with high gloss finishes - I want one! Al - my old workshop was 'dusty' concrete - it was horrible, whenever I got under the truck I'd come out white over. I tried some concrete sealer and it made not a jot of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Funny but I was walking through a Roll Royce facility yesterday and the hard but very smooth and shiny concrete floor caught my eye and made me think, wonder what that's done with.So, can't help but would also be interested in the answer They get it flat with a huge sit on style "hovercraft" ( it floats on the paddles rather than an air skirt) type thing with rotary paddles, which smooth it as it sets. Just watched the builders doing this on a new building at work, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Somebody suggested to me that the best thing to do is to tip a tin of gloss paint onto the bare concrete and woosh it around a bit with a broom. I think that's my next step... Someone recommended that to me once as well- but i found that if the florr got eevn slihgtly wet then it became totally and uttely frictionless- much like an ice skating rink. then we went onto a product from a co called Watco- think it was this stuff http://www.watco.co.uk/asp/autopage.asp?Gr...p;stkGroup=EFSD expensive, but oh my word it is long lasting- we have very very high foot traffic in a couple of places- which wears the concrete steps out, but it still hasn't gone through the epoxy coating yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istruggle2gate11 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 They get it flat with a huge sit on style "hovercraft" ( it floats on the paddles rather than an air skirt) type thing with rotary paddles, which smooth it as it sets. Just watched the builders doing this on a new building at work, Also, you can hire out, quite cheaply, grinders to bring it to a smooth surface finish. Cautionary advice on gloss floors, a fluid spilliage can easily turn the floor into a slippery ice rink. Makes looking for dropped bits dead easy though. This is my latest "smooth" floor..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 don't use the cheap screwfix garage floor paint though as it doesn't last!. Might have to look into some epoxy based stuff as I do like a smooth floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Someone recommended that to me once as well- but i found that if the florr got eevn slihgtly wet then it became totally and uttely frictionless- much like an ice skating rink. then we went onto a product from a co called Watco- think it was this stuff http://www.watco.co.uk/asp/autopage.asp?Gr...p;stkGroup=EFSD expensive, but oh my word it is long lasting- we have very very high foot traffic in a couple of places- which wears the concrete steps out, but it still hasn't gone through the epoxy coating yet! YIKES - £98 quid for 5 litres Yeah thats a tad spendy Don't suppose yer have any "half empty tins" going FOC do yer ? - Nah Ok I to need a better something that the B&Q Floor Paint that does look good and works - but not for too long Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Also, you can hire out, quite cheaply, grinders to bring it to a smooth surface finish.Cautionary advice on gloss floors, a fluid spilliage can easily turn the floor into a slippery ice rink. Makes looking for dropped bits dead easy though. This is my latest "smooth" floor..... Yep, just like that, very sweet. Could be a bowling lane. Grinders and hovercraft are probably further than I'm likely to go with my garage though The big dulux gloss spill sounds more in keeping with my style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Humphreys Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 To seal the floor just usewatered down wood glue, thats what we use to use before painting. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeagent Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 yep, what he said.. hoover it then paint with PVA glue mixed 50/50 with water.. you can then paint over the top, you want to use an epoxy with a high foot traffic rating, you can get it which is ok to drive fork lifts on aswell.. why not look on ebay... you never know. if you want to make it less slippy, mix a little sharp sand with it, but make sure you stir it regularly while you are using it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 To seal the floor just usewatered down wood glue, thats what we use to use before painting.Paul This is what we used when I used to work in the explosives industry - PVA. Although it was supplied as floor sealant rather than wood glue it is the same stuff. When applied it is white and water soluble, but overnight it dries to a clear sealed surface that can be mopped down. Not particularly hard wearing (we used to re-apply every Friday afternoon IIRC) but cheap... TwoSheds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nas90 Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Mods - if this should be in Tools n Fab, feel free to move it!I want to seal the concrete floor in my workshop. It's fairly flat - a bit lumpy in places but that doesn't bother me too much. I'd like to get some really tough epoxy-type paint to stick on the floor, to make it more resistant to oils and spills, and just to make the floor look better. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good product? I'd prefer to have something I can apply myself..... When we moved to our current factory the floor was a mess! Knarled old concrete and loads of dust. We had a self levelling cement based screed laid down, but first the contractors used a rotary machine with carbide barbs to clean and roughen the surface. Then a layer of adhesive was painted on the floor and small sized grit put on the adhesive to form a bond for the final layer. The final layer is about 5mm thick, all the outside edges including doors were sealed and a man with a mixer outside fed a tube with a layer inside and they pumped tons of the stuff over the floor. It took overnigt to self level and set and another 24 hours and we ran fork lifts over the surface. It is fantastically wear resistant and no dust and perfectly flat and smooth and cost £30 per square metre for about 500 square metres. We decided not to paint the floor and if we had painted it had to be done within 12 hours of setting, mainly because it is naturally a light grey colour, which looked good for a factory and paint will always wear off. You could use an epoxy based resin, tends to be a lot thinner but you will need to clean and abrade the floor to get a good bond. To clean the floor you could use one of these http://www.hss.com/index.php?s=scabbler The same is also true of a painted finish, unless the concrete is free from oils greases etc and has a good bond it will flake-off. Now what you might consider is one of these http://www.hss.com/index.php?g=6521#PricingTitle it is a smaller unit than we have used in the past but for a home garage is just about ideal. Basically you have a diamond pad slowly rotating and polishing the concrete. There are various grades to remove heavy cuts and getting finer and smoother, 2 or 3 grades are all that is needed. Our old sister company Nimbus Diamond tools sell these and the diamond pads http://concretepolishingtools.com/index.ph...p;products_id=3 and they tested the machines on a factory floor, they are big and 3 phase but the HSS above is a diy solution at a reasonable cost. Now not only is the floor flat and smooth it is highly polished, BUT incredibly is NOT slippery, does not require sealing and does not produce concrete dust. Looks fantastic with all the polished stones showing through the cement, a weekend should see the average garage fixed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2hotdog Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 I used epoxy floor paint in my garage - we had some left over at work I painted it directy onto freshly cast slab - no concrete dust now and easily cleaned As noted above seal an old floor 1st and then paint over Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 you could latex it then vinal it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exmoor Beast Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 vinyl or rubber is a good option, much nicer to kneel on and kinder on the elbows when doing those awkward underneath jobs. If you want to paint it then the Watco stuff is very good we have used it a lot in the past. Will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guilford Dave Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 Dave - ref the screed - how deep did you pour it? Was it ready mixed or did it come on a truck? I was thinking I could make do with my lumpy floor but researching this topic prior to posting the topic, I saw some frankly awesome mirror-flat floors with high gloss finishes - I want one! Si, It came in 25 kg bags, mixed it in a cut down 25 litre drum, poured it on and floated it out to about 1/2 thick or less as it self levels you dont have to be a plasterer to get a shiney smooth finish. I try and post a couple of photos later Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedley Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 They get it flat with a huge sit on style "hovercraft" ( it floats on the paddles rather than an air skirt) type thing with rotary paddles, which smooth it as it sets. Just watched the builders doing this on a new building at work, Said "hovercraft" is a powerfloat, and is like a big floor polisher (they do come in different sizes). It is quite difficult to master, so i would recomend finding someone who has used one before. We have just hired one to do the finished floor on our house build. Cost 50Euro (£30) for 24hours When done right, it gives the concrete that polished, shiny look, and even when wet, it isn't slippery. If u want me to go into detail on how to use one, then just ask... I keep threatening to rebuild my 109 on the house before dad builds the walls up, cuz the engine crane glides across it beautifully.... Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonb Posted September 12, 2007 Share Posted September 12, 2007 Said "hovercraft" is a powerfloat, and is like a big floor polisher (they do come in different sizes). It is quite difficult to master, so i would recomend finding someone who has used one before.We have just hired one to do the finished floor on our house build. Cost 50Euro (£30) for 24hours When done right, it gives the concrete that polished, shiny look, and even when wet, it isn't slippery. If u want me to go into detail on how to use one, then just ask... I keep threatening to rebuild my 109 on the house before dad builds the walls up, cuz the engine crane glides across it beautifully.... Hope this helps yep that was it, although the one at work was twice the size at least - it was a sit on job, looked well weird with them whizzing about on it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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