Ok so while I wait (again) for the concrete to dry I figure I'll post up my prep progress for all the DIYers at home. Keep in mind I've never done this before and it seems like every step reveals something else that needs to be done.
Anyways, I plan to bring my car home in the coming weeks, and I just bought this house with my fiancé so while the garage is still relatively empty, I wanted to set it up as best I could.
To prioritise the job list, I first had to finish the 11 year old drywall, install lights, door insulation and of course, speakers!
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Once this was done I started by cleaning up the outer edges, not everyone will have to do this but I'll show it anyways, It's just basic concrete repair and I wasn't too concerned with the finish as I plan to install base boards after paint.
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At this point I was satisfied I could start on the floor. It was very dusty after dealing with the drywall and paint so I blew the majority out with the shop vac, then purchased some heavy duty degreaser. scrubbed it in as best I could, then pressure washed it out and repeated.
Then came the first etching, It went easy enough, It stated my bottle was good for 500sq/ft so I used it entirely hoping it would be sufficient. The etching is easy, but cleaning afterwards is a rinse and repeat process, the very fine concrete dust takes several rinses, brushing and squeeging to get it all out. Since this is all that the cheaper DIY kits suggest as necessary prior to paint I thought I was done...
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As per the basic procedures the next step is to repair concrete damage, I barely had any other than a couple chips and a a crack running the entire center line of the garage. So I picked up Rustoleum concrete patch and repair epoxy. It's a nice 2 component product which applies easy enough and takes 8 hours to dry. At first I thought I did this step prematurely but in the end I am very happy I did it now.
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Well once this was dry I reassessed the concrete and wasn't satisfied, By this time I was deep into youtube and other forums learning of the process and with all the bad stories I figure I'd do it right, do it once. And without a diamond grinder, etching is really your only option.
So I bought a different branded Concrete etcher, a water pale, and did it again, keep in mind I'd previously used the epoxy sealer, and I figured I'd have to do it again after re-etching. etch, scrub, rinse, rub, rinse, squeegee, rinse, squeegee, let dry overnight...
Well to my surprise after etching again, the epoxy was exactly as it looked prior, and with the now repaired crack and smooth surface, it made it much easier to clean the concrete dust out.
Settled on the product I purchased Sherwin Williams Armorseal 1000 HS
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A couple days ago my fiancé' decided to bring up the topic that one of our close friends' father does this for a living... how sweet of her..
So I contacted him and he has given me a lot of help. I've sent him pictures,(as shown above) and he pointed out that the darker grey spots are signs of concrete sealer still existing and this should all be removed.
He recommended Muriatic acid to finish the job. For those who haven't used it before, It's a very strong and potent acid, so don't forget your Breathing apparatus, goggles, non-latex gloves... probably rubber boots too, although my old sneakers held up fine, I can't recommend it to anyone else... He also recommended to use it at a ratio of 50/50 with water, the bottle recommended 1/8 so I chose a happy medium seeing that it was my first time.
With the acid you poor it down, disperse it with a brush, then wait 5 or so minutes for it to do its job, then scrub and rinse it off, several times. you'll be so sick of scrubbing by the end but perhaps if you start with 50/50 Muriatic acid you won't need to do it 3 times like I did.
However with each etching the concrete became noticeably lighter and more absorbent to water, so it goes to show what is required to get it to the point to allow the epoxy to really cure with the concrete.
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If you've read this far you're probably hoping for results.. but there aren't any, Should I finally be satisfied with the concrete tomorrow, I will be applying the first layer of Armorseal, SW say thats enough, but EVERYONE else recommends two so I see myself doing that unless magic happens.
ALSO, This is not a step by step DIY, this is just the process I took, and if anything, learn from my mistakes and try make it a quicker project than I have.