Lab floor Epoxy options ?

Do y’all have a brand that you really liked? And obviously needs to be somewhat of a darker color as anything to light will show a lot of wear and tear fast?

Whatever brand you get make sure what your getting an epoxy that is 100% solids, dont get that garbage shit that home depot sells that whrinks when it cures.

This is what I used in my garage ArmorClad | Garage Floor Epoxy | Garage Floor Paint

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I’m a painter and I get contractor price for all paints. Dm me I can help you out

(What Scooby said 100% solids is the way to go)
If you want long term you need to rough the surface either acid etching or a grinder. Also check for water permeation unless you live in dry place

Look into no slip grit… or you’ll be playing hockey in your lab

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Durcon epoxy resin

Your profile is set to hidden so I can’t message you but I’ll hppily source all my epoxy through you if you wana shoot me a DM and your opinion on what the best possible epoxy for our lab would be in your suggestion

After doing more research on this topic and asking my former boss about this who now owns his own company specializing in floor coatings, your best bet is to skip epoxy all together and go with a urethane or polyaspartic coating for the best chemical resistance. Apparently epoxy has a shit rating for the chemicals many of us are using.

I ignorantly posted on another thread a few months ago that epoxy was the best bet because I thought that’s what I was putting down years ago when I was 18 on a floor that was meant to be chemical resistant. I’ll own up to that mistake. Turns out I was actually putting down a polyaspartic coating back then as well after talking to my former supervisor. He listed a few other coatings that were really good for labs that I can’t remember right now, but I’ll shoot him a text and give an update ASAP.

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Yea im not specialized in epoxy but ive done many floors.
Id listen to copper top if its in your budget but if i can source that paint through sherwin williams you can use my account and ill talk to my rep and get a kick ass price for you.

Ill start a dm so you can just message me once you find your product.

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MMA (methyl methacrylate) is another great option, but you really have to know what you’re doing or hire a professional to apply it if you go that route.

I’d also take this guy up on his offer if you’re doing it DIY. Contractors get WAY better prices on material. If you do it yourself make sure you degrease very well first if you decide to acid etch. Neutralize with ammonia/water. Prep work is 90% of a good coating. Purple Power is a great water based degreaser you can get from Autozone. Scrub with that, then pressure wash and rinse well and allow to dry thoroughly before coating. Grinding can get VERY messy and time consuming without the right equipment, but will be necessary if the concrete is old and/or fucked with glue or previous coating.

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I have an epoxy floor in my lab and I already spilled something on it that ate through the epoxy lol I’d listen to @coppertop, hes right about the chemical resistance

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In the past, I’d only ever heard of Epoxy as recommended for flooring in a lab. @coppertop Thanks for the urethane or polyaspartic floor coating suggestion. Does anyone have an off-hand a price comparison (per sqft) of epoxy vs. urethane or polyaspartic?

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Hey yo… If the offer still stands to use your distributor hookup, I’m about to move my facility in Denver and I definitely would like to get contractor pricing. :pray::kissing_heart::pray:

Your account is private and I can’t DM you tho.

Regardless of the brand you choose, please prep the floor VERY well. I’m talking grind the shit out of it AND do a citric acid etch, then let it dry fully for at least 24 hours, 48 is better.

After all of that is done, I usually use the stuff you pick up at Home Depot with fantastic results. Look for one that contains “polycuramine” tough as nails.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-RockSolid-76-oz-Mocha-Polycuramine-1-Car-Garage-Floor-Kit-2-Pack-286892/205723756

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This is a good video on, the proper way to prep a floor. The whole process takes a few days.

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If the concrete upon which the epoxy is applied was done by DIYers who didn’t know how to mix it right and put too much fly ash or filler, then the epoxy will bubble. There is no way to know ahead of time if that will happen, and the only remedy is to sand out the bubbles and apply another coat of epoxy. I learned all of that the hard way last week.

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Pro tip: floor grinders are like $200/day to rent. Especially if the floor was previously sealed, it’s the way to go. Also, beware painting green concrete, you will get bubbles.

We use a Sherwin Williams product which is insanely chemically resistant (like, halocarbon proof). It was a royal pain in the ass to install though and their instructions were waaayyy off. They recommended thick primer and thin topcoat and we had to do the exact opposite. The rep literally told us we were the only people who ever got it to look good.

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My sister is the head of sherwin Williams industrial coatings division. If you ever need a 55gallon drum of that stuff I can probably get a good deal on it.

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Make sure you throw some texture/grit in it. Those epoxy floors get slippery.

Too much grit makes it hard to clean really well so it’s a fine line.

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I have like 80k sqft of floor left to do so I might have to hit you up on that!

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How heavy is this stuff? Like will epoxy be too heavy for a second floor room?

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