How to Epoxy a Chipped Concrete Floor

Epoxy coatings are an excellent way to elevate the look of a concrete garage floor. The epoxy is available in a variety of colors, and a decorative flake can be added for an aesthetic boost. It also protects the concrete from chips, cracks, and stains while making the slab easier to clean and maintain. In order to add epoxy successfully, the slab must be in excellent condition, with no chips, cracks, or leftover adhesive. So how do you epoxy a chipped concrete floor? Check out the video or read the guide below to learn more.

Remove the Chipped and Weakly Bonded Concrete

Epoxy will not hold weakly bonded concrete in place. Instead, any chips or chipping areas still on the slab when epoxy is poured will prevent proper adhesion and the coating will fail, wasting time and money. As you’ll see in the video, we use a bush hammer attachment to loosen up and eliminate areas where has or may occur.

After this, we use a shot blaster to profile the concrete and remove any loose concrete dust. Because the shot blaster has a dust collector attached, this eliminates any fine particles that could react with moisture and humidity in the air and prevent proper adhesion.

Once these steps are taken, the weak concrete will be removed, dust and particles are eliminated, and a proper concrete profile should be left behind.

Adding a Skim Coat

The next step is to fill in any pinholes and voids in the concrete to prevent air bubbles and pockets from preventing proper adhesion in the epoxy. We use 100 percent solids epoxy and diatomaceous earth to form a skim coat that we use to press over the concrete. This also fills in any gaps and makes the floor smooth and ready for a primer coat. You’ll want to let the skim coat dry for several hours to ensure a proper bond and any grout within the voids has properly hardened.

Once these steps are complete, you are ready to prime or add the layer of epoxy, making sure to follow the manufacturer’s guidelines for proper application.

Get Your Surface Preparation Materials with Us

Whether you need equipment, such as a shot blaster or bush hammer attachment, or you need high-quality, durable epoxy to coat your concrete, we have everything you need to get the job done right. To learn more or to get a quote on equipment, reach out to us today at  (815) 278-1308 or fill out the form below to get started.