epoxy-coat in North ATL

[jerethemiah]

About a week ago I etched my garage floor using a sprinkling can, then it rained so it took longer to dry. Once it dried there were a few areas where the top was still pretty slick. And you could see a zig-zag trail where I had poured the acid from the sprinkling can, so I decided to get a pump weed control sprayer. That applied it more evenly and after scrubbing I had a nice rough profile for the epoxy. A few days later when the floor was dry and a friend and I had free time we started.

A few tips I learned:
- It's a 2+ person job - atleast it makes it a ton easier, it helps to have a person watching the timer as you mix the epoxy, or to hold roller/squeegee/flakes while you're doing other steps, and to sweep the next section of overcast flakes while you're mixing the epoxy.

- Get two rollers. We poured, squeegee'd, and rolled the 1st quarter section and laid the roller against the wall while we mixed up the next batch. By the time we got back to the roller it had adhered to the wall. Peeling it off the wall left a huge chunk of drywall on the roller. It was impossible to clean off and the roller was really hot to the touch. Luckily my neighbor had a spare roller.

- Wear gloves! This stuff obviously is super sticky. I had gotten some on my hands and the only way to get it off was to use soap and a scrub brush - minus 1st layer of skin.

- Don't worry too much about how even the coat is when using the squeegee. The roller really evens it out and the squeegee is just to spread it all out.

- Get spiked shoes! Even if you have to make your own (I did). Just 2 1x6's with screws down through and duct taped to my old shoes. Worked perfectly. You can walk all around when you roll/squeegee/flake. And it was really useful when a bug would fly in and land in the middle of the epoxy, I would walk out there and delicately pull him out. And it's easier to gauge your flake even-ness (if that's a word).

- Toss small amounts of the flakes off the ceiling. On of my friends had done his garage a few months prior and was amazed at how much more even the flakes were when you made them bounce off the ceiling.

I love the looks of it so far and can't wait to see it in daylight. Thanks epoxy-coat for a great product and great directions - the dvd helped so much, seeing how to do each step. My friends had rustoleum kits and said their instructions were really incomplete compared to this and the kit itself - the bucket, squeegee, roller, drill mixer included - that's quality.

[wes_c]

the garage looks great - as do your spike shoes. how does it look compared to your friends rustoleum kit?

[jerethemiah]

my friends kit is dull non-gloss like this high gloss kit. no need for a clear coat top.

[Edger]

Great job, good pics and story.