SB

iTrader: (1)

Yes sir. Many years ago, had a dealerships' shop floor done and as they where applying it I told them it needs more grit. They told me I didn't know what I was talking about and to leave.

Monday morning I had 14 guys slip on their azz to get up and fall right back down.
Sent them home to take off their work boots and grab there sneakers.

I was PO'd ! Rep came back and had the 'crew' do it all over again with lots more grit.

I'm still pissed and that was like 20+yrs ago.

BIGSLOW

http://www.spartanchemical.com/products/product/586105

This stuff is industrial grade, will go on thick, and will leave your floor looking like it has water standing on it. You have to let the concrete cure for a month before you put it on and you can't have any oils or anything on the concrete before you put it on. Basically, you need to wait to use you floor until after the stuff is on.

yschmidt

Pm'd you the name of a friend & professional - he has a **** ton of experience with all industrial coating mfg, and lives to talk floor coating. I mean loves to talk floors and coatings.
I personally have become very partial to ucrete & flocrete systems.

Sydwayz

iTrader: (1)

My buddy Linnie, (Linster here on OSO) http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/members/linster.html ...
put a commercial stuff down on his garage floor that is awesome. I venture to day it's dangerous when a little wet even.

I'll ping him and find out. I'm pretty sure he has the same stuff in his commercial warehouse too.

low_psi

High solids two part epoxy is what you want. I used one by Devoe coatings and it worked great. Has been in service for over 6 years and no chipping at all. I added a clear coat to keep it super glossy. Since you have a brushed concrete surface a high solids epoxy will fill in the low spots and level out to a smooth surface. THe higher the solids the thicker the epoxy. The stuff at Home Depot, and others are low solids so they go on rather thin. The one I use I actually poored it on the floor, then spread it around using a squeegee.

Also the finished product will be a direct result of prep. If new concrete, give it time to fully cure. Then test by taping a 2'x2' piece of clear plastic to the floor. Let it stay there for at least 24hrs. If you see any moisture at all, you will have issues with the epoxy staying on the floor. The moisture will build up and eventually pop the epoxy. If you have no sign of moisture, proceed to the next step. Which if you have a new floor would be sweeping and moping. If older concrete you will need to either acid etch or shotpeen the floor. Shootpeen is the best opting as it provides a better surface for the epoxy to bite. I had fairly new concrete and used acid, and had great results. Check out garagejournal.com, it is a forum similar to OSO but all about garages, poll barns, etc. There is a huge section on floor finishing.

Flightplan

It's going to be near impossible to get a smooth glossy look on a broom finished concrete floor.

If you are looking for a product that you can apply yourself and is tintable to your specific color go to a Sherwin Williams store and take a look at their H&C opaque concrete stain. This product goes on like a paint and will not chip.

fountain333

low_psi is correct 2 part solid epoxy is the only way to go… I did extensive research on it before we pulled the trigger on doing our floors… We rented a floor grinder and ground the entire floor smooth before hand and then acid washed it to etch it before laying the primer and epoxy. Floors turned out great

[ATTACH=CONFIG]528150[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528151[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528152[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528153[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]528154[/ATTACH]

JoeD

Rustoleum makes two types -----the one sold in home Depot is a single part water based type but on Ebay or elsewhere you can buy the 2 part(1 gallon of base and 1 gallon of hardner) solvent based Epoxy similar to what the pro's use ------I washed my floor with the cleaner and muratic acid let it dry 2 days then applied and its great.

stimleck

not sure if this is or its equivalent is available in the us but we use it for high volue restaurant kitchens, it can be troweled up the wall to create a "curb" it has a long warranty. Its used in kitchens factories and industrial buildings that have heavy equipment running on them. Much different than retail store products. WOrks best when installed on new concrete
http://www.stonhard.ca/

low_psi

Also by putting down a high quality, high solids epoxy you will actually strengthen the concrete. The epoxy basically creates a membrane that is bonded to the concrete, thus spreading the load over a larger surface area. A good example would be drop or throw a hammer (or other smaller, heavy object) onto a bare concrete floor. It will most likely chip. However, drop the same item on a concrete floor that has an epoxy coating and it won't chip (as long as the prep and application are correct). The epoxy will spread the impact over a larger surface. Believe me, if not for my epoxy coating, my floor would be a chipped up mess. Not only from accidentally dropping things, but from the occasional temper tantrum... it's my man cave and I can throw a fit (or a hammer/wrench/power tool) when I want...