Garage Floor part two

Well here we are, back in ye olde garage! It's been two weeks since I cleaned up the floor, and I've been waiting for a free weekend to apply the epoxy-based coating. But it has not been all champagne and deckchairs in the meantime, I can tell you that!

This is how the floor looked after drying for a few days. Most of the dark patches are actually moisture rather than stains, but there are a few troublesome patches that still need attention, and the '68 has also left its mark(s) on my clean floor.

The concrete is actually in ok shape -  a home inspector would probably describe it as being in "serviceable condition", but there were a few smallish cracks - mere puppies compared to the ones in the patio - but now was the time to fill them in.

I could have used regular mortar, but instead I picked up some quick drying material with a polymer additive that gives increased flexibility. It actually dried a bit too fast, but came out ok.

Fast forward to this past Friday afternoon and I was back from work and ready to Rock! I started by taking down the shelves at the back of the garage. By now the thin set mortar I poured at the base of the rear wall was well and truly cured.

There was a rough edge at the new material, so I ground it off with a silicon carbide belt on the sander.

After a good sweep up, I worked on the last few stains, including this fresh blob of oil that came from the Mustang...grrr!

When that was done, I cut up a big trash bag....

...and parked the '68 on top of it overnight! I am done with cleaning oil off this floor, hopefully forever....the garage looks huge with just the Mustang in there.

I'm using exactly the same water-based epoxy that I used in my last garage about ten years ago, although this time I went for "beige" instead of "pale gray." There is a very limited choice of light colors, and I definitely don't want anything dark or bright because it would distract from the '68.

First thing Saturday morning, and I had Amy Sheep start applying the base coat - this must be applied to damp but not overly wet concrete.

I was working on the edging and I was in charge of the hose. I didn't want to tire myself out right at the start of the weekend.

It took Amy Sheep about an hour to apply the base coat. We had to work towards the driveway because of the gentle slope of the floor and the need to keep the concrete damp but not too wet.

After that it was back upstairs for eggs benedict, English muffins with apricot preserves and a pot of PG tips. We had to while away six (6) hours of drying time before we could apply the top coat, so Amy Sheep got stuck in to her full day of tasks and I watched a couple of Formula One races from 2008 on youtube.

Late afternoon and we were back at it rolling on the top coat...

We worked front-to-back this time...

The epoxy coating takes twelve (12) hours to dry and twenty-four (24) hours to be fit for vehicle access, so I had to reluctantly leave the '68 on the driveway overnight. This is the first night since I brought the car back to Oakland in 2008 that it has been outside overnight. This is how the floor looked the next morning:

 On Sunday evening, I laid down some plastic sheeting on my new floor....

...and parked the '68 on top. The floor really needs 7-10 days to fully cure, so I plan on giving it that before I roll the car over the floor directly.

While this was going on, we also dealt with a patch of the floor in the workshop that was unfinished - this area used to be covered by a cabinet/countertop, and I guess the previous owner just painted round it.

Once I scuff this area up, it will match the rest of the workshop floor just fine!