How an Epoxy Coating Can Protect Polished Concrete Floors
Many commercial facilities and residential garages have polished concrete floors, as concrete is very durable and strong, yet very attractive when buffed and polished! Concrete can be painted any colour, so you might have a warehouse floor painted a dark colour to hide dirt and footprints, or painted various colours for designating storage areas, pedestrian lanes and the like.
To protect polished concrete floors, a layer of epoxy can be added over its surface. Note how epoxy coatings can protect polished concrete, and why you want to leave this job to a professional!
Adding a primer
A layer of primer under an epoxy coating works just like primer under house paint; the primer seeps into tiny holes and cracks of the concrete and provides a smooth surface for the epoxy. Epoxy primers will also help to seal cracks and pits that would otherwise cause the concrete to chip or break.
There are many types of primers available for epoxy, depending on the type of concrete used for the flooring and its overall condition. Certain primers may also be needed for certain types of epoxies, so the materials adhere to each other properly. If you're not sure which primer would be needed for an epoxy coating on your concrete floor, leave this work to a professional!
Type of epoxy
An epoxy coating will help to protect concrete from standing water, motor oil, and the like. Epoxy will also help to seal concrete, so that it can't absorb moisture and humidity from the air, keeping the material solid and strong. An epoxy coating can also be tinted any colour, so adding a layer of epoxy is a good way to touch up any faded paint on concrete flooring.
Aggregates and topcoat
A polished concrete floor might look nice, but if it's overly polished, it might become downright slippery! If your concrete floor doesn't offer enough traction for safe foot or vehicle traffic, an epoxy contractor can add a layer of aggregate on top of the epoxy, for a bumpier texture. A topcoat can also be added, for even more shine and to protect the epoxy and the aggregate.
As with a primer, various types of aggregates and topcoats can be added to a concrete epoxy, and using the wrong aggregate can mean a floor that's too bumpy, while a poor-quality topcoat might wear away and fail to protect that concrete. For all these reasons, leave the work of adding an epoxy coating to an epoxy flooring professional.
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