The concrete floor was just poured in my 1920 sq. ft. garage and I want to seal the floor before I begin using it. I don't think I want epoxy due to hot tire pick-up issues everyone seems to experience sooner or later. I found something called ChemTec One (http://www.concretesealer.net/), which is a penetrating sealer, but it's water-based which concerns me a bit. I want the industrial low-maintenance type of finish. A little shine would be nice but it doesn't have to look like glass. I'd rather it be less shiny and last forever.

Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated. Especially if you have pics and can tell me how old the finish is.

Thanks,
Ryan

When I read the title I was going to suggest epoxy with the rubber chunks that are spread around but if you are concerned with the hot tire pick up I am not sure. I personally would want a dull finish on my floors, I hate light glare when I am under the car. So basically I am no help, lol.

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You need to let that concrete cure for at least 30 days before you seal it up, that’s why I never did mine, I could not wait that long.

Don't know which type has that hot tire issue but I can tell you this one does not. I put this one about three years ago and was a little skeptical. But it has performed incredibly well. The thing is I beat the hell out of it with over four cradle drops already with a big cherry picker running around, dragging lift towers and cinder blocks and fuel, oil, and everything that can come out of a car falling on it. It has held fine with no lifting, scratches nor chemical reaction. This thing is tough. I think the key item is good prep and follow install instruction. If this thing can hold I bet other more expensive (like U-Coat) will hold fine too.

stain it!
There are a lot of colors/ shades avail. don't count it out. It looks super!!

Polish it. Low maintance and last forever with little up keep. You'll pay alittle more up front but it can really look beautiful.

Vince

I agree with having the floor polished. I believe that is what they do in the warehouse at Home Depot.

I had problems with concrete stain at my last house. When my soft compound tires got hot, they would literally peel the solid stain off.
A semi transparent stain would absorb into the concrete a little better than solid stain and give you better performance.
Single componant epoxy is nothing more than a 100 percent acrylic paint.

Don't shy away from true epoxies. What you need is a 2 component epoxy such as Devoe Coatings from Glidden Paints. One can is the tintable coloured epoxy and the second is the hardener. Once mixed you have about 2 hours to apply before it goes hard. Keep in mind that epoxies tend to "yellow" in time. Not sure if this is attributed to lack of sunlight or not.

And as a general rule, it takes 6 months for a concrete floor to fully cure allow for the salts to escape (which can cause blistering and peeling).

Also, keep in mind that prep work is everything. You are okay with fresh concrete, but on older, oil soaked floors, I would recommend a Muriatic acid wash with a thourough rinse.

0-60 5.8 sec 1/4 mile 14.7 <-- 2.8L, 4 speed, underdrive pulley.

[This message has been edited by banditbalz (edited 06-24-2008).]

From my experience - stay away from epoxy coatings.

I had this put down a couple years ago and it is crap. The floor was 1 year old at the time and was clean and acid etched before the coating went down. I did get my money back from the company (warrenty) - but still stuck with with these problems. However on the plus side it does clean up nice and easy.

First thing that it did was to start to yellow around where the tires usually ended up (I was told it was due to the heat from hot tires).
Also note the tread marks these seem to be part of the coating now and I can not remove them (short of sanding the area):


Then this year it started lifting all over the place:


There is suppose to be a new product out there that is not an epoxy base (and you can use you garage after 24 hours vs 7 days with the epoxy) - but I am very leary about trying it considering what has happened - plus now I will have to shot blast the floor or something to get all the epoxy off. Here is a link to the company that sells/installs this type of flooring: http://www.premiergarage.com/

I have heard good things about acid staining - but don't know enough about this to comment.

[This message has been edited by Mickey_Moose (edited 06-25-2008).]

I have done a few floors for friends over the past few years including one product that was about $500 for 2 gallons of epoxy. After that expensive floor started lifting like the cheap ones, they said it was because there must not be any vapor barrier under the floor. The floor is getting moist from ground water and rain and nothing will stick to it. Funny how they forgot to mention that when they sold the product. I am pretty sure it was muscle gloss.