| Have you been catching "Motor City
Motors" on The Discovery Channel? It’s a
program
that picks up where the old “Monster Garage” left
off
– but this time it’s shot in the Motor City itself,
Detroit. If you do watch the new series you’ll notice that
the
build crew is working on a pretty tough, but good looking floor. It so
happens that the same floor system is available for your garage or
shop, and you can install it yourself! The resin coating is formulated
and manufactured by Wolverine Coatings Corporation, and although they
deal only with large industrial accounts, the exact same coatings are
available to the home or small business owner exclusively through Alpha
Garage. We’re currently putting the finishing touches on our website, which will have all the floor coating information you need to transform a dirty garage space into a clean utilitarian extension of your living space. But until our site is officially launched you can contact us directly at info@alphagarage.com, or call us at 877-333-GARAGE (4272) for more product information. So how did our coatings end up on the Motor City Motors shop floor? Here’s how that deal went down… Earlier this year we made plans to spend a few days in an old warehouse in Detroit. Our mission? To coat the floor scheduled to be used as the main set for the production of the new reality TV show “Motor City Motors”. Due to a very tight pre-production schedule, the project was a last minute rush job, there wasn't even enough time for a preliminary survey to evaluate the existing floor. No problem; we were told the floor was in pretty good shape, so we tackled the task site unseen.  The
space to be coated was about 4,000 square feet. We gathered and
overnighted enough material to coat the floor with our industrial
epoxies, BondTite 1101 and LiquaTile 1184. Eric Swanson, of Wolverine
Coatings, along with Brent Faid, who runs Epoxy System Specialists of
Greenville, SC, flew up to Michigan where they met up with Jim Burnett,
President of Metro Coatings, Inc., who drove in from Decatur, Illinois
with two of his best installers, Butch Summer and Andy Woodard. I would
attend to represent Alpha Garage and all of our past, present, and
future intrepid Do It Yourselfers. Well, someone has to keep the
experts in line!We all gathered at the job site in the Mexican Town neighborhood of Detroit, where we were escorted into the 1930's era warehouse. The warehouse is a 350,000 square foot building that has seen much better days and its upkeep has barely kept up with the decline of the Detroit automobile business. There are racks and stacks of parts and tooling for Ford, GM, and assorted Motown suppliers. Suspension assemblies, body panels, bending jigs, crates and boxes of stuff stacked high and wide. Parts and molds for everything from pick up trucks to the recent Ford GT. Some of the warehouse was well kept and orderly; but most of it was neglected, dilapidated, and looked like a tornado had passed through. Power and water were hard to find, and there were very few lights, which was okay during the day because huge chunks of roofing were missing. But of most concern to us was the floor, which looked like ground zero after a good sized bomb explosion. The 4,000 square foot section where they planned to stage the action was a mess. It was hard to believe we were actually standing on an indoor floor. If someone had told us that Ford and Chevy had been waging trench warfare there over the last 30 years - we would not have been surprised. First things first - we started cleaning off the dirt. As layer after layer of caked on crud was excavated, more and more problems were revealed. Big uneven chunks of cracked concrete, imbedded metal rails, pieces of pipe poking up, and thick patches of asphalt. We realized that the dirt was actually a good thing - it managed to level out the area, but sadly dirt is one of the few surfaces the BondTite 1101 will not adhere to, so the big dig continued. Clearly this was going to take more time than we had allocated, more material than was on hand, more equipment than we had access to, and a larger budget than we had to work with. In short, it was beginning to look like a rerun of a Monster Garage episode gone bad. To
be honest it seemed like a good idea to take an extended commercial
break, but with the cameras set to roll in a few days, stopping was not
an option. “The show must go on” - and so our epoxy
must go
down.
 For
most home garage and shop applications we recommend a
three layer epoxy coating system for maximum durability and lasting
appearance. The primer coat would be BondTite 1101, a 100%
solids
epoxy
with extremely tenacious grip strength. That would be
followed
with a
coat of LiquaTile 1184, this pigmented epoxy will give your floor the
ability
to withstand shock and impacts, protecting the concrete.
Finally
a clear
coat of EnduraShield 2254 to help resist abrasion and give your floor
that high
gloss finish. In addition to curing to
an extremely hard and durable surface, EnduraShield 2254 is also UV
resistant
so it will keep its water clear great appearance longer. We
planned to use that same proven system here, however because
of
the TV lighting requirements we needed to make a few small
changes, more on that later. But first we needed to get the
concrete prepped so we could apply the BondTite 1101 primer.
The Metro Coatings crew brought a ride aboard propane powered shot blaster which will help with the prep work, it’s a very effective tool that hurls a huge amount of high velocity steel shot at the floor via centrifugal force, but it’s not a miracle machine. On a typical floor that shot blaster could have the area prepped in just a few passes; but we’re not dealing with a typical floor. The shot blaster cannot level out low or high spots; it doesn’t eliminate deep stains or spills; it can’t grind down metal; and it won’t remove materials like asphalt. Nope- no way around it - there was going to be a lot of manual work involved. Also, when using a shot blaster on most jobs, every now and then, someone needs to sweep the area with a magnetic broom to collect the wayward shot media that the blaster’s vacuum doesn’t retrieve. But with the rough and uneven floor there’s a whole lot more loose shot to pick up, so one person was assigned to magnet patrol pretty much full time; kind of like the guy assigned to walk behind the elephant in the parade… “Hey, it’s showbiz!” Now for residential DIY projects a shot blaster isn't necessary, most floors can be easily prepared by using a chemical etcher, one that's simply sprinkled on, left to etch for a few minutes, and then rinsed off. You can read more about floor preparation in our free application guide, available at the end of this article. While the blaster crew was making constant passes over one or two sections, everyone else was busy with other problem spots. Loose, spalled, or chipped concrete needed to be sledge hammered and removed. There was conduit and pipes poking up through the floor, some were at grade and just needed to be filled, others protruded too far to be ignored and angle grinders were brought out to cut or grind them down to a manageable height. Likewise the grinders were used on various metal rods and anchor points scattered around the floor. To further complicate matters, asphalt had been applied as a quick fix to even out low spots. Sadly those patches would be too rough and soft for the punishment the floor will be receiving from the Motor City Motors build crews. The asphalt had to be removed with a floor scraper after being softened with a propane torch.  After
a couple of days of serious work, all the loose crud and high spots are
cleared up. Now it’s time to build up the low spots, and
there
were lots of them. To fill the low areas and bring them up to grade, we
used a polymer modified cementitious product. It’s a durable
filler that cures quickly and works well with the BondTite 1101 primer.
For larger areas, Wolverine Coatings TrowelEase is the economical way
to go, but for smaller cracks and voids, and for spaces that could
shift (such as expansion joints), Wolverine’s IntegraFlex
1921 is
usually the better choice.Even though there were a lot of cubic feet to fill and level, the patch work went pretty quick with everyone helping. Now’s probably a good time to point out that if your floor project requires you to get down and work on your knees, it’s a great idea to get a pair of quality knee pads. They are well worth the investment. The Wolverine floor coating solution is a “high build” system using 100% solids epoxies for the primer and top coat, which means that if the epoxy is applied wet at 17 mils thick, it will cure to a full 17 mils thick. Nothing evaporates, and nothing shrinks. That high build finish means that we didn’t need to obsess and spend a lot of time getting a super smooth patch work. The thick coatings would cover up a lot of minor trowel marks and rough spots. That saved us quite a bit of time. Most cement patches need to cure for several days before they can be coated with epoxy, and most epoxies require a bone dry surface to adhere to, but TrowelEase and IntegraFlex 1921 set up extremely fast; while BondTite 1101 can be applied to damp surfaces, so fortunately we didn’t need to wait too long before we could start applying the BondTite 1101 prime coat over the patched areas. By the way, although the floor was in absolutely horrendous condition when we first saw it, and it was about as bad as they get, it’s not unusual with many DIY floor projects that the preparation can easily be the majority of the work. But eventually the preparation work gets done, so let’s put down some BondTite 1101!  A
big job often has one person mixing, a runner bringing the mix out to
the floor, someone on the floor spreading the mix, and one or two guys
back rolling. Here the staging area was right by the floor, so the
mixer could easily bring it out, but we were a bit thin on manpower, so
we just had two guys on the floor, and fortunately, that was enough for
the task.One floor man would use a squeegee to spread the material, and the next guy would back roll the epoxy to even it out. Is this a case where a notched squeegee would help? Well, the BondTite 1101 is applied at a depth of 5 mils, or about one gallon per 290 square feet. On a small floor it’s easy to mark out a 290 square foot section, then pour out and evenly spread one gallon of mixed BondTite 1101 over that area. But with larger floors it’s not always easy to mark off sections and keep track of how much material has been applied. A notched squeegee has calibrated openings on the blade that allows a certain measured amount of material to pass through, helping achieve an even application. However, when you need thin coats, like a 5 mil thick layer, the notches need to be very small, and they can block easily, or they wear down, and too much pressure can throw things off. So with thin coats notched squeegees can easily lead to a layer that is spread way too thin. On thicker coats, 10 mil or more, that’s not as much of a concern. In our case neither thick nor thin coats were a concern because we had a secret weapon – Butch. Butch has been doing floors for a long time, and he can put down real exact depths with just a straight edge squeegee. Pour out a bucket of epoxy and ask Butch for a 7 mil thick coat, and he’ll squeegee down 7 mils, request a 13 mil layer, and he’ll deliver 13 mils. A neat trick if you can pull it off, but do not try it at home! That touch takes a couple of hundred thousand square feet of coating to master. Until then, stick with a notched squeegee or, just as effective, careful measuring and back rolling. 
 Even over bare concrete, BondTite 1101 spreads easily and smoothes out real nicely. Many clients have come to this point, then stop and admire the slick glossy look so much that they’re reluctant to cover it with a coat of LiquaTile 1184. Believe me; with this floor and its patchwork of different fillers, varying concrete, stains, pipes, etc., we had no hesitation covering the primer coat with a nice gray LiquaTile 1184, although just the BondTite 1101 may have worked well on the Motor City Motor’s post-apocalyptic set. After the BondTite 1101 was tack free it was on to the LiquaTile 1184. We stuck to the same routine of mixer/runner, and 2 guys on the floor. At this point the DIYer may want to use a notched squeegee, not so much for the calibrated spreading of the epoxy, but rather because of the unique nature of LiquaTile 1184. Unlike most every other epoxy, LiquaTile 1184 contains ceramic content, which is composed of small bits of specially treated ceramic aggregate. The ceramic content doesn’t just set in the cured LiquaTile 1184 like nuts in a fruitcake, instead, as the LiquaTile 1184 cures, the ceramic bits crosslink with each other, forming a kind of internal molecular trampoline. This feature allows the cured LiquaTile 1184 coating to be extremely hard, yet retain some flexibility. What that means is your LiquaTile 1184 floor has an increased ability to absorb movement, shock, and impact; so a dropped object is less likely to cause the coating or underlying concrete to chip. Additionally the coating can actually help keep concrete cracks from forming. And if they do form, the LiquaTile 1184 will help prevent the cracks from transmitting to the surface. The downside is that LiquaTile 1184 is a heavy and viscous liquid; if you need to spread a lot of it, it can be a workout on those arm muscles. A notched squeegee makes that part of the project easier. That wasn’t an issue for us because Butch used a straight edge squeegee for the LiquaTile 1184 too, 12 mils on the nose. We were running short on time, but the “Motor City Motors” art director didn’t think DecoFlakes would show well on camera, and that saved us a bit of time. Finally the decision was made to not use a clear coat. The thinking was that with the bright overhead lights the extremely glossy and reflective finish of either BondTite 1101 or EnduraShield 2254 would have “hot spots” that would cause lens flare and other video problems. In fact, even the bare LiquaTile 1184 finish was deemed too glossy for the sensitive TV cameras, so Brent and Jim went over the floor with a low speed buffer and a chemical to dull the finish a bit, LiquaTile 1184 has a very durable finish, so dulling it was not an easy task.  In the end, the floor was a far bigger challenge than we anticipated, but the combination of our team’s efforts and the Wolverine Coatings Corporation products worked well together to complete the project on time and meet the demands of the show’s production team. The minute we were done, they started hanging lights and building the rest of the Motor City Motors set. All in all, the Motor City Motors project was a whole lot different from most every Do It Yourself project we've helped complete. Very few residential garages or shops have anywhere near the dilapidated conditions this warehouse had. But even with possibly the worst floor in the northern hemisphere, in the end, the result was a fantastic looking floor that’s durable, easy to clean, a joy to work on, and worthy of a staring role on Primetime TV! So regardless of the current condition of your concrete, getting the same high quality floor in your place is a lot easier and less expensive than you think! Contact us directly at info@alphagarage.com, or call us at 877-333-GARAGE (4272) for more product information. Okay, the Wolverine floor is ready for its close up!  See how easy it is to install this durable, attractive, and easy to maintain industrial coating on your floors, in our application guide:  |
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