I lived in Maryland for several years and had the same experience. What you can do is use concrete repair sealant to fill the cracks, then just do the coating over it.

Something like this:

DuPont Caulk 7907 Concrete and Masonry Caulk, Gray 10.1-Ounce 4-Pack

or this…
Dap 31084 Concrete Patch Interior and Exterior 1-Quart

It’s pretty simple to do, so you shouldn’t have any problems!

Cheers,

John P.

Great article. I’m thinking about doing this for my garage floor, but am concerned about the pitting (Illinois uses a lot of salt in the winter.) and cracks in the floor. Can you just lay the epoxy on thick enough to fill those in or do you need to fill in those spots first with something else before applying the epoxy? And if you do need to fill them in first, what do you recommend for doing that?

Thanks.

I’ve had to remove stain and varnish from several things, and it depends on the project. In some cases its best to use chemical varnish or stain remover, and in some cases it’s easier and cleaner to just get a palm sander and literally sand the stain off by hand.

The other question is whether the door is worth the time and effort. If it’s just a normal door you might be better off replacing it than spending all that time, energy and money in refinishing it. If it’s a special one… prepare to invest a lot of energy in the project.

Good luck,

John P.

Thanks for the advice. Fortunately I have a gas powered pressure washer. Going to try it this weekend. On another topic (lots of home projects!), any advice on how to remove stain and varnish from a outside wood door.

Glenn

Good luck,

John P.

Here’s a follow up to the project I had done for my garage floor last year. I chickened out and hired the job out after hearing stories of people who had the epoxy separate from the garage floor after doing it themselves. I’ve uploaded it to my YouTube account in 3 separate videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkLS3E6qhtA

Kevin g

I dealt with this on my in-laws garage floor too. The concrete was older and kind of smooth. The reality though is that it’s highly unlikely that your garage is actually sealed. You probably just have a little oil and some smoothing effect because the floor is older.

The easy way to tell is to take a sharp object like a screwdriver and drag it across the concrete. Really dig into it. If you don’t see clearcoat plastic looking stuff coming up then you should be Ok.

The other slight beading effect with the water is likely just dirt and oil. This will go away with the etching and scrubbing before you ever seal it.

Besides, even if you have a spot or two come up, your floor will look much better sealed than if you hadn’t done it at all!

Good luck,

John P.

I am having trouble telling if I have a clear sealer already or not. My garage floor seems to have a very slight sheen to it, which makes me think it might have a clear sealer, but it’s not very consistent. I tried the water beading test described in the instructions, and in a couple of places the water seemed to sort of “stand” on the surface and then run right off without wetting the concrete, but not really bead up like I would expect. Most of the floor did seem to absorb some water, but not like the outside driveway did, which readily accepted it.

I’m concerned that I might spend all of this effort just to see the epoxy peel up due to having a previously sealed floor. Do you have any suggestions on to tell if I have a clear sealer on my floor?

Also, do you have any ideas on how to remove old sealer, in case I decide to go ahead and do that just to err on the cautious side?

This stuff is the toughest you can buy, so if you’re going to do it I recommend you stick to the 2 part system.

John P.

John P.

I’ve done this 3 times now and have never had any grass die afterward.

John P.

I wouldn’t worry about it. Just make sure you use a roller that is made for semi rough surfaces and get some of the sealant down in between the cracks. It’ll be just fine!

John P.