Shop floor coating

[stealthy '69]

I used to work for a company in Omaha that installed Ucoat It epoxy coating. If you have new concrete, just noticed you do, that will make it easier to install. It looks great and in stands up to abuse very well. Plus there is a wide array of color combos. We even did a few floors with a vinyl inlay in the middle before the clear coat. It made for some very bad a$$ garages. IMHO its the best floor coating on the market. Plus there is a warranty. As far as prices the link below will help you with that.

http://www.ucoatit.com/pgs/main.htm

[mbgmike]

Their are many good coating products out there. You can even get epoxy mixed in with the concrete and that is better than any applied to the surface. Most people don't have that option unless its a new floor. You can be swayed by all the hype with this company is better than that one but really any good epoxy product for concrete will work. Epoxy paint that you put on your self will work. Heck just dump out a can of 2k epoxy primer and see how long it stays on the floor. The biggest think is to have a clean floor before hand. Use Muriatic acid to clean and rinse off and on a new floor it will last. I will take pics of mine. It was done in 1997 and its had all kinds of work done on it. Mine only cost $200.00 plus labor and it was just paint but its lasted. I would not just jump on a brand cause its had fantastic ratings by known people or companies. They get paid for that. I worked in the epoxy unit at Dow chemical in Freeport Tx and even though there are many epoxy recipes, if its for floors there is not that much difference between brands. You can go to an industrial supplier and you will get a brand you never heard of but will work just as good as the one with alot of hype. Try Carboline they sell good epoxy. its used in the plants.

Just remember Muriatic Acid is an Oxidizer so any tools you do have in the shop will rust quick.

[mbgmike]

Here is their website

http://www.carboline.com/product_brands.aspx

No hype just great products

[topdog]

I used rustoleum garage floor epoxy about 5 years ago. Its held up good for me.

[pritch]

I've been working with concrete for some 30 years. I've been a concrete contractor and for the last 15 years I have been a field superintendent for a large commercial general contractor that self-performs all it's own concrete work.

This is what I put on my own stuff:

http://www.ashfordformula.com/

All the various epoxy products work great and look fine-I'm not knocking them at all, but it's kinda like putting down oak hardwood flooring and then painting it blue. Or green or grey or any one of a rainbow of available colors. It don't make any sense to me. A properly finished concrete slab is a thing of beauty and the ashford (that's a brand name-there are others) lets that beauty come through. These are silicate-based surface hardeners and densifiers, and any spills just wipe up. I've spilled it all on my slab and so far Mt. Dew is the only thing that has left a mark (sorry Andy LOL)

There are new lithium-based products that work even better.
Just sayin'

[70c10]

My Epoxy-Shield floor, Before and After It's holding up great for over 5 years!

[mbgmike]

One thing I like about a coated floor is that its easier to find dropped screws and stuff like that. I do like the new concrete floors to however, they sure are smooth and look like glass.