How Do You Acid Etch Concrete Before Applying A Garage Epoxy Coating?
If you are planning to apply an epoxy coating to your garage floor the most important first step is to properly profile your concrete by acid etching the surface. The leading cause of coating failures whether a high performance epoxy or thin floor paint is lack of etching concrete and creating the proper profile to increase adhesion. There are two types of products to acid etch concrete. 1. Gel Acid 2. Liquid Acid Gel acids are very simple to use and predictable. They come in either 1 or 5 gallon containers. They do not need to be diluted and are poured into a paint tray. Once in the paint tray you can roll the gels onto your garage floor using a 3/8″ nap roller. You can leave on the surface for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes the acids effectiveness has been exhausted and can be easily cleaned off the surface using a squeegee. Just pull the gels into piles and clean off the floor with a dust pan or shovel. This step removes 70% of the gels. The balance can be cleaned off the floor
