Finally got done putting down an intermediate coat of epoxy to my garage floor. Next coat will be a top coat of poly. Before I put down the poly, I've been contemplating whether or not I should paint a Sneaky Pete logo on the floor. 
I was thinking a black sneaky pete logo big enough to fill one bay. Thoughts?
My friend, neighbor and fellow Viper owner owns an industrial costings business and after seeing how great his garage floors looked he convinced me to get mine done for the price of a few steak dinners. The process of painting the floor started late last fall when I had the floor shot-blasted to remove a sealer coat I put down about 6 years ago. Although I'm using industrial epoxy used in nuclear testing rooms any good epoxy will do BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT SURFACE PREP.
Shot Blasting:
Basically a process that utilizes a machine to pelt the **** out of your concrete with tiny metal shot. The process strips the concrete and makes it very porous. I didn't take pics of my actual floor during the blasting process but here's an example of shot blasting:
I've seen paint lift off of garage floors from hot tires because the concrete wasn't prepped or prepped in a bad manor. Whether you go the shot blasting or acid etching route (I did both) you need to make certain the concrete surface is porous enough to accept the epoxy paint.
Acid Etching Option:
After the shot-blast process, there were a few areas that could've used another pass. I decided to use an acid-etching solution for these areas. Interestingly enough, I found that my Lowe's sells muriatic acid by the gallon which is commonly used for etching. However, I found something that works much better and is (at least that's what the label states) environmentally friendly and won't harm your plants. It's called "Clean and Etch". It's VERY strong. At full strength it will do a number on your concrete. This stuff can be found at Lowe's and is fairly easy to use. Mix it with a gallon of water, pour or spray on the floor and scrub with a bristle broom until the foaming action stops. Rinse away with water and you're done. Had I know how well this stuff worked I wouldn't have gone the shot blasting route:
Unfortunately, I got a late start last fall and had to wait out the winter until the temps got above 50 degrees before I could put down paint. We started by putting down a primer/bonding agent and let it dry for 48 hours. We followed up with a thick intermediate coat of light gray epoxy paint. If you want a great workout for your shoulders, rolling this paint over 900 square feet will do the trick.
A few pics:
For a little texture and a different look, I put down Red/Black/White vinyl paint fleck/chips. This can be found at your local hardware or paint store.
We'll let this cure for 24-48 hours depending on the temps then we'll follow it up with a coat of poly. If my back cooperates, I will try to paint a sneaky pete logo before the poly goes down.
- Tony
I was thinking a black sneaky pete logo big enough to fill one bay. Thoughts?My friend, neighbor and fellow Viper owner owns an industrial costings business and after seeing how great his garage floors looked he convinced me to get mine done for the price of a few steak dinners. The process of painting the floor started late last fall when I had the floor shot-blasted to remove a sealer coat I put down about 6 years ago. Although I'm using industrial epoxy used in nuclear testing rooms any good epoxy will do BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT SURFACE PREP.
Shot Blasting:
Basically a process that utilizes a machine to pelt the **** out of your concrete with tiny metal shot. The process strips the concrete and makes it very porous. I didn't take pics of my actual floor during the blasting process but here's an example of shot blasting:
I've seen paint lift off of garage floors from hot tires because the concrete wasn't prepped or prepped in a bad manor. Whether you go the shot blasting or acid etching route (I did both) you need to make certain the concrete surface is porous enough to accept the epoxy paint.
Acid Etching Option:
After the shot-blast process, there were a few areas that could've used another pass. I decided to use an acid-etching solution for these areas. Interestingly enough, I found that my Lowe's sells muriatic acid by the gallon which is commonly used for etching. However, I found something that works much better and is (at least that's what the label states) environmentally friendly and won't harm your plants. It's called "Clean and Etch". It's VERY strong. At full strength it will do a number on your concrete. This stuff can be found at Lowe's and is fairly easy to use. Mix it with a gallon of water, pour or spray on the floor and scrub with a bristle broom until the foaming action stops. Rinse away with water and you're done. Had I know how well this stuff worked I wouldn't have gone the shot blasting route:
Unfortunately, I got a late start last fall and had to wait out the winter until the temps got above 50 degrees before I could put down paint. We started by putting down a primer/bonding agent and let it dry for 48 hours. We followed up with a thick intermediate coat of light gray epoxy paint. If you want a great workout for your shoulders, rolling this paint over 900 square feet will do the trick.
A few pics:
For a little texture and a different look, I put down Red/Black/White vinyl paint fleck/chips. This can be found at your local hardware or paint store.
We'll let this cure for 24-48 hours depending on the temps then we'll follow it up with a coat of poly. If my back cooperates, I will try to paint a sneaky pete logo before the poly goes down.
- Tony
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