When it comes to preparing for a floor coating application, many people spend their time thinking about the type of coating product they’re going to use. So often, they will weigh the pros and cons of Polyaspartic and epoxy coatings without considering the most important step in this process: the floor prep.
Floor coatings are a major investment in a space, and you want to ensure this investment is prepared to last a lifetime. However, no coatings perform well unless the surface beneath them is properly prepared. Floor prep isn’t just a preliminary step. It is the foundation to success, ensuring your coating looks and performs its best for its expected lifespan.
In this blog, we’ll discuss why this step is crucial in ensuring floor coating performance and the risks you face if you don’t invest in quality prep.
The Role of Floor Prep in Successful Coatings
Your chosen floor coating product needs a solid, clean, and properly textured surface to adhere to. If the base for your coating is dusty, greasy, cracked, uneven, or already coated, your new floor coating may struggle to bond correctly. This leads to a variety of problems, from aesthetic issues to early system failure.
But, with adequate prep, you set the stage for success, ensuring strong adhesion between the concrete and the coating. Additionally, floor prep removes contaminants that interfere with bonding and reveals underlying floor damage so you can make essential repairs. While it might seem tedious, this is a critical step for installing a floor coating.
What Happens Without Proper Prep?
Skipping or rushing through floor prep can compromise the entire floor coating project. Improper preparation is one of the most significant causes of coating failures, which is why this step is essential. If you skip or rush through this step, there are several problems you may encounter, including:
- Peeling and Flaking: If your floor isn’t clean or rough enough, your floor coating may begin to peel soon after installation. Even if it looks fine initially, daily use and temperature fluctuations will soon cause delamination.
- Bubbling and Blistering: Moisture trapped under your coating due to improper preparation, like skipping moisture tests and sealing damp surfaces, can lead to bubbles and blisters that ruin coating performance and appearance.
- Uneven Finish: Floor prep ensures the surface is level and opens up the pores of the concrete. Skipping this step can result in visible imperfections and a bumpy texture that is hard, if not impossible, to correct after application.
- Reduced Lifespan: When prepared properly, floor coatings have a decades-long lifespan. However, if you disregard floor prep, you may have to redo the application just months after the initial application.
What is Involved in Floor Prep?
Professional floor prep is a multi-step process tailored to your concrete’s condition and the type of coating being applied. While these exact steps may vary depending on the product you’ve chosen, here is a breakdown of what you can typically expect:
Inspection and Moisture Testing
Before any floor coating product is installed, your team will perform a thorough inspection of your floors. The team will look for cracks, stains, old coatings, and signs of moisture issues, which may compromise the appearance and performance of your coating. Moisture testing is an essential part of this step. If your concrete is too wet, it can prevent the coating from curing properly and lead to blistering later. By testing beforehand, your team can craft a proper plan to ensure your floors are ready for this project.
Cleaning and Roughening
Once they’ve inspected the floors, the team will begin the cleaning process, removing oil, grease, dust, and debris from the concrete surface. They’ll use degreasers, specialized cleaning agents, and industrial vacuums to ensure all contaminants are removed before the application process begins. Then, they will grind the concrete surface to ensure the floor coating can adhere properly. This process removes the top surface of the concrete, opens the concrete’s pores, and creates a texture that allows the coating to grip tightly.
Cracks and Damage Repair
If your floor coating team finds any signs of damage to the concrete during their inspection, they will need to patch and repair it before they can apply the coating. Cracks, pitting, and spalling are repaired using epoxy fillers or patching compounds. By repairing their floors before the application process, your floor coating team creates a smooth, stable base. This smooth and even base ensures uniform application and prevents the coating from settling unevenly once it has cured.
Dust Removal
After the grinding or blasting, your floor coating team will need to do one final round of dust removal. They will use HEPA vacuums to remove the last bits of debris across your floors. If they don’t remove this debris from your floors, it can lead to an adhesion problem. This dust can compromise the contact area between your coating and the concrete. By going through with a vacuum, your floor coating team ensures that any remaining dust is removed and you’re setting yourself up for success.
Should You Try to DIY Floor Prep?
You may be tempted to perform floor prep on your own, but you may struggle to do so adequately. Unlike the professionals, homeowners often don’t have the tools necessary to prep their floors. Before you can begin, you’ll need to purchase these tools to ensure they are done properly, which can quickly become costly.
Additionally, the DIY prep products, like acid etching products, don’t provide a deep etching profile, making it difficult for the coating to adhere. Finally, you may miss cracks and moisture issues that a professional would. While DIY prep may save you money upfront, it can lead to early failure and an even higher price tag to fix the problem.
Exceptional Prep and Floor Coatings in Denver, CO
If you’re considering a floor coating project for your garage, basement, or commercial space, don’t just focus on the coating product. Take the time to understand the preparation process and why it matters so much. When you work with our team at Solid Garage Floor Coatings of Colorado, you can trust that we’ll provide comprehensive floor prep to ensure your floors look and perform their best. With our support, you’ll have beautiful floors in your home for years to come.
If you’d like to learn more about our floor coating products or schedule an appointment, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
