If your epoxy coating didn’t live up to your expectations, you might be wondering what to do with the cracked, chipped, disappointing mess on your concrete floors.
You’re not alone. Applying an epoxy coating is the best way to preserve and refinish your concrete floor, but if the installer doesn’t follow strict preparation and selection procedures, the finished product won’t look good, and it likely won’t last either.
Here are six possible reasons your current epoxy coating failed:
1. Inadequate Floor Preparation
For concrete to fully accept epoxy, the pores must be fully open and ready to bond. This is best accomplished through diamond grinding of the concrete surface. Usually it’s not enough to just sweep and wash the floor. Every square inch must be acid etched or ground, then all dust removed.
2. The Presence of Moisture
Water is bad news for an epoxy coating. If you have moisture issues with your concrete floor, this could spell the demise of the epoxy coating. Even if the room is simply humid, that can have a disastrous effect, because that means it’s nearly impossible to get the concrete completely dry before applying the coating.
3. Bad-Quality Epoxy Product
There are countless terrible epoxy products for sale. If the epoxy is low quality and the substance is watered down or not mixed properly, it will not produce long-lasting results. Check the ingredients or talk to your installer about what product is ideal for your concrete. When it comes to epoxies, the cheaper they are, the worse they perform.
4. Too Much Dirt, Dust or Grease
Grease and oil must be extracted from or ground out of the concrete before epoxy application. All the dirt and dust that gathers from the floor preparation process must also be removed, through sweeping or a shop vac. You don’t want your epoxy to bond with the dust.
5. Coating Isn’t Fit for the Install Environment
Different types of coatings are intended for different environments. Industrial labs will need a product that’s vastly different from what you’d choose for a residential garage. An experienced concrete professional can explain the difference.
6. Subpar Workmanship
Sometimes it just comes down to experience. Without the right tools and skills, an epoxy coating may still fail, even if all the preparation was done correctly and the right product was used.
We Can Correct and Prevent These Problems
At Packman’s Coatings, we take your concrete refinishing project seriously. It’s an art and a science, a balance we’ve mastered after years of hard work for clients just like you. Whether you’re looking for commercial, industrial or residential epoxy coating solutions, you can trust our team to deliver quality results that last.