The Home Improvement Blog by Slide-Lok Garage Interiors

Painter vs Pro - Failed Garage Floor Coating

Epoxy garage floor coatings applied by painters and DIYers result in countless aggravated homeowners every year as the coatings inevitably fail. The FIX - hire a professional floor coatings applicator to remove and re-do the floor coating.

9/10/2020

Failed diy epoxy restoration in Washington

Fixing A Failed DIY Garage Floor Coating in Washington

For the last several years a couple in Edmonds, Washington, had been completing DIY projects to transform the inside and outside of their home—the garage was the next project on their list. Without spending any time researching floor coatings the homeowners, unfortunately, found themselves a house painter who wanted to apply a DIY floor kit from the local paint store. The painter assured them it was high quality, inexpensive and just as good at a significant discount to what the professional floor coating companies offer. What they thought would be a cost-saving project for their 900 sq. ft. garage turned into a nightmare when the coating began to fail just a month later.

House painters are trained to apply single component paints to the insides and outsides of houses, typically water based latex paint. They are not typically trained in or have sufficient experience in applying two component floor coatings such as epoxy, polyurethane or polyaspartic. Floor coating failures can occur immediately or anywhere from months to years later, it largely depends on the quality of flooring prep, application methods, and materials used by the contractor. The couple from Edmonds, WA, were quite surprised to learn there was a major difference between painters and professional floor coating contractors. In this case, they chose the wrong contractor who used the wrong prep methods and inferior flooring products.

The homeowners loved the appearance of their garage floor when it was first finished, and were disappointed to see it deteriorate soon after. In a short period of time their floor began to crack and peel all over. Before long, the old concrete had reared its ugly head again. The couple found themselves tracking paint chips from the floor into their home and vehicles. After living with a deteriorating garage floor for two years, they decided to call a Slide-Lok authorized garage floor coating dealer in Washington for a free estimate.

“Painters, handymen and DIY kits in the floor coatings industry give many of us professionals a bad rep. Painters are good at painting interior and exterior walls, applying floor coatings properly is more intense than most of them portray to unsuspecting homeowners. Painters out there are using DIY paints from the local hardware store, they are cheap and require very little experience to apply. Many homeowners believe they are saving a lot of money by hiring a house painter to paint their floor. What they don’t realize is that they are using inferior materials, and improperly preparing the concrete surface for coating. It really does make a difference when you select the right contractors for the job. Concrete grinding, using the proper application tools and techniques, and even quality materials. Don’t get me wrong, I love the DIY epoxy floor kits. They are good for business. We fix DIY floors every month.”Allen, 5 Star Garage Interiors
Failed Epoxy DIY Floor

Why Do Epoxy Floor Coatings Fail?

Floor coatings fail most often because of a lack of proper adhesion followed by improper application or mixing technique. The simple fact of the matter is that not everyone is equipped to properly prepare a concrete floor surface for long lasting adhesion. Slide-Lok floor coating professionals don’t just pay close attention and detail to floor prep, filling cracks and grinding concrete but also use far stronger and superior coatings than are available to the average consumer. They are knowledgeable in determining what floor coating might work best for you and your garage (epoxy, polyaspartic) and offer custom colored chips, metallics and additives such as non-slip resistance, UV protection, etc... Luckily for this homeowner, floor coatings is what our Washington floor coating contractor specializes in and they were able to save and transform their floor, again.

The team set to work on removing the DIY epoxy coating a few days after the free estimate. They began the removal by scraping off loose epoxy and then they mechanically abraded the rest of the floor using professional diamond grinders to a profile similar to 60-80 grit sandpaper, which is needed to ensure floor coating adhesion and longevity. After the old epoxy was ground off and a fresh new porous concrete surface exposed the repair work was ready to begin. The team inspected the floors for holes and cracks, filled them with a polyurethane crack filler, and once filled in and cured, they ground the cracks smooth to match the floor. The floor was now ready for a 3-layer polyaspartic garage floor coating. The coating process involved 3-coats of our popular polyaspartic garage flooring system. There is a base coat or primer, then a middle or second coat that receives a broadcast of chips (this floor received Azul chips) and then the chips are top coated - all using polyaspartic.

The homeowners are now very happy with the finished result. As you can see from the photos above it was quite a dramatic transformation, they now have a very beautiful garage floor. These kinds of garage flooring restorations are not uncommon and failed DIY epoxy projects can be removed and fixed! Your garage floor is just one day away from perfection with a Slide-Lok garage flooring professional.

Polyaspartic Garage Floor Coating Washington
This 900 sq. ft. garage in Washington, now has the best garage floor coating in the industry backed by a 15 year limited warranty*. You can't beat that!

If you would like to transform your garage floors, we’re here and we’re open, and we’re ready and able to fill your orders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Slide-Lok Is The Most Trusted Name In Garage Makeovers Since 1977

Solid Products, Great Prices, and Timely Technical Support since 1977! Slide-Lok Garage Interiors is the oldest, longest continuing garage makeover brand in North America. We were the first one stop shop garage makeover for storage systems and flooring. We were also one of the first outfits to offer polyaspartic floor coatings to the residential garage flooring market. Our leading polyaspartic coatings have been in use on garage floors for nearly two decades, our competitors can't make that claim. We also manufacture and sell epoxy coatings that are great for indoor floors.

There are Authorized Slide-Lok Garage Flooring and Storage dealers all over the US and Canada that can transform your boring and dull garage into your dream garage. Every garage tells a different story, let us help tell yours.

So what are you waiting for, get your FREE ESTIMATE today: Contact Slide-Lok Garage Interiors.

Become a Slide-Lok Floor Coating & Garage Storage Dealer

Expand your contracting business, there are more opportunities when you carry Slide-Lok Garage Interior products. Slide-Lok is your one stop shop for garage flooring and storage solutions since 1977. Inquire today and discover the benefits of Slide-Lok Garage Interiors.

About The Author

Arizona Journalist Quindrea Yazzie

Quindrea Yazzie is a Phoenix-based journalist who specializes in digital content and client relations. Prior to Slide-lok, she has written for The State Press as an arts and culture reporter, AZ PBS as a digital producer and breaking news reporter and Indian Country Today as a reporter and producer. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. When she is not writing, she enjoys running, trying new coffee blends, hiking and finding new ways to be sustainable.

Keywords: painter, contractor, epoxy, diy, floor, coating, garage, home, improvement, paint, store, flooring, fail, washington, seattle, edmonds

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Contact Local Dealer

Find a Slide-Lok Garage Floor & Cabinet dealer in your area.

Call: 1-800-835-1759
E-mail: Click to e-mail.

Featured Blog Posts