Floor Sealant

[Dougt115]

Hey guys,

Facilities just had the floor sealed with and epoxy material. It should have used 4 five gallon containers, they used 2. (They thought they were saving material and money.) They also put down the speckles and the clear sealant and called it done.

Now management wants me to determine if there is an issue and should they put down a second coat.

How should I Know!

Can anyone help me.

 

[racookpe1978]

Is the "new" floor still "perfectly clean" and/or can it be re-cleaned to a "perfectly clean condition" to add a second layer?

What is the floor service?
What does the epoxy company/supplier require for a second coat - if any at all is allowed and keep the warranty?
What is the impact of having to strip everything to bare concrete and re-applying with the proper thickness? Can you re-strip the current layer - or will that require evacuating the building, hazmat/dust and fumes to strip?

 

[Dougt115]

Still clean and unused.

It would take a lot to get management to strip the floor and start over. As for coating over it, I will have to check.

 

[IRstuff]

Seems to me that asking the manufacturer ought to be the first thing to do; they would want you to be using their product successfully.

TTFN
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[Ron]

As others noted, what is the service for the floor?
How old is the floor? (new construction or existing building)
Is a barrier coating such as epoxy appropriate for the application or should it have been treated with a more porous system such as a calcium silicate sealer?
Were bond tests done to check the bond of the epoxy to the concrete?

 

[dik]

Also check to see if the epoxy coating has a time period for re-coating... some epoxies have to be re-coated within 24 hours, or something of that ilk...

Dik

 

[Dougt115]

Guys,

What I was really hoping for here was a simple answer. "Go ahead and recoat" or "You're Scr#$$d"

The floor was old looking management wanted it to look newer. They are using the room for assembly of electro-mechanical-hydraulic units.

They went to Home Depot bought the material, hired I don't know who and he rolled it on like painting. Then management came to me to get my input when they found it was too thin.

Personally I think they now have a grey floor with speckles on it (to make it look like granite). It looks better than cement but that is about all.

 

[Ron]

Dougt115...

Sounds like he applied a Rustoleum garage floor treatment or similar. If you recoat, you can put a clear coat over the existing to increase durability and get the thickness you need. Not a big deal if the manufacturer allows a clear coat (Rustoleum does).

 

[TomDOT]

If you are within the recoat window, you can go ahead and recoat with a high probability of success*. This information should be on the product data sheet or application data sheet. If facilities doesn't have a copy, you can usually get the information from the manufacturer's website.

*If they prepped the floor properly before applying. If they didn't prep the floor, the additional lateral stress from a thicker layer of crosslinking epoxy may well cause disbondment. "properly" should also be detailed in the data sheets.