5 Reasons to Epoxy Coat Service Bays

Gray epoxy coatings in commercial service bays doesn't shock anyone. We&#;ve all been to a quick-lube center or automotive shop where the service bays were one solid color. Why are coatings in garage bays so common?

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Aesthetics may be the reason that pops into most peoples' minds. While a beautiful, new, and shiny epoxy floor (like the picture above of the New German Performance of Lorton, Virginia) may make a great impression on those walking through the shop, our experience tells us that most service managers and owners are more concerned with the physical properties of their epoxy floor coatings listed below.

Five Reasons to Epoxy Coat Service Bay Floors

Epoxy coatings,

1. Protect the concrete surface against permanent staining from petroleum products.
2. Protect concrete from contamination from silicones and other chemicals.
3. Protect against surface deterioration from use, chemical attack, and aggressive cleaning.
4. Increase visibility of dropped items and surface spills.
5. Increase reflectivity to brighten the work environment.

Below, we'll discuss each point more in-depth.

Epoxy Coatings Protect the Concrete Surface Against Permanent Staining

Concrete is a porous material. While newer concrete is often power troweled to tighten the final finish of the concrete&#;s cream layer, it's still subject to staining. The longer engine oils, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and rusting metals stay in contact with the concrete floor, the bigger and deeper the stains become. Over time, these stains can get to the point where they cannot be removed.

More often than not, when STRONGHOLD FLOORS visits existing service facilities, fluid spills have already permanently stained the concrete surface. Most attempted to &#;seal&#; the concrete with inexpensive acrylic sealers, which are better suited to protecting exterior stamped concrete or light-use concrete slabs.

The service managers often were convinced that these sealers will keep the concrete from staining. Unfortunately, they didn't realize that acrylic formulations will be broken down by petroleum products and penetrating solvents (such as brake cleaners).

Epoxy coatings create a seamless floor where spilled items will remain until they evaporate away or are cleaned up. If that epoxy coating is coupled with chemical resistant urethanes, it can even protect against long term spills and immersion of petroleum products.

Epoxy Coatings Protect Concrete from Contamination from Silicones and Other Chemicals

Many chemicals that come into contact with concrete not only stain the surface, but they can contaminate the concrete itself. This contamination can cause very slippery conditions.

The contaminant can make cleaning more difficult, as the offending chemicals are carried and deposited on other surface areas by cleaning equipment. The contaminants may lead to costly future remediation due to changes in the use of the floor space or regulatory requirements.

Several years ago, STRONGHOLD FLOORS coated an older service garage for Regester Chevrolet dealership in Thompsontown, Pennsylvania where the bare concrete had been exposed to automotive fluids for nearly fifty years. The oils were so present in some areas that the installation crews cut out parts of the concrete and quickly rebuilt those areas with epoxy mortars. The heavily contaminated areas would've likely caused the coatings to dis-bond from the stained concrete and cause a coatings failure.

Protecting new concrete slabs with epoxy coatings will allow the service bays to not only look good, but also allow contaminates to be easily cleaned off (see 10 Cleaning Tips for Commercial Epoxy Floors). It also ensures compliance with regulatory requirements for spill cleanup.

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Epoxy Coatings Protect Against Surface Deterioration from Use, Chemical Attack, and Aggressive Cleaning

The concrete floor of a service bay is subjected to a fair amount of abuse. The daily abrasion from vehicle tires, wheeled carts, jack stands, and auto-scrubbers breaks down the near-wear surface, causing the surface degradation to snowball. Couple that abrasive abuse with splash spills of acidic chemicals and cleaners that deteriorate the cement paste, and the service bay concrete can become pitted and chalky.

Epoxy coatings are the wear surface. The coatings are intended to protect the concrete from daily use and cleaning. The coatings' non-porous nature makes cleaning faster and cheaper. Rejuvenating the coatings after years of use is much more cost effective than extensive surface repairs or replacing slabs.

Epoxy Coatings Increase Visibility of Dropped Items and Surface Spills

Finding a dropped bolt or seeing an oil drip on a stained, worn concrete floor is not an easy task. Seamless, solid color epoxy floor finishes make it easy to spot dropped items or problematic fluid dripping.

If a more decorative finish is desired, we normally recommend using light color blends of decorative chip flakes or decorative quartz. Contrasting colors against commonly dropped items helps service personnel quickly recover the items, saving time and effort while also avoiding potential trip/slip type accidents.

Epoxy Coatings Increase Reflectivity to Brighten the Work Environment

Concrete, even slabs in good repair, are not reflective surfaces (with the exception of polished concrete). Epoxy coatings greatly increase the reflectivity of the floor and enhance the effectiveness of the installed lighting fixtures. This increase in brightness of the workplace impacts safety, energy requirements, and, sometimes, even the mood of the service staff.

The coatings STRONGHOLD FLOORS applied at Main Car Care of York helped to vastly improve the visual appeal of a building erected in the s. Even before the outdated lighting was replaced, the owner immediately remarked about the change in brightness (we subsequently went back and installed decorative chip floor coatings in the customer reception and offices).

Protect & Enhance Your Service Bays

Whether it&#;s protecting a newly poured concrete slab or rejuvenating a sixty year old dealership&#;s service bays, epoxy coatings are a cost-effective way to protect and enhance your service bay floors. Sealers and paint kits just don&#;t cut it in commercial service bay floors.

Mike Mincemoyer is the President of STRONGHOLD FLOORS and one member of the ownership team. Mike has been actively involved since the beginning in . His formal floor coatings background includes training from PremierGarage, ROCK-TRED, Crown Polymers, HTC America, SIKA, AmeriPolish, SASE, Metzger McGuire, L&M Chemical Company, and FGS/Permashine.