How
to Paint an Epoxy Floor
Cleaning
 Begin
by sweeping and/or blowing away any heavy accumulations
of dirt or loose debris. Be sure to blow or sweep
away any leaves, dirt, debris from surounding
area --- anything that could blow in through garage
door, (pressure washer can be used for this if
you don't have a blower).
Next using a pressure washer, thoroughly wash
every inch of surface to be coated. (If you do
not own a pressure washer, they are available
at most tool rental centers. We suggest using
a pressure washer with between 2500 and 3500psi).
Be careful! You may not realize how powerful the
force of water is, but a high- powered pressure
washer can actually cut into concrete.
Note: any areas where water appears to bead or
is repelled, there is a possibility that wax,
grease, motor oil, transmission fluid or other
oily residue exists in the substrate. If this
is the case, you will want to use TSP, (Tri-sodium-phosphate),
or other de-greaser and scrub area until water
will penetrate the surface. Wash again with pressure
washer after using any de-greasing agents or cleaners.
Examine The Concrete Floor
 After
pressure washing, examine the surface closely,
you may find cracks, low or high spots, or other
defects in the surface which should be repaired
to achieve the best finished appearance.
Epoxy coating may fill and bond very fine hairline
cracks, but larger cracks require use of crack
filler, and for extremely wide, jagged and / or
deep cracks, you may need to grind out concrete,
and patch using epoxy / concrete patching kit.
If there are low spots in the concrete floor,
use epoxy patching compound and trowel mix onto
surface to level low areas.
Etching Concrete Floor
Once entire floor has been pressure washed, and
de-greased (if needed), the entire surface must
be etched to insure a proper bind between epoxy
floor coating and underlying concrete floor.
To etch concrete, mix equal parts muriatic acid
and water and disperse over surface of concrete
floor. Allow acid to sit on floor for approximately
20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly with clear,
clean water until all remaining acid has been
washed away.
Mixing Epoxy (for Garage Floor Application)
 As
mentioned, we are using our 65% Solids Epoxy for
coating a garage floor as the example job in this
application guide. This product is mixed in equal
parts, (mix equal amounts of "Part A"
with equal amount of "Part B"). Be sure
to only mix as much as you can apply in a 30-60
minute period.
To mix 2-gallons of epoxy, pour "Part A"
and "Part B" into a clean 5-gallon plastic
bucket. Mix using a Jiffy Mixer or mixing paddle
on a low speed 1/2" drill. Start with mixer
at bottom of bucket --- do not lift mixer / paddle
in and out epoxy as this will induct air into
the mixture. Mix thoroughly for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes,
(use a timer -- it is very important that you
do not mix for longer or shorter periods of time).
Applying Epoxy (to prepared concrete garage
floor)
You will want to begin at the furthest point from
the door(s) using a paintbrush and cutting in
some edges, inside corners, doorway openings and
other areas where epoxy can not be easily applied
with a roller. Do not cut in too far ahead to
prevent drying. After cutting in, begin to roll
out floor using a paint roller with a solvent
resistant phenolic core shed proof epoxy roller
cover, (covers are available from U.S. Industrial
Coatings).
You will "paint your way out (of the garage),
so that you do not need to walk on wet epoxy or
drag equipment or materials across wet areas of
floor. Continue to cut-in and roll-out areas,
always applying wet epoxy to wet epoxy until entire
floor area has been coated with epoxy.
Time Frame (time to dry, between coats,
"walk on", etc..)
Each U.S. Industrial Coatings floor-epoxy coating
product has specific properties including drying
or "curing" times. As with other areas
of the application guide, we will use the example
of applying our 65% solids fast-set epoxy coating
over a concrete garage floor.
The first coat of epoxy should be dry to the touch
in 1 to 3 hours. There is no need to touch floor
unless you plan to add additional coats of epoxy.
To test, press thumb into epoxy coating (on last
area applied) after waiting 2 to 3 hours. If no
fingerprints are left in epoxy, you may begin
applying additional coat.
Once all coats have been applied, allow 16 to
24 hours before even light foot traffic is allowed
across floor. The floor should be fully cured
anywhere from 3 to 7 days, (depending on temperature,
humidity, total thickness of application and proper
ventilation.
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