New House Garage Floor Coating...Best DIY Product?

[nobb]

I'm building a new house and was looking into epoxy based garage floor coatings. I would like to buy the product and install it myself to keep costs low.

Most of the consumer grade stuff you get from retail stores don't seem to be very well regarded, so I am curious to hear more feedback on what products have worked, are relatively inexpensive, and where to get them? An industrial supply place, Acklands, etc. Has anyone had any luck with the retail grade stuff? If it's going to peel after a few years, maybe it's better to just leave the garage un-coated.

I understand that prep is key, so I was thinking to do a muriatic acid etch to open up the floor. A 4L bottle of acid is only ~$10. Keep in mind that this is a new build, and therefore brand new concrete. Perhaps there are things that can be done during the concrete pouring stage (by the builder) to help the coating adhere?

Thoughts would be great.

[eblend]

Whatever you end up with, get the grippy stuff in the mix. My parents have a blue coated epoxy floor (was there when the bought the house used) and that shit is deadly slippery in the winter once some water gets on it, so make sure you add the grip agent.

[BerserkerCatSplat]

The Garage Journal forums are a good place to check for finding first-hand reviews and install tips. You've probably found (as I did) that cheaper epoxy coatings are more or less garbage and get ripped up by tires. The high-quality 100% solids stuff with added grip flakes is apparently the best solution if you want to stick with epoxy, but it's expensive and as with all epoxies, highly sensitive to surface prep.

[funkytuqe]

I went to Northland Construction Supplies and they recomended me a comercial grade sealer for my grarage floor. The guy was very helpful and gave me some options. Go check them out, they are on 27th ave close to Barlow notheast.