EPOXY FLOORING SYSTEMS - INDUSTRIAL - RESIDENTIAL (garage) and INTERIOR PENNY FLOOR PRODUCTS
The Internet presence of:
Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc.
Over 20 years of operation. Over a dozen epoxy linked web sites and hundreds of pages of information. We are the largest and best source for epoxies, coatings, and related information, help and advise.
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers), SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)
"Professionals helping Professionals since 1994"
Serious epoxy floor primers, options, solvent free (zero VOC) epoxy floor paints, clear UV blocking top coats. Links to colored chip suppliers, rollers and advise.
The LINKS section on web sites (including this one) typically come at the end of the web page, but this is the exception. Before getting into the introductory text on epoxy floors, what can go wrong etc. here are some key epoxy floor links that will get you up to speed and answer most of your questions.
Special purpose epoxy floors include the trendy "penny floors "and they deserve special attention.
Also trending high on the specialty floors :
It is common to used decorative colored paint chips with epoxy floors. In the most simple application the chips are just sprinkled on top of the wet epoxy. In more professional environments they become part of a multi-coat system. The use of sand covered/filled epoxy is used in serious commercial applications (warehouses etc.) - or if colored sands are used, in more decorative settings. The use of colored sands with epoxy floor paints is not a popular is it was in the 1990s.
Our Rough Coat epoxy paint is a tan, thin, solvent based epoxy with grit in it. Ideal for boat decks and showers.
Penny floors
There are several kinds of floor epoxies, and multiple methods to apply optional color chips, non-skid options, etc. Are you looking for function or looks? Your floor could be a 1 to 7 coat system. Probably too many decisions to make without first talking to a professional. And lots of bad products out there wanting your attention. If your epoxy floor paint vendor/web site doesn't tell you the differences between water based floor epoxies and solvent free floor epoxies, or that there are multiple ways to apply colored chips to your epoxy floor (with just sprinkling them upon the wet epoxy being the non-professional, most simple DIY approach), they are withholding valuable information from you.
Note that solvent free floor epoxies only have a working time - pot life of about 15 - 20 minutes at temps from about 55 - 75 degrees (typical temperatures for industrial contractors working inside commercial facilities). For homeowners coating garages in summer (temps in the 80s) pot life could be about 10 minutes.
Best advice from an Epoxy PRO on how to avoid a $$$ DIY epoxy floor disaster
(you won't learn this on any other epoxy floor site)
1) no vapor barrier, or don't know if there is a vapor barrier under your slab; 2) suspect there might be moisture issues in/on the slab; 3) suspect the concrete was not 'vibrated down' and contains lots of air spaces (which can cause bubbles and blisters in the wet epoxy); 4) cannot professionally prep the floor (usually means a shot blast contractor); 5) any existing coating on the floor is peeling and lifting; 6) the concrete seems dusty, gritty, weak or crumbling; 7) you are worried about "hot tire pickup" lifting off your epoxy floor; 8) you have oil stains on the floor (especially OLD oil stains)....... Surface prep can make or break an epoxy floor project.
If so, consider putting an inexpensive epoxy primer / sealer (such as ESP 155) on the entire floor or over those potential trouble spots. Then wait a few weeks or months and see what happens. If everything looks great it is very likely that a 'fancy' epoxy top coat will be successful and probably issue free. You might even decide to just keep the sealed floor and skip the thicker mostly decorative (or at least thicker and pigmented) epoxy top coat.
If problems developed with the thin, nearly clear ESP 155 epoxy sealer, it is not that big a deal. No worse than having some deck/porch enamel paint lift and peel. You won't trip over it, it is not so 'in your face', and you saved big $$$ that you would have spent on the epoxy, paint chip, top coat. Some existing concrete surfaces are just not good candidates for an epoxy coating.
What To Watch Out For From Epoxy Floor Vendor Sites:
1) There are water based floor epoxies and solvent free (sometime solvent based) floor epoxies. Some vendors don't explain the differences and use those differences to to make their product sound so much better (when it is an unequal comparison).
2) Epoxies yellow in sunlight (UV) and over time, especially the non-water based epoxies. This should be make know to you up front.
3) If your concrete is weak or crumpling (lots of dusting) - it could be your surface is not a good candidate for an epoxy floor, or at least one without a primer to 'firm' up the surface. Does your vendor mention weak or dusty concrete?
4) Lots of cement floors do not have a vapor barrier under them and those floors may have water - dampness issues (especially in below grade basement situations). Moisture issues under, on, and inside the cement could make an epoxy coating job a potential failure (there are some things you can try). You should be informed of this possible issue.
5) Many cement floors are full of air (cement can be like a sponge) and as the day warms the air in the cement expands and forms bubbles (popped or unpopped) in the starting-to-harden epoxy. The result is a disaster. Where you warned that this could happen? Did they suggest fixes if your concrete has lots of air?
6) Old oil and grease stains can cause epoxies to peel right off. You may never be able to remove and degrease these areas no matter what you do to clean them. You should know this up-front.
Professional contractors apply our Industrial Floor Epoxy (tm).
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