6 Steps to Epoxy Flooring Success

The Epoxy Flooring Process

We have been applying the IC epoxy/flake/urethane system now for over 15 years. In that time, we’ve refined the process down to these six steps for success. Our goal is to help you be faster, better, and smarter by taking advantage of our hard-earned education.

Please feel free to call us at (251) 379-2581 or email us at [email protected] with any questions about this process or these steps.

1 – Prepare the floor.

Fill in the cracks.  Its best to fill in the cracks before grinding the floor.  DAP makes “Ready-mix concrete patch” and “Liquid Cement crack filler”.  They work well, dry fast, and you can buy them at Lowe’s.  Fill in with a putty knife & scrape off the excess.

Epoxy will not stick to smooth concrete.  However, it is virtually impossible to remove it from rough concrete.  The goal is to give it a clean rough texture to bond to.

Best Method – Grind the floor.

We like the planetary head grinders.  They are expensive, but well worth the investment for a garage floor business.  If not at that point, handheld 7” angle grinders with diamond cups will get the job done.  It is a bit of a workout, but they are effective and relatively quick.  Remember to attach a dust shroud and concrete vacuum.  If you must remove a coating, the handhelds will most likely not be enough to get the job done.  You can also find decent grinders and concrete vacuums at rental companies.  If using one of these, try to get the lowest grit diamonds (18 – 30) you can.  Learn about the diamond blades. The lower the grit, the better, and there are 3 levels of hardness of the blades.  Hard blades work best for soft concrete, and soft blades work best for hard concrete (if in doubt, the medium is a good compromise).

VERY IMPORTANT – Grinding concrete is not worth your life, so you have to protect your lungs!  Concrete dust is among the worst things you can breathe into your lungs – so please don’t do it.  Invest in an industrial concrete vacuum.  Pulse-bat is an industry standard, and a good machine.  If you don’t buy one, you can find one at a rental company.

Standard wet/dry vacuums are not strong enough.  Connect the vacuum to any grinding machine.  Grinders have a dust-port and a Velcro connected shroud, and there are shrouds available for the 7” hand grinders (for example Makita makes one for their machine) – or Pearl makes a universal shroud.  Whether you buy your equipment or rent it – make sure to do dust collection.  And – wear your charcoal filtered mask whenever you are grinding.  Even with the vacuum, small particles of concrete dust can get into the air.

Acceptable method – Acid etch the floor. If you are a professional, we do not recommend this approach. It introduces water to the floor which can prolong the process by days.  However, if this is a DIY project, and you have the time and don’t wish to buy or rent grinding equipment, acid etching can achieve a sufficient profile for the epoxy to bond to.

Use muriatic acid and water (please be careful and use all precautions! especially gloves and a charcoal filtered mask).  2 or 3 parts acid to 1 part water works well, and is usually applied with a garden sprayer.  Be sure to open all windows & doors and put a fan in the room to exhaust the fumes outside. The fumes are highly corrosive & will affect any exposed metal.

After giving the acid/water time to work (at least 15-20 minutes on the floor without drying) neutralize the floor. This is an important step because introducing that much acid to the floor greatly increases the ph – which must be brought back to neutral by introducing a base.  One option is ammonia and water.  A good approach is to mix a quart of ammonia with 2 gallons of water, and spray with a garden sprayer.  If the floor is still wet with acid (which it should be) it will have a greenish color.  Spraying the ammonia/water on it will change that green color to white – which is a good “rule of thumb” to let you know it has been neutralized.

After the garage has been neutralized it needs to be completely cleaned. The acid has eaten into the concrete and has created concrete dust which must be completely removed.  Light pressure washing or a hose with a strong jet & push broom will work – but Do Not do this step if the acid has not been neutralized! If it hasn’t been neutralized the runoff will contain active acid that will eat into the adjoining driveway in a very unattractive way!

Once it completely dry, make sure all concrete dust is off the floor by sweeping and blowing it with a blower.  It is very important for the floor to be completely dry and dust free before applying any coating.  At this point the floor should have a rough texture – similar to that of 60 grit sandpaper.

2 – Tape off the room.

To keep epoxy off walls, steps, and driveways, it is important to tape these off.  Use green “Frog Tape”.  Also, if there is a door to the house, tape along seem of the door (where any air can seep into the house).  This keeps the fumes of the urethane from possibly entering the house.

Pro tip:  never bring the tape completely to the floor (or you’ll spend a good amount of time with a razor knife cutting it out of the epoxy).  Leave about an 1/8 inch from the floor.  Also, with the green frog tape you can add 2 or 4 foot plastic – using a “tape gun” that puts these on together, if you want to be extra careful to not get anything on the walls.  Use blue tape to tape the plastic to the wall (a note of caution here – you may want to test the blue tape to make sure it doesn’t remove paint from the walls.  It does happen sometimes.)

3 – Apply the Epoxy.

The goal is to put on a uniform coat of epoxy thick enough to be a good base for the flakes – so around 100-120 square feet per kit (ex. 600 square feet would take 5 to 6 kits), and to broadcast the chips while the epoxy is still “wet”.

First stage the material:  We like to find an area close to the garage (on grass, not concrete) and put down cardboard or a tarp for a mixing area.  On top of each gallon of part A, put a quart of the part B.  This simple step is very important to make sure you have enough material and ensure that you mix each A with a B as you go along.

Applying epoxy is best done with at least 2 people.  It is possible with one experienced person (just complete small areas before moving on), but it is recommended to have 2 or more.  We start by mixing 2 kits (2 gallons) – by pouring 2 A’s into a five gallon bucket (wearing nitrile gloves) – it helps to put the mixer into the can of A and stir it around before pouring into the bucket – and for scraping the inside edges to get all of the material out of the bucket (we’ve also found that using a spatula also helps get it all out).

Then pour in the 2 B’s, and stir with the jiffy mixer for 3 minutes.  After mixing the A’s and B’s put the empty cans of B into the empty cans of A.  This simple accounting step helps you make sure you always mix an A with a B.

Now, pour the epoxy in strips on the floor – spacing it to achieve around 100 to 120 square feet per gallon.  Cut in the edges (3” chip brushes work well), then with a straight edge or gauge rake spread the epoxy out and then use the roller (18” roller with 3/8” nap & solvent resistant core is the best setup) to get it as even as you can.  You do not want it to be too thin, as it will dry too quick and not be a good base for the chips.  You also don’t want to roll too quickly with the roller near the walls as that can cause a spray to get on the wall (if this is a tendency then consider taping off the walls with plastic/tape). It is good to wear spikes at this point.

Many garages will have masonry blocks or similar materials along the edges, and the epoxy/flakes can be applied to these vertical surfaces – just use a brush and get a good thick coat of epoxy on them.  Once these first 2 gallons are rolled out, one person can go and mix more epoxy, and another can start broadcasting the chips.

We like to put the chips into a clean 5 gallon bucket before broadcasting.  When you throw the chips, always throw them up & let them fall evenly to the ground.  We recommend always broadcasting until every bit of the epoxy is covered (then a little extra to make sure).  Cover it well, but be careful not to get the chips on the bare concrete that is about to be painted.

Continue until the entire floor is covered.  Once the floor is covered with epoxy it is good to walk over it (with spikes on!) and make sure every area is covered with chips.  (pro tip: to clean epoxy of hands/rollers – as long as it hasn’t cured – use  hand-sanitizer, you’ll be surprised how effective it is (denatured alcohol works too).

4 – Remove excess chips and scrape the floor

Let the epoxy cure overnight.  After the epoxy cures, the next step is to collect the excess chips.  We like to take a blower and blow the chips into a corner of the garage and scoop up the excess (these are good chips and can be used on a future job).  The next step is to scrape the entire floor.  This is an important step because some of the chips will actually land straight up & give the floor a very rough texture.

We like to scrape the floor multiple times, at least in two directions, then randomly, making sure to cover the entire floor several times.  After scraping, collect the chips that remain (blowing them into a pile in the corner & scooping up) and we throw these away.  To make sure all the fine particles are up (especially in the corners & where the piles were) we like to use a vacuum (Ridgid dry/wet vacuums work well).

5 – Apply 2 coats of clear urethane, ICU 245

The next step is to get 2 coats of ICU 245 clear urethane on the floor.  The goal here is to get 2 smooth, even coats on in the same day.  It is a good practice to avoid the dew/humidity of the early morning and the humidity of the evening (especially in the Southeast).

So, the first coat at around 10:00 and the second around 2:00 (Think 245, 2 coats in 4 to 5 hours).

To apply the ICU 245:  First, with Nitrile glove on, and charcoal filtered masks (for everyone involved in this step), pour the part As and the part Bs in a clean 5-gallon bucket. Mix with a jiffy mixer for 3 minutes.  Pour out the 245 in strips on the floor, cut in the edges with a 3” chip brush, and take a squeegee and evenly distribute the 245 over the floor- working in sections of about 200 square ft.  Then with an 18” roller (with 3/8 inch nap & solvent resistant core) go over the area just completed by the squeegee, working in one direction, then going over the same area working in the other direction (of course with spikes on).  It is good to have 2 people doing this.  One to pour out & squeegee and one to back-roll with the roller.  They both cut in the edges at the start.

Another application method for the ICU 245, and easier to perform by one person is this: Once the A’s and B’s are thoroughly mixed in a 5-gallon bucket – use a nine-inch roller(again – with a solvent resistant core!) to dip in the bucket and spread over the floor — just dip and get the material on the floor – then use the 18 inch roller to evenly distribute.

6 – Cleanup

After 2 coats of 245, the final step (usually the next day) is clean up.  Take a razor knife and cut along any place where the epoxy/urethane connects to the tape before pulling the tape up.  Then pull the tape off.  After that, just go around and vacuum up all the excess chips.  If the chips get on the driveway always vacuum them up.  Never take a blower and blow them away (the owner will never see the end of them).  Even if the chips are on dirt just go ahead and vacuum them up.

Now, if you’re the homeowner/businessowner – enjoy your beautiful new floor!  If you’re the contractor, accept the compliments and the check and get on to the next one!