Interesting, useful, cheap epoxy option

[Carlos]

Garage floor epoxy. It's relatively inexpensive when you figure you get a gallon for about $60. I was surprised to also learn that it is water-soluble so cleanup is easy, and it has about a four hour working time. It's fairly thin compared to regular epoxy. It's easy to mix up a cupful in a disposable plastic cup and pour it on as an indestructible finish or use it for support on projects. Right now I'm using a batch to line the inside of a plant holder made from thin Wenge and Zebrawood. It's thin enough to worry me, but with a couple coats of this stuff it will be solid. And of course, this makes it waterproof.

The epoxy starts out as a white liquid and dries perfectly clear, not yellowish like many epoxies. So it's suitable as a finish for anything that needs to be waterproof and/or tough. It's easy to do a heavy layer and embed things in it. I'm going to do a card table with cards and chips in it.

[footprintsinconc]

am i missing something? what is the product name and where do you get it from....?

[radhak]

am i missing something? what is the product name and where do you get it from....?

He's referring to any of the floor coatings for the garage, like this :



But don't these need two different mixes? I had thought there might be something in them to harm wood...?

Interesting thought though.

[Cheeky]

unfortunately, the epoxy garage floor paint found in big boxes will start to wear in 4-5 years (with auto traffic)

[Carlos]

Not sure what you mean about two different mixes. It is a two-part epoxy, but it's water-based unlike the others. I suppose the water may be an issue while it hardens. I tried a test piece and didn't see any harm after a week or so. Right now it's curing on the plant holder.

The test piece has a hard, thick finish like you'd expect from epoxy (same as MANY coats of other finishes). It has much less tendency to darken wood than something like lacquer (which is good or bad depending on what you're looking for). I'm hoping to try it over lacquer to see if I can get both.

[Carlos]

will start to wear in 4-5 years (with auto traffic)

If anyone parks a car on my furniture, there will be bigger problems than "wear."

[Garasaki]

If anyone parks a car on my furniture, there will be bigger problems than "wear."

No, see it's not a problem unless the person is parking on your furniture every day for 4 or 5 years.

A one time thing - not an issue.

[cgallery]

No, see it's not a problem unless the person is parking on your furniture every day for 4 or 5 years.

A one time thing - not an issue.

You haven't seen my wife park.

[Carlos]

[footprintsinconc]

oh, i see. i thought it was some new epoxy product that you found. i didnt realize its the garage stuff that you find at the borgs .

[Carlos]

Old product, new use, that's all.

[atgcpaul]

I didn't realize the mixture was clear. I always thought it was gray and then
the homeowner threw the confetti colored chips on top.

[Carlos]

There are many colors available, and the mix-in specks and anti-skid. Clear is one option, and I just left out the anti-skid.

[radhak]

which particular brand did you use - the same as from Lowes or something else?

and how did you apply it - brush, or poured on?

[Carlos]

The Quik-crete brand posted earlier in the thread. For the plant holder I poured it in and swirled it around to cover everything. As it slowly hardened I came back and repeated the swirling to get thicker coverage. For my test piece I brushed it onto the surface (foam brush). For the table top I plan to do with a thick coat I will build a dam around it with tape and then pour it in.

Either method seems to work fine. It brushes like a slightly thickened lacquer.