Just like any other floor coating, creating a good garage floor coating mostly depends on the initial surface prep carried out. This means that your floor will not work as required if you fail to perform the correct surface prep. This may sound elementary but it is important for you to take these factors into deep consideration in order to come up with long lasting flooring. A good contractor who has the relevant knowledge and skills in this field should follow the procedure below in order to come up with optimal results.
Determine the floor type
Before embarking on any flooring procedure, a contractor should carefully observe the floor type. This is because the floors can be either hard or soft or even vary in terms of texture. Understanding these details about the floor is a major step towards implementing the steps that follow in your quest for a polished garage flooring.
Choose a grinding method
There are two popular methods namely shot blasting and diamond grinding used when it comes to grinding methodologies. Although it is the cheapest option, shot blasting is aggressive and can eventually develop stress fractures on the floor. It is therefore considered as more of a resurfacing method than for applying a thin surface. Diamond grinding on the other hand is the most appropriate prep method albeit it consumes more time; it’s expensive and requires a lot of expertise. It produces a long lasting, fine and uniform finish hence it is preferred for use in XPS garage concrete floors, Urethane and epoxy garage floor coating.
Hand grinding the edges
Without hand grinding the edges of any given floor during surface prep, the coating will definitely fail to bind with the edges. This implies that the end result will be somehow shoddy with spaces and cracks on the edges.
Perform thorough cleaning
After the grinding procedure has been achieved successfully, the floor should be meticulously cleaned then vacuumed. Close attention should be paid to the edges since any remaining residues will interfere with complete bonding.
Apply the first coating
After cleaning the floor, it is now ready for application of the first coating layer. Epoxy is the best kind of primer for this task since it specifically formulated for bonding and penetrating concrete surfaces. Since this is the first coating layer, it should be approximately 3-5 mls in thickness. In other situations, a contractor may opt to vary the thickness depending on the floor type.
Apply the second layer
Application of a second layer is one of the surface prep services that must be done with utmost care. In most instances the coating depth should vary between 8-10 mls in thickness.
Sanding and thorough cleaning
A chemical and mechanical bond is ideal for optimal bonding. Although many contractors tend to skip this process, it plays an important role in the general durability of your garage floor. Thorough cleaning after the sanding process is integral to determining the flaws that may have arisen on the floor.
Application of a top coating
To ensure that there exists complete bonding between urethane and epoxy, a thin urethane top coat should be applied evenly across the surface.
If all these steps are performed by the best contractors who have an excellent combination of both skill and knowledge, you will definitely end up with a long lasting and effective floor.
About the Author:
Mark Bruddy is a flooring solution expert working with US leading Colored Concrete floor contractors. Provides range of Concrete Polishing Tools and XPS Concrete Floors for almost any application.
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