ARMOR CHIP GARAGE EPOXY FLOORING KIT - FREE SHIPPING
WHEN YOUR GARAGE FLOOR LOOKS LIKE THIS
AND YOU WANT IT TO LOOK LIKE THIS(Medium Gray Epoxy Coating With Military Topcoat)
This is the best DIY enhancement ever to our garage. Larry L, Very Happy Customer!"
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(two pics attached), 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.
The destructive forces of heat and abrasion from your tires will make quick work of big box store 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 they 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 8lbs of color flakes your going to get a beautiful full pattern rather than a floor that looks like it has freckles.
Beware of fake100% 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 Chip 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!
Our standard industrial grade topcoat has an abrasion rating of 20mg and our military grade is rated at 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 harder 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 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 Chip color combinations from the images above or design your own custom Paint and Chip color combination. To order chip colors other than what's in our standard packages simply order the kit in the base color of your choice then list the chip colors you want in the "Custom Chip Color Box". For Full Broadcast version please call, full broadcast requires a significantly larger amount of chips 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.
Armor Chip garage floor epoxywill cover up to 600 sf. For larger floors you can buy The Add On Half Kit. or use our epoxy flooring primer See the COVERAGE Tab for more details.MAIN GARAGE FLOOR EPOXY PAGE
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!). 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 we strongly recommend you 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. It's best to ask as many questions as you can before purchasing and applying any epoxy floor product.
USE CTRL AND MOUSE WHEEL TO ZOOM IN AND OUT
You can also 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 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. METALLIC SILVER CHIPS ARE $30.00/LB ADDITIONAL. PLEASE INDICATE IN THE CUSTOM CHIP COMMENT BOX, COLOR AND QUANTITY.
Images at top of page are of our standard color combinations. Please allow 2-3 additional days for a custom color combination. Give us a call if you need help on deciding colors and we'll help you choose the right ones. We don't trust artificial color simulators and neither should you. We do this every single day all day and know what works and what doesn't.
Gray & Lt Gray kits have white, black and light blue chips.
Luxury Gray is a Light Gray epoxy with Light Gray, Dark Gray and Neutral Gray flakes
Dk Gray & Charcoal Gray kit have black, white and primary blue chips.
Red kit comes with additional primer material for proper color coverage and has black, white and tan chips.
Harley Tan kit has 10lbs of brown, clay, chocolate, white and black chips.
Harley Tan Light kit has 10lbs of clay, buff, chocolate, white and black chips.
Dk Blue has black, white and functional gray chips.
Racing Blue kit has black, white, gray and rustic red chips.
Harley Gray has Light Gray epoxy with neutral gray, charcoal gray, functional gray
Black- Standard black comes with 8lbs of light gray, white and lipstick red chips, optional blacks come with various color combos of metallic silver and other colors such as Lipstick Red or Orange
Desert Tan has burgundy, ivory, hunter green and navy chips.
Kahki Tan kit has 10lbs of brown, beige, tan and coppertone chips.
Chocolate Khaki Tan has 10lbs of Chocolate brown, Clay and Buff flakes.
Below is a black floor with Blue Glow flakes. We recommend minimum of 5-6lbs of Glow In Dark Flakes for every 500 sf of floor to get the best effect. These pictures were taken at night so this is how the floor looks like in the dark, there are metallic silver and Lipstick Red Flakes in the floor which are visible during the day, the glow in the dark flakes are white during the day.
The following image is Lance's floor who used Dark Gray with Black,White,Dark Gray and the Military Topcoat.
This is Kimberly's beautiful Charcoal Floor with Black, White & Whisper Gray flakes.
To order a custom Paint and Chip combination select one of the kits in the base color epoxy you want. In the Custom Chip Color Selection box indicate chip colors you'd like, you can request up to 5 different chip colors, we carry every basic color chip you can think of (glow in the dark chips are only available in Green or Blue Glow due to EPA restrictions).
EXAMPLE OF CUSTOM COLOR ORDER: You like the Light Gray kit but want red, black and white chips instead of the standard colors. Simply select Light Gray as your kit and then enter the colors red, black and white in the comment box, we will supply those chips.
Coverage for your Garage Epoxy Floor
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. You can order an ADD ON HALF KIT that will provide an additional 275-300 sf of coverage to be sure you have enough material or use a primer. If you end up not using it just send it back to us for a full refund. 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.
NOTE: If you are using a primer you can expect about a 20-25% increase in coverage from the epoxy since it is now going over a sealed surface. So if you are at or slightly over the size of the full kit you can do a primer as an option rather than ordering the add on half kit. A primer is always a good idea since you get an extra layer of high performance epoxy(our primers are better than most other epoxies) and even better adhesion. NOTE: When using a primer to extend coverage choose the larger sized primer( 700 SF size) so you have enough to cover the entire floor and the larger sized topcoat(700 SF size) so you have sufficient materiel to cover the larger area.
You can mix and match full kit and half 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.
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.
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.
This is usually the result of using an insufficient amount of acid!
Here's another great image of the epoxy going on a properly cleaned floor.
THE FLOOR PREP MACHINE FROM HOME DEPOT DID A GREAT JOB, OIL STAINS WERE CLEANED WITH LIQUID TIDE AND MURIATIC ACID
If you are grinding your floor it is still a good idea that you etch the floor if you're rinsing the floor to remove grinding dust, 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 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.
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.
2C. PrimingPriming 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. Our new epoxy Jugs are have calibrated measurements on the side so you don't need measuring containers anymore to get accurate amounts of each epoxy part(2:1 ratio). Mix the epoxy in batches, pour 80 onces of A and 40 ounces 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 35- 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 with supplied squeegee. If using the calibrated squeegee you will notice ridges in the epoxy, this is normal and just makes getting the epoxy at the same thickness over the entire floor easier. 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 using the supplied spike soles 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. Or see an alternate method a customer shared with us for spreading the flakes that works amazingly well on this page below. 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.
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!
FAQ's
There are so many different epoxy flooring kits what makes ArmorGarage epoxy better than the other epoxy kits?
All our epoxy coatings are manufactured by us using only the highest quality military grade American made resins, hardners, polymers and pigments available. They are not water based or oil based or polyureas. This results in a much higher quality finished product that is ten or more times thicker than standard off the shelf epoxies, 10 times harder, last up to 10 times longer and look like they were professionally done even though it was your first time using an epoxy coating.
There's a reason our floors last an average of 20 years with only the need to apply a fresh topcoat to bring the floor back to brand new. Versus coatings that might be less expensive wearing out and looking shabby in under 5 years. There's also a reason we are the only company that can guarantee your floor for 5 years against wear when no one else offers any type of wear guarantee not even for a day!
Bottom line is that no other epoxy floor coating you're going to apply to your floor will look better or last longer and give you more bang for your buck not to mention only having to do your floor once!
I see WB or WBU in some other product descriptions, what does that mean?
It means they are water based. It means that up to 50% or more of the product you are paying for is water. Water based epoxies are much thinner since 50% or more of the product you roll onto the floor evaporates away as it dries. Which is the root cause of all sorts of problems with your floor in a short amount of time. Our epoxy doesn't air dry it cures by a thermal chemical process and thus you get 100% of whatever you apply to your floor. So when you see a low price it's usually due to being water based or just high solids that are lower in quality.
What is the shelf life of the epoxy and topcoat?
If you're not sure exactly when you will be doing your floor there's no need to worry. ArmorGarage kits have a one year shelf life for the epoxy and standard topcoat and 6 months for the military grade topcoat.
Do I Have To Etch My Floor?
Yes, the purpose of etching is to get the floor clean so there's nothing between your concrete and the epoxy. More importantly etching opens millions of tiny pores in your concrete. Our epoxy is designed to flow into those pores and expand. Locking and binding the epoxy to your concrete making it virtually impossible to come off. The issue with most other paints and coatings is they either just sit on the surface and or they don't expand into your concrete which guarantees a failure in a short period of time. Armor Chip is Hot Tire Proof!
Do I need to etch if I grind the floor and what type of grinder do you recommend?
You don't have to etch if you grind your floor. Most floors can be prepped with the Floor Prep Machine you can rent from Home Depot. It's a very easy machine to use, its basically a floor buffer with diamond brushes. If available also get the Vac attachment, this will reduce the amount of dust you need to clean up. If renting a grinder from a tool rental store get the biggest grinder you can handle and again get the Vac attachment. Also always ask for new bits and try to get 25-30 grit bits.
Do I have to etch my new concrete?
Yes! New concrete should always be etched twice to remove curing residues and to profile the concrete since almost all new slaps are power troweled smooth. Old and very dirty floors should be etched twice as well as floors that were power trowelled very smooth. The objective is to get the pores of the concrete opened so that the epoxy locks into those open pores. Our Second Etch Option is great for doing your second etching.
Will The Floor Be Slippery?
All our epoxy kits come with nonslip additive as standard that you add into the final topcoat.
How do I order different color chips than what's standard with your kits and why don't you have a floor simulator?
In the "Custom Order Note Box simply list up to 5 colors that you choose from the Flake Color Chart located on the Color Chart Tab page. There is no extra charge for custom colors and you can order the flakes to ship separately instead of mixed so you can experiment with different color ratios. Plus ArmorGarage has a Color Satisfaction Guarantee. If your not happy with the colors of the flakes when you receive them will replace them with another set of your choosing at no cost! As for why we don't have a simulator, we feel the results you see don't match reality and more often than not it leads to disappointment. Best to look at our customer pictures for the best representations.
My floor is close to or slightly larger than the 600sf coverage of the Armor Chip Kit. What do I do?
If your floor is less than a 125 sf larger(under 725sf) than we recommend that you purchase the Epoxy Flooring Primer. 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 725 sf larger than purchase the Add On Half Kit
How long do I need to wait before coating a new slab?
New slabs need to cure for 28 days minimum and they need to be double etched or grinded.
I do a lot of work in my garage how good will this be for this type of application?
Armor Chip floors are high rolling & static load resistant, high impact resistant, acid and chemical resistant, road salt resistant and even resistant to harsh cleaning solvents like bake and carb cleaners. We recommend the use of the military grade topcoat for the best protection, this will give you commercial auto service shop level protection. Jack stands, Engine hoists and large tool chests are childs play for our floors.
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. If you want to finish that little strip of concrete outside the door it's best to take a small sample of the epoxy to your local paint store and have them match it with some inexpensive outdoor concrete paint. This way when the weather and elements beat it up you can recoat it with inexpensive paint rather than expensive epoxy that is not designed for outdoor use. We make outdoor epoxy but it's not worth the expense for such a small area.
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 deep 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.
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 and is hard enough so that if you press your thumb into it and doesn't leave a fingerprint. Usually the next morning is the best time.
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, keep the car and other heavy rolling objects off for 3-4 days.
Should I order the military grade 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 15-20 years even in harsh climates with lots of road salts. If you have smaller vehicles that only go in and out of the garage a few times a day and or you live in a mild climate then you're fine with the standard topcoat. Our standard topcoat is very heavy duty and outperforms 99% of all other topcoats that are advertised as heavy duty. 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?
While your ArmorGarage Armor Chip epoxy floor is hard to scratch it's easy to repair. Scratches are easily fixed, see the Care & Maintenance page for the answers.
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 last 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. If you grind you can save a day or two since you don't have to wait for the floor to dry. Total working hours should be no more than 5-6 hours.
Can I paint my curbs and apply the color flakes to them?
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. To apply the flakes to them you can toss fingerful amounts of flakes underhanded onto the curbs. Some customers have told us that they spread some flakes on the floor alongside the curbs and puff them up onto the curb with a leaf blower. You can also do wood molding and steps in your garage, we would recommend priming with our Bonding Primer first.
First some tips on ordering. If your floor is a little oversized, lets say 650sf, it's better to order the primer rather than the Add On Half 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 car turning and twisting into a tight parking spot on the same floor below. 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 8 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 high quality 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. Simply adding in a UV additive does not make an epoxy a topcoat! In other words, it's a waste of time and money to apply a clear epoxy over your color epoxy with chips. 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 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 much much softer our Armor Chip finish. This means they will wear out faster. 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.
WATCH THIS VIDEO with the same blue arrows, it's just been updated on the floor's upcoming 16th birthday. You can see the original video done about 8 years ago on our YouTube channel. The Blue Arrows are redone every couple of years(with non-ArmorGarage Epoxy) and they continuously look worn while the Armor Chip floor with our military grade topcoat still looks new. So when you ask yourself what makes ArmorGarage Epoxy better or why is it better this is your answer in addition to our fast free shipping and great customer service!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 and state it's good enough, we only offer a high solids epoxy as a primer and never as the main coat. You should only use the highest level of epoxy whether it's a primer or epoxy and never what's just good.
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 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. If you want a full broadcast look use the Armor Granite kit it will cover about 95% of the floor and will look amazing without the risk of you messing it up. Read this post if you're thinking about a full broadcast epoxy floor?
