When I got this garage, it had lots of potential but needed some work to get it the way I really wanted. The floor in particular, although not in terrible shape, had quite a bit of pitting and stains over the years despite what appeared to be some kind of epoxy based paint on top of it. I knew I wanted to do something about the floors. I debated about fresh epoxy coating (cheapest), floor tiles like Racedeck or Swisstrax (pricier side but looked good), or do what I really wanted which was polyaspartic coating (more expensive option). The Penntek polyaspartic coating has all the benefits of epoxy but is supposed to be much more resilient, easy to clean and looks really good. I decided tiles wasn't for me because it was really just a veneer and ultimately anything you spill or drag into the garage will eventually work its way to the underlying floor anyway. I can see the draw but it's not for me.
 |
| Penntek Polyaspartic Coating - Slate Stone - 7-10-2021 |
After doing some research and calling around, I ended up contacting Spectrum Painting LLC based in Pompton Lakes, NJ. They answered all my questions, were very professional and responsive, was reasonably priced and the reviews and client references checked out. Although it took a few weeks to get scheduled, the process itself only takes a day and the floor is ready for use in about 24 hours after the clear has been laid down. The first thing they did was to diamond grind the entire floor, removing any old coating there might be on there. The machine worked really well containing the dust but I did remove everything within 2 feet of the floor as well as anything else I didn't want to get dirty just in case.
 |
| Spectrum Painting on the job |
 |
| Diamond cutting the floors - 7-8-2021 |
Once that was done, the top layer of concrete dust was vacuumed again. They filled any cracks in the concrete, inspected it for excess moisture (which mine thankfully didn't have or they'd have to add a moisture barrier for additional cost and time). They then applied a layer of a liquid filler to even out the surface as best they can including filling all the little pits in the concrete.
 |
| Fixing the cracks and pits - 7-8-2021 |
Once that dried, they grind the floor one more time to smooth it out again and vacuum any dust off. Next up they apply the base coat and liberally spread the paint chips (I chose slate stone but they a bunch of other options) over it to give that awesome texture and color effect.
 |
| Applying base coat and paint chips - 7-8-2021 |
This has to cure for about 1.5 hours before the next step. Unfortunately, this is where our luck ran out. The skies opened up after about an hour and they couldn't risk the clear coat getting wet so they had to stop there until we had a forecast of clear weather for at least 24 hours straight. That was today, so they came back to finish the job. First they scraped and collected any excess paint flakes to smooth out the surface and did one final cleaning to ensure a clean surface. They then pour the clear coat on top, using a squeegee to spread it evenly then a roller is applied to make sure it's nice and even.
 |
| Applying clear coat - 7-10-2021 |
The results are absolutely amazing. I still have to wait 8 hours before I can walk on it and a total of at least 24 hours before I consider putting the cars back in (the longer the time the better, 48 hours would be ideal) but the transformation is incredible. Now everything that's been waiting for the floors to get done can move forward for this project.
 |
| Before - 7-8-2021 |
 |
| After - 7-10-2021 |
Despite the rather stressful past two days of having all my cars in the driveway in the middle of heavy storms (thankfully dodging hail), it was totally worth getting it done the right way. This looks amazing and the product is warrantied for 15 years and should hold up well to my usage.
