Epoxy Flake Garage Floor Instructions

Application temperature and cure times at bottom of page.

1. Clean and Fill Cracks: Thoroughly clean (sweep and vacuum) the concrete floor. This is the time to fill cracks and holes. Cracks and hairline cracks should be opened up with an angle grinder about 1/8" deep and all holes should be filled in with our Crack and Hole epoxy. Do this before grinding the entire floor. 
2. Resurfacing: Grind and resurface the floor with a hand-held grinder or a commercial floor grinder (easily rented). The surface of concrete must be opened up or roughed up to feel like 80 – 180 grit sandpaper.
   NOTE: Floor surfaces must be mechanically prepped by grinding to avoid delaminating or pop up from contamination on the floor surface. Floors not mechanically prepped by grinding will not fall under our Warranty. Surface prep instructions, click here.
3. Masking: If the walls have already been painted, use blue painters tape around the edges where your wall and your floor meet while leaving a 2 millimeter gap above the floor. If any foundation block/base board area along the walls require epoxy and flakes, tape that off above as well. Where the garage door comes down to the floor where the garage floor meets the driveway, typically there is a round over. This round over needs protected with painters' tape to mask off the driveway concrete when applying epoxy and flakes.
4. Moisture: The easiest way to determine if you have moisture that transmits through your concrete is to simply by cut a 2 ft. x 2 ft. piece of plastic sheeting (a thick garbage bag) and taping down the perimeter with duct tape to the surface of your garage floor. You may want to do this in a few areas around the garage. 
   
   Any condensation formed or darkening of the slab beneath the plastic after 24 hrs indicates the concrete is retaining moisture and the surface is too wet for an epoxy. In this case, you may need to apply a moisture/vapor barrier primer before applying the epoxy and flakes. Learn more here for expanded moisture testing.
   
   Note: these observations and measurements may be inherently flawed as they are “snapshots in time”. These tests serve only as guidelines.
   
   If a moisture barrier is needed, it is applied prior to the epoxy base coat. Pour moisture barrier onto the floor in 4”-6” wide ribbons running perpendicular across the floor. Roll out the moisture barrier with a 1⁄4” nap 18” “paint roller across the entire floor. Allow material to harden +/- 16hrs but not more than 24hrs.
5. Coverage: Every 2 gallons of epoxy base coat covers 250 sq. ft. of concrete floor. If the area you are working with is any larger than 250 sq. ft., mark 250 sq. ft. by starting at the wall, and marking your endpoint with blue painters tape on the wall - creating sections. This will make sure you don't use too much or too little product for your square footage.
6. Mixing: Always mix complete batches. Measure and mix part A & B of floor epoxy at a 1:1 ratio. Epoxy needs to be mixed to the correct ratio or else you risk epoxy not curing properly. When mixing, move mixing paddle around the edges of the bucket and scraping the sides so all material gets mixed. Mixing time is +/- 2 minutes with a mixing paddle to insure proper mix. Once mixed, add your epoxy base coat colorant pigment and mix thoroughly. This will match the color of your flakes.
7. Epoxy Base Coat Application: While wearing spiked shoes, pour mixed epoxy onto the floor in 4”-6” wide ribbons running perpendicular across the floor. You have +/- 20 minutes before the epoxy will start to set in the bucket, the quicker you pour the epoxy on the floor, the longer working time you have. After the epoxy is poured out, use a squeegee parallel to the poured ribbons to push the epoxy puddle uniformly covering the floor. After the epoxy is squeegeed out, back roll with a 1⁄4” nap “18” paint roller perpendicular to the way you squeegeed making sure the entire floor is evenly covered. Spread product evenly over area. Areas adjacent to walls may be “cut in” using a brush.
   Select spreader
   • For high build to cover small holes and imperfections in floor (e.g. blowouts from carpet tack strip), a notched squeegee or gauge rake may be appropriate.
   • For a tighter coat, a squeegee or a roller ranging in nap size from mohair to 3/8” (9.5 mm) may be appropriate.
   • Rollers should be premium quality with phenolic core.
   • “De-fuzz” roller by wrapping tightly with masking tape and  removing tape.
   • Large areas may require 18” (46 cm) rollers and wider squeegees.
8. Flake Application: While the base coat is still wet, broadcast the flakes onto the epoxy. Wearing spiked shoes, broadcast the flakes evenly by tossing/flicking them in the air and letting them shower down on the wet epoxy floor. Toss the flakes by hand upward in the air so that they float down to the wet base coat. (Think of a throw/flick motion like tossing chicken feed.) Broadcast sufficient flakes for 100% coverage; completely cover the epoxy surface. If the floor has low spots where the base coat is deeper, flakes may “sink.” Broadcast sufficient flakes to completely saturate the low spot.
9. Remove Excess Flakes: Once cured, (usually 8-10 hours later) use a trowel or wide floor scraper to knock down sharp flake edges or vertical flake chips. Sweep with a stiff broom and vacuum all excess flakes off the floor - only after it is cured dry.
10. Protective Top Coat Finish: STOP: Open the garage doors and inspect the room for adequate air movement and ventilation! Properly mix material, depending on which product you are using. Pour Urethane or polyaspartic into a roller tray. Dip a 1⁄4” nap 18” paint roller into the material and generously apply uniformity over entire floor. These materials are designed to go down thin, +/- 400 sq.ft. per gallon. Do not puddle the material. If a heavy coat is desired, apply two coats of material. Allow 72hr cure time before opening up to traffic. Note: Polyaspartic material can set quicker in warmer temperatures, so don’t waste much time applying this. Properly mix material and pour 4”-6” wide ribbon on the floor. Allow 72hr cure time before opening up to traffic.

Temperature/Cure

Avoid application on extremely cold or hot days or during wet, foggy weather.

Basic rules include:
Apply with ambient and surface temperatures ranging above 50°F (10°C) and below 90°F (32°C) and that will remain within ranges for at least 12 hours following application. Surface temperature must be a minimum 5°F (3°C) above dew point.
Relative humidity should be below 75%.