Important Facts About Garage Floor Sealer
By: Tom "The DIY Guy" WesleyToday’s garage is more likely to serve double-duty as a workshop for the do-it-yourselfer in the family in addition to being a parking place for the family’s automobile. All the more reason to considering applying garage floor sealer to preserve and protect this much-used and heavily trafficked space. How do you choose the right one? Through research.
The garage floor is subjected to a variety of substances which can stain it, including gasoline, oil, antifreeze , de-icing salt and other grime carried onto it by your car wheels. Because concrete floors are porous, these substances can not only discolor your floor, they can also cause it to crack, weather and deteriorate. A garage floor sealer not only protects the garage floor from damage, it also enables you to walk and park onto a smooth, attractive surface that resists slipping and staining.
Epoxy concrete sealers are among the most popular for the durable finish they offer. There are many garage floor sealers available that include a non-slip additive as one of their ingredients, and this makes your garage floor a safer environment especially when the floor gets wet.
Garage floor sealers are tailor-made for the do-it-yourselfer as they are easy to apply so long as your prepare the surface properly and follow certain directions. Garage floor sealers require a thoroughly clean surface so that they will adhere properly, so sweep over your garage floor with a heavy broom and then use a commercial oil degreaser to remove any existing grease stains.
After the garage floor has been washed and brushed, be sure it’s completely dry before applying garage floor sealer. Because garage floor sealer contains chemicals that can prove toxic if splashed onto the skin or inhaled, it’s important to wear protective gloves, eyeglasses and clothing, including a mask while applying the sealant. Also make sure the area is well ventilated. Keep the garage doors fully open or bring in a fan for ventilation. You can make your sealant more colorful by adding a little bit of acrylic paint to the mix prior to the application.
It’s important to apply the sealer evenly with a long-handled roller brush, working from the farthest corner of the room all the way to the exit door so that you don’t have to track over the freshly applied sealant while it is drying. Take care that there is no area of the floor where the sealer is too thickly or thinly applied.
Garage floor sealer takes as much as three to four days to completely dry, so plan your sealer application project over a long weekend or a time when you won’t need to use the garage for parking or workshop projects.
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Tags: concrete sealer, epoxy concrete sealers, garage floor paint, garage floor sealer, garage floor sealers