On Sat, 7 Mar 1998, Gerald Brazil wrote:
> A few months back there was a good thread going on shop floor paint. It was
> interesting, but since I had no floor painting projects in mind I let it go
> in one ear and out the other. Now I have a neighbor who is just about to
> finish up a nice new shop building. and is about ready to pour the floor. He
> was asking me for advice. He wants to do the job right the first time even
> if it costs a bundle.
>
> How long should he let the floor cure before starting to prepare it for
> painting?
>
> Should he pre-treat the floor with anything?
>
> What is the best product to use the will stand up to the usual shop
> drippings including, oil, gasoline, grease, solvents like brake cleaner and
> brake fluid.?
>
> Good advice and sources would be appreciated.
I asked this question earlier on the Toyota 4x4 Mailing List (I spend some
time in the dirt) and the advice given to me was to avoid anuthing at all
that is "paint" and go w/ the floor epoxy. Your friend's foundation
should cure for at least a month to allow all the moisture to evaporate,
then chemically etch the floor w/ a commercial concentration of muriatic
acid (nasty stuff, wear a respirator). After thoroughly rinsing down the
whole mess and drying again for a few days, lay the first coat of epoxy
down (use a drill motor set on low speed to mix the two so you won't
introduce too many bubbles). Sand and then lay down a second coat after
the first coat has cured. The trick is to lay down your coats smoothly
and evenly w/ a 1/4" foam nap roller. As for color choices, some
recommend a medium to dark gray so as not to show scuff marks, but I
prefer clinical light gray -- it bounces much more light around --
especially when underneath cars. And for durability, the stuff will not
scorch to welding sparks, stain to fluids, or chip by dropping stuff on
it. A more detailed account of this would be to look up the Toy4x4
mailing list archives by going to the site... http://off-road.com and
then going to the Toyota page and searching for the mailing list archives.
Try the keywords "garage floor paint."
Good luck...
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Jimmy Tom <jtom@hsc.usc.edu>
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