“Never in my Life Have I Seen a Workshop this Clean and Wonderful” – Joe.
Joe’s garage is stunning! Before coating his garage with the AWF Polyurea coating, Joe applied a concrete dye. The dye adds a unique and beautiful dynamic to the floor and the gloss from the polyurea brings it out.
The AWF Polyurea is available in a few different colors and can be combined with a variety of different-colored flakes. For a garage floor that is glossy but still natural-looking, we recommend using a clear polyurea, as Joe did.
After installing his garage floor coating, Joe created a well-written blog post on his entire process – from prep to dye, to polyurea. While we feature some relevant parts of his blog post below, you can check out his full write-up here.
Joe’s Review:
Ever dream of a floor with a depth and gloss of clear lake ice? This can be that floor; the process is easy and only costs $900 in materials. Note, my house is new with a fresh pad (20×20 ft.), so the concrete did not require extra prep. I worked in halves, so the project took two weeks. It can be done on a weekend if temps are above 50F at night using an empty garage. Caution: Do not expect perfection if you are DIY and work alone. Also, most of us have flaws in our concrete. Mine were invisible prior to acid etch. Some dingus left a trail of boot marks on my pad. The sub who did the pour did not skim deep enough, so the etch brought out his size ten prints. Adds character, they say, gah!
Why Joe Chose Polyurea:
Epoxy floors fail when vehicles parks on them. There are too many problems with peeling, so I ignored the retail options. Polyurea or Polyaspartic are more durable. I chose the AWF brand due to cost, ease of shipping, and overall performance. Yes, I read all the datasheets. More info here. The install instructions can be found here. The vendors I used are single owners/operators (like a good hobby shop) and super responsive. The resin is a single batch, has a one-year pot life, and is easy to work. I bought a five gal bucket to have extra in case of mistakes or future damage. A standard two-car garage can be done in 3 gallons. I have since done some touch-ups, and it works like one hour epoxy. I chose the acid dye for artistic uniqueness and bond strength. The resin needs a porous surface to bond, and no two floors are identical using this style of etch. There are low VOC and no etch options, but they do not guarantee durability. Those methods usually require a primer coat, whereas I only used two products on this floor.
His Final Thoughts:
Once I achieved full cure, I rolled around on the floor like a dirty little pig boy. Never in my life have I seen a workshop this clean and wonderful. The floor is a dream to maintain. Spritz with water, mop, and back to new. You can walk barefoot, in your shop, in the middle of the night, and marvel at your work. Check out Kyle’s garage floor project.
Joe’s Photos:
