Here's how our floor looked after everything was done. A man's home is his castle. For a car guy, the inner sanctum of that castle is the garage. It's the place we go to have our fun, seek refuge from a bad day, and find solace in the simple task of fixing and improving the mechanical toys we love. We'll fill the garage with latest tools, gadgets, and car care devices we can find to make our hobby more enjoyable. The walls will be painted and adorned with signs from yesteryear, calendars, anything to give our garages more personality, color, and an atmosphere that provides the haven from the real world we need to keep our sanity. All too often, even the nicest garage has one glaring flaw, an ugly blemish distracting from an otherwise perfect area - the floor. The most used part of any garage, it doesn't have to a distracting eyesore any longer, thanks to the folks at UCoat It. UCoat It (www.UCoatIt.com)started up in 1999 with the goal of offering DIY enthusiasts a way to protect their garage floors with an industrial style epoxy floor coating that didn't require any special equipment. Today, garages all across America, from simple family homes all the way up to front line race shops for teams like Warren Johnson, and specialized collector shops/garages like the one star Jay Leno has for his massive car collection. A hard as nails floor coating that takes the punishment and abuse of an automotive environment, but still looks as good as new. Follow along as we show you how easy it is to spruce up and protect your garage's floor. UCoat It was nice enough to send one of their ace installers down to show us some tips and tricks and the correct way for any do-it-yourselfer to install the UCoat It floor coating. SOURCE UCoat It (800) 826-2848 www.UCoatIt.com Like with any painting/coating process, the most important and first thing to start with is a clean surface. The floor you plan to coat should be free of all dust, dirt, and debris. If your surface isn't clean, the primer and then top coat won't adhere properly.Like with any painting/coating process, the most important and first thing to start with i Don't rush through the cleaning process, take plenty of time to make sure you get everything cleaned up off the floor. When in doubt, sweep the floor again. Something else that will help is to use a new broom for a final sweep. A well used broom will always have some dust and dirt in it, so every time you sweep it across the floor, you'll be leaving some residue behind.Don't rush through the cleaning process, take plenty of time to make sure you get everythi The UCoat It kit comes in a handy five gallon bucket that's used for mixing both the primer and final floor coat. The kit also includes a paint roller, roller brushes, regular brushes, stir sticks, safety glasses, and even a pair of rubber gloves.The UCoat It kit comes in a handy five gallon bucket that's used for mixing both the prime If your floor has "chunks" missing out of it, large cracks, or other gaps, UCoat It sells a special patch kit (pictured) UPatch, that will fix the concrete and help make your surface smooth again.If your floor has "chunks" missing out of it, large cracks, or other gaps, UCoat It sells If your floor has any grease residue on it, you'll need to scrub/degrease the floor otherwise the UCoat It epoxy won't adhere properly to the floor. UCoat It sells special degreasers and solvents for taking care of these problems, but if you can't get those, any high quality, water washable degreaser will work. Once the floor is clean of grease and dirt residue, the next step is to mop the floor down with a muriatic acid/water wash. The acid wash neutralizes the alkalinity of the concrete and any cleaning solutions that may have been used to clean the floor. Using the supplied five gallon bucket, fill the bucket 3/4 full of water, then add 1/2 a gallon of muriatic acid and stir the solution lightly. Wet down the floor, then mop it with the acid solution. Rinse and repeat this once more over the entire floor. After that, soak up any standing puddles or water. Once that's done, mask off the bottoms of the garage's walls, and any other surfaces close to the floor that could get coating on them as it's applied.If your floor has any grease residue on it, you'll need to scrub/degrease the floor otherw Using the supplied bucket (after it's rinsed out and dried), mix the base coat using all of the entire container of part A...Using the supplied bucket (after it's rinsed out and dried), mix the base coat using all o ...part B... ...and part C. Mix them together thoroughly. Once all three parts are mixed, you have a limited amount of time to lay down the base coat. Warmer temps and higher humidity will make the mixture cure faster and decrease the amount of time you have to apply the first coat. Before you apply the base coat, if your floor has dried completely, use a hose and re-dampen the floor before applying the base coat....and part C. Mix them together thoroughly. Once all three parts are mixed, you have a li When mixing, it's best to use a power mixer on the end of a power drill so you get a thorough mixture of the three parts of the base coat. Making sure your epoxy coating is thoroughly mixed reduces the chances of something going wrong with the coating and the results not turning out properly.When mixing, it's best to use a power mixer on the end of a power drill so you get a thoro Before coating the main floor, cut in near the base of the walls and in difficult corners/turns using the supplied paint brush. This reduces the risk of splatter from the roller getting on any surfaces you don't want messed up.Before coating the main floor, cut in near the base of the walls and in difficult corners/ After switching to the roller brush, paint any small areas like stairs, closets, etc., before painting the large open areas of your garage.After switching to the roller brush, paint any small areas like stairs, closets, etc., bef 1 | 2 | » | View Full Article By Patrick Hill Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
