- Description
- Flake Color Chart & Coverage Info
- Application Instructions
- Features & What's Included
- FAQs
- Must Read
AND YOU WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE THIS
(Medium Gray Epoxy Coating With Military Topcoat)
"What an amazing before and after difference.
This is the best DIY enhancement ever to our garage."
- Larry L, Very Happy Customer!
OR IF YOU'RE FLOOR LOOKS EVEN WORSE LIKE THIS
AND YOU CAN SAY THIS:
Guys, I purchased an Armor Chip garage epoxy kit with the military-grade topcoat from you back in January 2020, and I couldn't be happier with the results. This was for a 2-car garage, approximately 450 square feet, in one of my rental properties. The garage floor was about 40 years old, with incredibly slick and dirty concrete from the previous owners (see attached images). Following all your preparation steps meticulously, I successfully applied the epoxy, and even now, over four years later, it still looks brand new. This durability is especially impressive given how abusive tenants can be on everything. In contrast, in my other rental properties where I used products from Home Depot or Lowes, I've had to redo the floors every two years. I have another rent house I just purchased which is 24 years old. It has a larger 3-car garage about 600sf. Floor is not as bad but bad enough so I want to do the same exact thing and thanks for a fantastic product that's better than advertised."- J Worley.
IT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW AND BUY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO WORRY ABOUT YOUR FLOOR FOR THE NEXT 15-20 YEARS.
The destructive forces of heat and abrasion from your tires will make quick work of any off the shelf type epoxies, see what happens to them in the MUST READ TAB above. Not knowing the differences between epoxy garage floor coatings is a big mistake. It's the difference between using an epoxy flooring kit that will need to be redone in 2-3 years(even with lifetime guarantees) versus your Armor Garage Floor that will still be looking new 15-20+ years later!
Armor Chip garage floor epoxy kits are designed with the first time epoxy novice in mind. We make it easy and straight forward for you to get professional results with our all inclusive kits. See the feature Tab for a full list of everything supplied. All you have to do is get everything off the floor and supply the elbow grease. We also strongly recommend having some mineral spirits on hand for cleanup, you need to cleanup any spills or splatters while our epoxy is wet, once dried our epoxy can only be removed by mechanical means such as grinding. So always wear the supplied gloves while working with the epoxy.
Our epoxy is the thickest garage epoxy that flows on in a self leveling manner so you never get any roller marks or uneven shading. We use the highest grade of color pigments so you never get any bleed through or washed out looks. Our topcoats work in the same manner so you get a beautiful high gloss finish that's super durable. With 6lbs of color flakes your going to get a beautiful full pattern rather than a floor that looks like it has freckles.
Beware of fake 100% solids that are not 100% solids in both weight and volume, to be a true 100% solids an epoxy must be 100% in both and for the best quality it has to be 100% military grade.
ArmorGarage epoxy garage flooring is Hot Tire Lifting proof, has the best abrasion/durability rating and is impervious to all vehicle fluids and chemicals, road salts, mold and mildew. Armor Chip is the only garage epoxy floor kit with a 5 year Brand New Look Guarantee with our amazing military grade topcoat.
Any epoxy can stick to your floor and look good right after applying it. But it's how long your floor stays looking like the day you put it down that counts! That's where ArmorGarage epoxy flooring is unequalled, easy to apply, easy to maintain and made to last!
Our standard industrial grade topcoat has an abrasion rating of 20mg and our military grade is rated at a best in class 4 mg(the lower the number the better). Compared to the competition with ratings of 30mgs and higher(very bad)! That is way too soft for garage duty!
If you've coated your floor with an epoxy coating that has or is dulling, wearing off or peeling off, see the Must Read Tab for applying our epoxy over an existing coating and more about the importance of topcoats.
Armor Chip can be applied to wood trim, concrete curbing, steps and block stem walls. You can also install prefabbed cove base or make your own and run the epoxy across the floor and up the cove base to form a water proof tub installation. We offer a Cove Base Kit.
For workshops or workshop type garages select the single coat Military Grade Topcoat. With an extremely low abrasion loss rating it provides added protection via a chemically hardened finish when working on a regular basis with heavy rolling tool chests, jack stands and hydraulic floor jacks etc. What's the difference? Think Bunker hardened concrete versus regular concrete.
Also use the upgraded topcoat if you live in areas with severe winters that have heavy use of road salts, ash and or aggregate. It's also a good idea when parking your favorite toys in the garage or pole barn such as tractors, ATVs, rubber tracked equipment, golf carts or large boat trailers. Woodworking shops that use stationary type equipment are ok with the standard topcoat.
Choose from one of our wife approved pre-selected Paint and Color Flake combinations from the images above or design your own custom Paint and Color Flake combination. To order flake colors other than what's in our standard packages simply order the kit in the base color of your choice then list the flake colors from the Flake Color Chart you want in the "Custom Flake Color Box". For Full Broadcast version please call, full broadcast requires a significantly larger amount of flakes and much more topcoat for a proper application. It also requires a different technique to achieve professional looking results. We want to make sure you know what to do so you do it right.
Our standard sized Armor Chip garage floor epoxy kit will cover up to 600 Sq Ft. For one car garages choose the 300 Sq Ft option. For larger floors you can mix and match kit sizes to fit your floor size. See the COVERAGE Tab for more details.
CHECK OUT ONE OF OUR FAVORITE GARAGE EPOXY KIT REVIEWS BELOW FROM TONY IN MI
1. Wow great product everyone!!! If your thinking of doing it yourself this is the product for you. Very easy to apply. Make sure to take your time and research application. These are my steps. I live in Michigan did this on my own one person job. You'll want to make sure temp( under 98 degrees) and humidity(under 85%) are good before applying epoxy:
2. Move all your stuff out of the garage(hardest part of the job!), wash it out. I used a power-washer.
3. Find and fix all your cracks. I used the crack & joint repair compound.
4. PREP-CLEANING YOUR GARAGE FLOOR IS THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP TAKE YOUR TIME!!!!! Rented diamond grinder from home depot. I wet the concrete down all over the place instead of dry grinding it (too much dust). I wet ground it (no dust just slurry left behind). Power washed it out and then applied etching solution while floor was wet and let it fizz for 6 minutes or so, scrubbed in 1lb of TSP powder to neutralize and then power washed it out and let dry 1 day. Etch was an extra step I decided to do, ArmorGarage said it wasn't required since I diamond ground the floor. But since the floor was wet anyway I decided to etch the floor with 1 gallon of muriatic acid. If I didn't wet grind I wouldn't have etched. But if you are wetting the floor for any reason you might as well etch it, it's quick and easy to do.
5. Tape edges of drywall all around. Tape off where garage door comes down in straight line. You want the epoxy under the garage door only and not leading to the outside.
6. I used their epoxy flooring primer. First cut in edges, paint steps and concrete lips with brush. Then used roller to roll on like regular paint. I also painted the expansion joint paper material in center the control joints I just brushed into them. Let dry for 7 hours or when primer not tacky (CRITICAL to mix the right amount of epoxy primer and coatings just follow ArmorGarage directions sent with product).
7. Get 2 large plastic measuring cups. I Poured 80 ounces part A in one and 40 ounces part B in another mix individually with mixing stick then combine A & B and mix for 2 to 3 min. Use paint stick to get unmixed parts on side and bottom of measuring container & bucket. Put on your spiked shoes if you purchased( wish I had!)(NOTE: They are now included with kit). Pour epoxy onto floor in a bead. Then use the calibrated squeeze to push it around, this is a must since the ArmorGarage epoxy is very thick. I used a brush to cut into corners again, if you're careful you can just roller up to the walls. After squeegee use roller to cross roll one direction first then the other, this spreads the epoxy out to the final correct thickness. Throw chips into air and let fall, I didn't have spikes to use the shaker jug method. Then repeat for other sections. (Make sure you have all necessary tools you need at your side when beginning the coating process, having spike soles would make easier to apply chips). Let dry for 12 hours.
8. I then applied military topcoat (WHEN I APPLIED IT ALL THE COLORS CAME OUT AND LOOKED AWESOME). Let dry for 8 hours for foot traffic. Waited 72 hours to park the car on it. Overall easy enough for anybody to do, lot less complicated than I thought and I've never done anything like this before.
Tony was also nice enough to include a Video of his completed floor in addition to his review above. Thanks Tony!
For a list of questions we get asked the most click on the FAQ Tab at top of page.
If you have a question(s) that is not addressed here feel free to give us a call toll free- 866-532-3979, send us an email- info@armorgarage.com or fill out the Request For Quote form. We're here to help you from start to finish with 7 day a week support.
Out of the hundreds of different color combos available we have 11 prepackaged epoxy and chip color combinations that have proven to be by far the most popular colors with never a complaint. We have never gotten a complaint about any of these colors! This makes it simple and provides peace of mind that you'll be getting the best combination to meet your color scheme.
You can also mix and match epoxy and flake colors to make your own custom color epoxy & flake combinations. It's simple to do. Just select the kit that has your base epoxy color and then choose up to 5 chip colors you want from the Chip Color Chart Link directly below and list them in the "Custom Order Note Box".
ONLY GREEN & BLUE GLOW IN THE DARK CHIPS ARE AVAILABLE AND THERE IS A $45.00/LB ADDITIONAL CHARGE(out of stock). METALLIC SILVER CHIPS ARE $30.00/LB ADDITIONAL. PLEASE INDICATE IN THE CUSTOM CHIP COMMENT BOX, COLOR AND QUANTITY.
Above are pictures of a black floor with Blue Glow flakes. We recommend 5-6lbs of glow In Dark Flakes for every 500 sf of floor to get the best effect.
Gray with Black, White, Primary Blue Chips
Harley Tan
The above image is Lance's floor who used Dark Gray with Black,White,Dark Gray and the Military Topcoat.
COVERAGE INFO
Coverage is a very important factor to consider. Many competing brands do not come close to yielding their stated coverage resulting in the purchasing of additional product or a streaky washed out looking finish. Each ArmorGarage kit will cover up to 600 sf. We are very conservative in our coverage ratings so you will get the stated coverage.
Please keep in mind a few epoxy coverage facts. Rougher surfaces and more porous surfaces will yield less coverage. Lighter colors such as Beige and high pigment colors such as black and white will also yield less coverage. So it's a good idea to use a primer first when using any of these colors or if your floor is very rough. Red gets the least coverage because it has the highest amount of pigments and its why it's the most expensive color. Red comes standard with a red primer to ensure a beautiful Bright Red finish without any concrete bleed through or streaks.
Always order enough material to cover your floor area plus 10% as a safety factor. Painting a concrete floor can sometimes be like painting a sheetrock wall, we've all had the experience of putting a coat of paint on a wall only to have it disappear completely into the sheetrock and require a second coat. Some older floors can be very absorbent so please do not try to order to the exact square footage of your floor. If your floor is 725 sf or less order the the oversized primer (725 sf) option, this will extend the coverage of the epoxy and add an additional layer for added durability. You can order an 900 Sq Ft kit if your floor is larger than 725 sf. Also it's a good idea to have a little leftover that you can put into small jars in case of an emergency.
While not required since our epoxy is self priming it's always a good idea to prime your floor as you would if you were painting your car or the interior or exterior of your house. This increases the level of adhesion and increases thickness up to 25 Mils thick! Plus we offer the primer at a discount when bought with the garage kit. For most floors choose the standard primer, for very old, poor condition floors or floors with extra heavy machinery choose our high solids primer which has 97% solids (our primers are better than most other epoxies) and even better adhesion.
NOTE: You can mix and match full kit and half sized kits or primer to get to right match for your floor size. We even have a bulk sized kit which is the equivalent of 4 full sized kits.
COMPLETE AND EASY TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS
Our unique system is easy to apply and can be installed by anyone who can paint with a roller. Its simple and easy!
1.Clean/wash the floor well (power washing is preferred for best results)to remove ALL dirt, loose paint and any other contaminants. If your floor was previously coated with an inferior floor epoxy that has failed or is beginning to fail in a lot of areas it's best to remove the coating entirely, you can rent the Floor Prep machine from Home Depot that will quickly remove any of the existing epoxy prior to applying the Armor Chip or Armor Granite epoxy floor kits. If your epoxy happens to be of high quality and is still adhered to the floor properly and is just worn out or has minor flaking read this How To Coat Over An Existing Floor Epoxy. Please note that if a major percentage of the floor is peeling or flaking off it means that its only a matter of time before the entire floor fails and it's best to completely remove the coating.
Apply epoxy in floor temperature range of 55-95 degrees. Do not apply in heavy rain.
2. If grinding you do not have to power wash or etch your floor. If etching, wet floor and dilute the etch with 3 gallons of water, always add the acid to the water. Apply and scrub in well with a stiff shop broom or wide pool brush, let stand for 5-6 minutes then apply neutralizing powder supplied with kit and lightly scrub in and rinse thoroughly. Neutralizing the floor brings your slab back to the proper PH which increases the bond between the epoxy and the concrete. If etching twice for a new floor(highly recommended), very dirty floor or a floor that was power troweled very smooth, neutralize after the second etching. Always wet down your driveway or pavers for the first rinse, after the floor is neutralized the run off water is harmless.
Let dry 24-48 hrs to be sure concrete is completely dry. For best results floor must be completely clean, dry and have a slightly rough feel to it. A second etching is recommended for new floors due to large amounts of curing residues at the surface or older floors that are extra dirty. See our Second Etch Option for additional etching. If using the Second Etching Kit prior to rinsing acid off the second etch sprinkle 1 box of the supplied TSP over the floor, brush in to neutralize the floor and then rinse thoroughly. It is extremely important that your garage floor is absolutely clean and properly etched. If your floor was power troweled you will most likely have to do two etches to open the pores of the slab to ensure proper adhesion.
WATCH AN ENTIRE INSTALLATION BY DIY DAN.
HERE'S A GREAT BEFORE & AFTER OF A PROPERLY PREPPED FLOOR THAT WAS GRINDED AND ETCHED
THE FLOOR PREP MACHINE FROM HOME DEPOT DID A GREAT JOB, OIL STAINS WERE CLEANED WITH LIQUID TIDE AND MURIATIC ACID
This is how your floor should look like prior to coating with any type of epoxy paint.
If your floor looks like this STOP and power wash and etch again!
Here's another great image of the epoxy going on a properly cleaned floor.
If you are grinding your floor it is still recommended that you etch the floor as you are rinsing off the dust from grinding, this will ensure the concrete pores are clean and open. If you do not intend to rinse the grinding dust off then etching is not necessary. We recommend using a leaf blower to get off the last bit of grinding dust just prior to starting your application. Our epoxy will permanently bond into the open pores provided by etching, grinding or a combination of both. If applying over an existing coating see the link at the bottom of the MUST READ page for instructions on how to do it correctly.
2A. Patching
If you are grinding your floor and have large cracks you should patch now with our Crack & Joint Filler. Once cured you can grind over it and smooth down further if needed. If you have small cracks use the Instant Crack Repair after you grind or etch. If your floor is pitted in small areas use our either one of our crack repair kits and trowel into the pitted areas. If your floor is mostly pitted you order our high solids primer and mix in some sand to make a slurry with sort of a loose grout consistency that you can spread over the pitted areas with a large flat squeegee.Then sand or grind smooth if necessary.
2B. If using the epoxy flooring primer mix 1/2 gallon of A & 1/2 gallon of B and roll onto floor. Repeat until done. Allow primer to dry aprox. 4-5 hrs(dry to the touch) but no more than 20 hrs. After 20 hrs lightly sand with 100 grit to rough up.
If you have a nasty looking pitted floor like this
This customer used the Crack & Joint Repair Compound. He was very happy with the results as you will see below. He also mentioned not to use the Rapid Set Mortar that he tried at first because it doesn't set right and is not as strong. Also do not use the Underlayment product as it will not hold up to vehicle traffic! So here's a picture after he patched and is grinding it down smooth. Just another note when using our product its much easier to lay it down smooth so you don't have to grind or at worst you have to lightly grind here and there.
This is the finished product using the Armor Granite Kit Pattern # 2 with added Functional Gray flakes.
2C. Priming
Priming is optional and not required, even though the Armor Chip epoxy is self priming it's always a good idea to prime your floor. Our primer is not really a primer in the typical sense. It's actually a high performance epoxy that we thin a bit so it can soak into the open pores of your slab and lock in. It will outperform 95% of epoxies sold as primary floor coatings.
If you need to stretch your coverage a bit you should prime, if your floor is old in poorer condition you should prime, if you're going over an existing coating you need to prime with our Bonding Primer or our Instant No Prep Primer, if you have limited time and don't want to etch or grind use the No Prep Instant Primer. If you have any questions on primers please email or call us.
3. For the epoxy mix the contents of each individual can of the two part epoxy. Next mix the two parts together at a 2 parts A to 1 part B ratio. Use two measured containers to get accurate amounts of each epoxy part(2:1 ratio). Pour the container of A and the container of B into the 5 gallon bucket and mix thoroughly for 3-4 minutes. DO NOT mix all the epoxy at once, this is not like store bought epoxy paints that have a pot life of up to 8 hours. Armor Chip Garage Floor Epoxy is pure Military Spec epoxy that works on 100% catalytic reaction so the more you mix the more reaction you get. Armor Chip has a pot life of about 45 minutes. If you mix all the epoxy at once you will have a smoking bucket of concrete in about five minutes.
We recommend doing your floor in 3 batches per kit, the smaller batches will allow you to apply the epoxy and chips without rushing and still have plenty of work time left over as a safety margin. Apply a bead of the mixed base color coat from the container in a left to right direction directly to the floor do not use a roller pan. Spread evenly over a 4-5 ft wide strip(you can do much larger sections if purchasing the optional spiked soles) with supplied notched squeegee. Then roller over to smoothen squeegee ridges and spread out further. Armor Chip Epoxy will automatically be at the proper thickness. Don't worry about the epoxy drying on the roller or squeegee, when you mix the next batch up it will reactivate the epoxy for another 45 minutes of pot life. NOTE: Some of our kits come with the tint in a separate bottle, if you receive this version simply mix the tint into the Part A firs making sure to scrape out all the tint.
4. While the floor epoxy is wet, apply the supplied color chips by simply tossing them slightly up into the air and at a 45 degree angle away from you so that they freely rain down onto the epoxy in an even pattern. We give you the most amount of chips to achieve the look your eye thinks is best. You can use as much of the chips as you want without worrying about running out. Avoid tossing too many chips at a time so that you don't wind up with piles of chips which will spoil the the look of your new floor. Tossing a little at a time is best. Leave the last 6 inches of the epoxy without chips. You will overlap the epoxy from the next section onto this area and then apply the chips. All the sections will blend together to form a single monolithic seamless finished coating. If purchasing the spiked soles you can see an alternate method a customer shared with us for spreading the chips that works amazingly well on this page below. Using the spikes makes apply the flak much easier.
5. Once you have completed the first section repeat steps 3 & 4 until done. Note: After the first section you may do larger areas as you get comfortable working with the epoxy. When you mix a new batch of epoxy it reactivates the epoxy in the bucket and on the drill and the same for the wet edge you will be overlapping so don't worry about any of that. You should be done painting and applying chips in about 2 hrs per kit.
Note: for large areas use our spike shoe bottoms which allow walking on the wet epoxy. Use Xylene for any clean ups(available at Home Depot or Lowes). Be sure to clean up any epoxy while its wet that gets on anytime it's not suppose to including your hands. Once dried it can only be removed by grinding.
6. Let the floor epoxy & chips dry to the touch, usually in approximately 8-10 hrs, you can let the epoxy cure overnight also but don't let more then 20 hours pass before applying topcoat. Once dry to the touch sweep the floor good with a stiff shop broom or shovel with plastic edge to remove any loose chips or any chips that are sticking straight up. Don't worry about scratches, any scratches in the epoxy will disappear when the clear coat is applied. Apply half of the clear topcoat to seal in the chips and magnify the beautiful high gloss finish. The chips themselves give the floor some texture but if you desire to use the non skid additive supplied for added traction, mix it right into the second final clear coat. Allow first coat to dry to the touch before applying second coat. Clear coat dries to a touch/walk on, in about 2-3 hrs(you can move all your stuff back in at that point). If you are using the upgraded Military Topcoat you only have to do ONE COAT. Apply the Military Topcoat as soon as the floor epoxy is dry to the touch or first thing the next morning for best results. Do not exceed 20 hrs for either topcoat. Military Topcoat dries to the touch in 5-6 hrs to walk on and put your stuff back in. Let either topcoat cure for 48-72 hrs before driving on it. That's it!
FIRST GET A PLASTIC CONTAINER, PREFERABLY ONE WITH A HANDLE. DRILL SOME HOLES IN THE BOTTOM, ABOUT 3/8" DIAMETER.
NOW FILL THE CONTAINER HALFWAY WITH CHIPS, HOLD CONTAINER SIDEWAYS UNTIL YOU ARE IN POSITION THEN TURN CONTAINER UPRIGHT SHAKE CONTAINER WHILE WALKING IN THE EPOXY WITH YOUR SPIKE SOLES(MUST HAVE THE SPIKES). THE CHIPS WILL NOT COME OUT UNTIL YOU START SHAKING AND THEY WILL FALL STRAIGHT DOWN OUT OF THE CONTAINER. ONCE YOU'VE DONE A SECTION TAKE A STEP BACK AND LOOK FOR BARE SPOTS, IF YOU HAVE A SECOND PERSON THEY CAN ACT AS A SPOTTER. FOR BARE SPOTS JUST WALK UP TO THEM IN YOUR SPIKED SOLES AND ADD A PINCH OF CHIPS WITH A LITTLE SHAKE OF THE CONTAINER TO FILL IN.
AS YOU CAN SEE THIS METHOD RESULTED IN A BEAUTIFUL CHIP PATTERN THAT IS AS GOOD AS IT GETS. ARMOR GRANITE KITS INCLUDE SPIKED SOLES, WITH ARMOR CHIP THEY ARE PURCHASED SEPARATELY. WATCH THIS SHORT ANIMATED VIDEO BELOW TO GET A FEEL FOR THE STEPS IN COATING YOUR FLOOR THE RIGHT WAY SO YOU ONLY HAVE TO DO IT ONCE.
Armor chip is a complete kit with everything needed to do the job, Proprietary 100% military grade two part epoxy for up to 600 sf, two coats of heavy duty clear topcoat, rollers, mixers, application squeegee, spike soles, acid etching, neutralizing powder, nonslip additive, mixing bucket, 6lbs of color flakes and Free Shipping. Smaller or Larger sized kits have quantities adjusted accordingly.
FEATURES:
• Our epoxy is 100% Proprietary Military Grade solids formulation by both weight and volume and Hot Tire proof!
• 10 times thicker than water based epoxies
• 10 times more abrasion/scratch resistant than cyclioaliphalic & polyureas that dull and wear prematurely.
• Teflon like surface allows cleaning your epoxy floor in a matter of minutes with a simple garden hose rinse. Everything simply rinses or wipes right off keeping your floor in showroom condition!
• Highest showroom gloss finish that brightens up any room.
• Slip resistant!
• Your ArmorGarage floor can stay looking new up to 20 years!
• 100% Waterproof, Mold & Mildew proof
• Highest Impact Resistance. Car jack and jackstand rated.
• Highest Chemical & Acid resistance. Impervious to road salts, all vehicle fluids, cleaning solvents and even battery acid!
•6 lbs of color flakes to provide a professional terrazzo finish. Unlike a speckle finish when not using enough flakes.
• Coverage is as advertised unlike many Home Improvement kits that have chronic streaking and bleed through issues.
• No bubbling during application as with cyclioaliphatic epoxies and polyureas, no fading or yellowing after application!
• DIY friendly with easy to follow instructions, designed for customers with no prior experience.
• Heavy tool chest rated, woodshop rated, mechanical shop rated. ArmorGarage floors last and stay looking new the longest!
The following is a list of questions we get asked the most. If you have a question that is not addressed here feel free to give us a call or send us an email.
How do I order different color chips than what's standard with your kits?
In the "Custom Flake Color Box simply list up to 5 colors that you choose from the Flake Color Charts. There is no extra charge for custom colors.
My floor is bigger than the 600 sf coverage of the Armor Chip Kit. What do I do?
If your floor is less than a 120 sf larger than we recommend that you purchase the 700 sf Epoxy Flooring Primer option. This will do two things. It will extend the coverage of the epoxy and add another layer of coating which is never a bad thing. If your floor is more than a 120 sf larger than purchase the 900 Sq Ft kit
How long do I need to wait before coating a new slab and do I still need to etch it?
New slabs need to cure for 28 days minimum and they need to be etched. In fact we like you to do an extra strong second etch to make sure we burn out all the curing residues at the surface. You can do this buy simply buying a gallon of Muriatic Acid and mixing it with our etching solution. This will give our etch solution a little extra zing to clean and open the pores of your concrete slab. As you will undoubtedly see elsewhere on the site this is extremely important, it allows the epoxy to get into the open pores and make an unbreakable molecular bond with the concrete.
How long do I need to let primer dry?
The Primer will dry in 5-8hrs depending on temperature and humidity conditions. Once the primer is dry to the touch you can apply the epoxy. Do not let more than 20 hrs pass before applying the epoxy. Otherwise you will need to lightly sand the primer with 120 grit to rough up the surface.
Should I fill in the saw cuts or expansion joints?
No we recommend that you do not. The last thing you want is to have a crack done the middle of your new high gloss epoxy floor. Once you've applied Armor Chip or Armor Granite the saw cuts will add dimension to the floor and they will look like big slabs of stone. If your floor is older than 10 years it's probably ok to fill them since the floor is done settling. But you never know for sure what can happen.
Can I extend the epoxy out past the Garage door?
No we don't recommend that. The epoxy should end at the inside or outside edge of the garage door. Apply a color matched inexpensive outdoor patio type of paint. This way when the elements beat it up you're only replacing cheap outdoor paint rather than an expensive epoxy coating.
When should I fill in the cracks and will the epoxy fill the cracks in?
If the cracks are surface hairline cracks the epoxy will cover them. If the cracks are deeper than the surface they may run the depth of the slab in which case you will be consuming a lot of expensive epoxy to fill them. Better to use either the Crack & Joint Compound or the Instant Crack Filler. Crack & Joint Compound goes in before the cleaning and etching, the Instant Crack Filler goes in after and allows you to apply the epoxy or primer immediately after the filler is applied.
How long do I need to let the floor dry after etching?
It's a matter of temperature and humidity, 24hrs is usually sufficient but you should let it dry for 48 hrs to be sure all the moisture has dried out of the floor.
When can I put the topcoat down?
As soon as the epoxy dries to the touch, usually the next morning. The epoxy should not show any fingerprint when you press your thumb into it.
When can I put my stuff back in my garage?
The topcoat will dry to the touch in 4-5 hours at which time you can walk on it and put your stuff back in, heavy rolling objects the next day, keep the car off for 3-4 days.
Should I get the Military Topcoat?
We always recommend the Military Topcoat. It's less work since you do only one coat and it's a much harder finish that will keep your floor looking new for 10-15 years even in harsh climates with lots of road salts. If you have smaller vehicles that go in and out of the garage seldom and you live in a mild climate then you're fine with the standard topcoat. Next to properly prepping the floor the topcoat is the most important thing.
I had an accident and scratched my floor, what can I do?
Scratches are easily fixed, see the Care & Maintenance page for the details. But it's simply a matter of sanding the scratch with 120 grit and brushing on some topcoat to bring it back to new.
I've had my floor for many years and it's finally starting to wear out, what do I do?
Easy just give a light sanding and roll on a new topcoat, that will bring the floor right back to new. The epoxy and chips should stay indefinitely.
How long does this process take?
In actual hours it's not much at all but since you have dry times you should allow 3 days to get the job done. Total working hours should be no more than 4-5 hours.
Can I paint my curbs?
You can coat your curbs whether they are concrete or block. Just allow a little more material when doing block curbs since they absorb more material. You can also do wood molding and steps in your garage.
This is the must read page cause it's full of information designed to keep you out of trouble or get you out of trouble. You'll be seeing this information again elsewhere on the website, it's that important.
First some tips on ordering. If your floor is a little oversized, lets say 650sf, it's better to order the 700 sf primer rather than the 900 Sq Ft kit, a primer extends the coverage of the epoxy because it's now being applied over a sealed surface rather than porous concrete. You'll get a thicker overall coating with even better adhesion which is why its never a bad idea to use a primer in any case. But you must order the larger size primer, otherwise if you order the standard size primer you will run short or have to stretch it out so thin that you defeat the purpose of the primer. Same goes for the Military Topcoat, order the larger size if using a primer on your oversized floor to increase the coverage of the epoxy. Do not use the standard size topcoat on an oversized floor, you'll get less durability by not using the right sized topcoat. This is just another way we look out for you, other brands offer primer for additional coverage of their epoxy but don't offer a larger sized primer or topcoat for your oversized floor. That makes no sense since if you have a bigger floor you'll need more primer and more topcoat to do the job properly. The few extra dollars to do it right is well worth it to not have to do your floor over again later on.
If you haven't done so yet we encourage you to watch the video on the Home Page. It's a video of a heavy SUV turning and twisting into a tight parking spot on the same floor below that still looks new after 16 years! There is no more destructive force on your epoxy floor than a turning tire while the car is not moving or barely moving. The video is great evidence how tough our military grade topcoat in that after 16 years of dead weight tire twists and turns on it the floor still looks brand new! That's the difference between us and everybody else. It's easy to look good when you first put your epoxy coating down, but whats it look like 6 months or year down the road never mind 8, 10 or 15 years down the road.
If you previously coated your floor with a water-based floor epoxy or any other type of epoxy without a true urethane fortified topcoat that's under 10 mils thick, it's more than likely your floor already resembles the worn out Blue Arrow in the images below.
The biggest mistake you can make is not using a topcoat! Did you know that ALL solids based epoxy coatings are NOT UV stable? Without a polyurethane epoxy topcoat, ALL solids based epoxies will yellow and lose their gloss. Real Topcoats are much more expensive to manufacture and have a much harder finish than epoxies! Moreover, any topcoat that does not have a 20mg or less abrasion rating will fade and wear out prematurely that's an indisputable epoxy fact. This is especially true if a company's topcoat is just a clear version of their epoxy. This offers no additional abrasion or UV protection than the epoxy without a clear coat. To be a real Topcoat it must be polyurethane fortified and have an Abrasion Rating LESS THAN the epoxy it's coating! Our standard topcoat as measured by the industry standard Taber CS-17 abrasion loss test has an abrasion loss rating of 20mg and the Military Grade option has an amazing best in class 4mg loss rating(the lower the better), no other topcoat comes close. Typical epoxy abrasion loss ratings are 24-40mgs or higher which makes them really unsuitable for garage duty. To sum it up polyurethane is to epoxy what rebar is to concrete. Leave out either of those items and both epoxy and concrete will fail, it's just a matter of when.
Please be aware that there's a huge difference between High Solids epoxies and a true 100% solids epoxy. If you've never worked with epoxy floor coatings before you would never know that and would believe that high solids epoxies or epoxies that state they're 100% solids are good enough when they really aren't good enough. They're good enough as primers and that's it. If you poured out our 100% military grade epoxy next to a competing High Solids Epoxy or fake 100% solids epoxy they would seem like water in comparison. Even our High Solids epoxy that is 97% solids is only used as a primer by us. That's the difference between our epoxy floors and everybosy else's.
DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUR FLOOR!
If you've applied an epoxy coating before you found us and your floor looks like the blue arrow CLICK HERE to learn how to coat over an existing floor coating or floor paint with one of our epoxy kits.
Do you know what Primer you're buying? Most primers are water based. Our primer is a high performance solids based epoxy that actually out performs many other brand's actual epoxies. Some companies offer high solids product as the actual epoxy, we only offer a high solids epoxy as a primer and never as the main coat. Using the right product for your primer is key to achieving an unbreakable bond between your concrete and your epoxy coating system. If the primer you apply is inferior than everything you put on top of it is at risk of failing when the primer fails.
A word on doing Full Broadcast, we don't recommend it for the first timer. Besides it being double the cost and labor more often than not you will end up with unsightly piles, blotches, lumps that will need considerable remediation work and sanding. It's also not more durable than our Armor Granite Garage Floor Kit even though it is being touted by some as being so. We assure you it's not! It's the quality of the epoxy and the topcoat that provides the durability. The Armor Granite kit will provide you with up to 95% coverage and a realistic granite looking finish.
