The success or failure of a new epoxy floor depends almost entirely on the surface preparation that was performed prior to installation. An improperly applied coating won’t last very long, and will chip and peel easily. For your garage floor, you need a surface that has been prepared with a diamond grinder or shot blaster. At Bach Custom Coatings, we have installed custom coatings on hundreds of garage floors in Portland, Oregon. Below, we talk about one of the most common problems that people run into with newly installed coatings.
There are many things that can go wrong with a do-it-yourself epoxy coating, but one that we see quite frequently when people use these kits is hot tire peel-off. When you drive your car around on a blistering summer day, your tires can get very hot. If you have an improperly installed coating or one that has not been properly prepared ahead of time, those hot tires can wreak havoc on it when your park your car. The heat from your tires weakens the bond between the epoxy and the concrete. When this happens, it can re-bond to your tires once they cool down. The next time you take your car out for a spin, the coating will peel off of your floor and onto your tires, leaving bare, ugly patches of concrete. To prevent this from happening, you have to use high quality epoxy, polyurethane or polyurea finishes. You also have to make sure that any old coatings, stains or contaminants on your concrete surface are completely eliminated. Substances like oil or old paint interfere with the epoxy’s ability to bond to the concrete.
It is a smart idea to leave this kind of project to the professionals. We will do high quality work and will offer a warranty. Here at Bach Custom Coatings, we never take shortcuts or cut corners, which is why the coatings we install are always built to last.