How to Utilize Concrete Floor Coating

However, it is a far cry from the typical gray functional concrete floor.

Nowadays, a concrete floor has perhaps more options than any other type of floor. The color, texture, and finish can be made to exactly suit your taste, and whether it's made to look like stone work or whether it's polished to a high sheen, concrete floors are the most durable floors you can get.

Recent advances in concrete tools, dyes, stains, textures, and patterns make concrete flooring the most durable, versatile, and cost effective material available today.

There is more than one choices in concrete floor coating, depending upon the durability your concrete floor requires.

For concrete surfaces that are already nice and level, and that won't have to cope with mechanical abuse, and where skid resistance is not necessary, there are grades of concrete floor coating that are thinner than epoxy and that cost less too.

Please know that these coatings will not even out dips or bumps, but two coats will be about 7 mils thick, and the coating cures in seven hours or less. It is easy to work with and relatively fast flowing.

A two gallon supply of light duty concrete floor coating will cover up to 800 square feet. These coatings come in a variety of colors.

resistance to damage from falling objects

resistance to damage from equipment like forklifts

maximum resistance to skids (such as around pools)

filling-in of irregularities

repair of deep cracks or holes

These heavy duty floor coatings are very durable and can be strengthened even more by adding colored quartz chips. A two coat application is typically 20 mils thick.

These coatings take up to 14 hours to cure, and can be used to level and fill holes.

Preparation of the concrete floor surface that you want to paint is perhaps the most important part of the process. It must be de-greased and cleaned thoroughly, and there are chemicals designed to do this.

It should also be determined beforehand if the concrete you want to coat contains curing compounds because these can interfere with the adhesion of the coating.

You should not use concrete coating on concrete floors with any moisture in them. If a concrete floor has a chronic problem with moisture, you need to have it fixed and the source of the moisture removed before painting.

After the acid etching is done, the entire floor surface should be washed to remove any acid residue. After the floor dries, it's time to start adding the concrete floor coating.

Epoxy based paints make the concrete floor surface easy to clean and maintain.

If silica sand has been added to the epoxy to create maximum skid resistance, the surface will be more difficult to clean.

A glossy finish that resists abrasion and other chemicals, however, can be achieved using two coats of epoxy based concrete floor coating.

Properly caring for your concrete coating is the key to its lasting for a long time.

Ideally, a daily cleaning with a dust mop is recommended for floors that get heavy objects on them regularly (like a garage, where car tires can scratch the finish).

A thorough cleaning once a week will help keep your floor looking great for as long as possible.

Perhaps the only thing more amazing than their versatility is their outstanding durability.

If you have any questions on concrete floor coating, please don't hesitate to send them to me.

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