A garage floor coating doesn’t succeed or fail based on the coating alone. Evaluating the concrete, repairing cracks, mechanically preparing the surface, and addressing moisture all occur first, and each step directly affects how well an epoxy floor coating performs over time.
Here’s the concrete preparation timeline behind a professional epoxy coating when it’s done the right way.
Evaluating Cracks and Concrete Movement
Every experienced installer starts with the same understanding. There are two types of concrete: concrete that’s cracked, and concrete that’s going to crack. Whether a slab is brand new or decades old, expansion and contraction are unavoidable along the Front Range.
Before an epoxy and polyaspartic coating is installed, existing cracks must be repaired using a flexible elastomeric filler. This type of repair allows the concrete to move naturally, helping mitigate inevitable shifting instead of forcing stress into the finished coating.
Mechanically Preparing the Concrete Surface
Once cracks are addressed, surface preparation begins. Sweeping, degreasing, and acid etching are not enough to properly prepare garage concrete for coating.
Professional installers use diamond grinding equipment to create the correct concrete surface profile. Grinding opens the pores of the concrete, removes weakened or contaminated material, and ensures the epoxy floor coating can form a strong mechanical bond with the slab.
Testing for Moisture Inside the Concrete
All concrete contains moisture. Before applying epoxy floor coatings, installers should test moisture levels using calibrated meters. Moisture vapor moving up through the slab is a leading cause of coating failure if it’s ignored.
When moisture readings are elevated, a slow-curing, moisture-mitigating epoxy primer is applied as the base to protect the bond between the concrete and the coating. (Never a quick-cure polyurea or polyaspartic as is standard procedure in “1-day” systems”.
See the Difference Proper Preparation Makes
With preparation complete, the epoxy floor system can be installed. High-quality systems that use moisture-mitigating epoxy base coats (as moisture vapor barriers) often require a 2-day installation…in lieu of the rushed “1-day” approach. This allows each layer to cure properly and perform as intended.
If you’re considering an epoxy floor coating for your Front Range garage, the preparation process should never be an afterthought. GarageFloorCoating.com (Front Range) specializes in professional surface prep, flexible crack repair, and moisture-mitigating systems built for Colorado conditions.
You can also explore the Live Coatings Visualizer to see how an epoxy floor coating could look in your actual garage before moving forward. Contact GarageFloorCoating.com (Front Range) today to schedule a consultation and take the next step toward a garage floor built to last.