How to clean epoxy flooring?

Cleaning and maintaining your epoxy floor is essential to maintaining its appeal and durability. However, sometimes it may be necessary to remove old paint to refresh the look of your flooring.

Four common ways to clean epoxy floors and remove old paint  

1. Mechanical paint removal method: This method involves using specialized construction tools, such as diamond grinding wheels and grinders, to remove the old layer of paint from the floor. These tools are effective at removing coatings and paint layers quickly and efficiently.
2. Flame paint removal method: Flame paint removal involves heating the old paint layer with a flame, causing it to bubble and peel off the floor. Then, use a scraper to remove the softened paint film.
3. Alkaline paint removal method: This method uses the corrosive effect of alkaline liquid to expand and soften the old paint film, making it easier to remove from the floor.
4. Use paint stripper to remove paint: Paint strippers, whether solvent-based or paste-based, can dissolve or swell the paint film, making it easier to remove later. They are mainly composed of solvents such as paraffin and cellulose with strong solubility.

In addition to these methods, you can also use hand shoveling, shot blasting, and other techniques to remove old paint from epoxy floors.

When applying any of these paint-stripping methods to epoxy floors, be sure to keep safety precautions in mind and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. It is also recommended to test a small area before applying any method on a large scale. Keeping your epoxy floor clean and free of old paint not only improves its appearance but also helps improve its durability and strength over time.

Effective methods for dealing with ground expansion joints during epoxy floor construction 

When applying epoxy flooring, it is critical to consider the presence of expansion joints in the concrete floor to ensure the longevity and visual appeal of the finished product. The following are several effective methods for dealing with ground expansion joints during epoxy floor construction:

1. Fill expansion joints with epoxy mortar: One method is to fill the expansion joints with epoxy mortar material before construction proceeds as originally planned. However, due to the inelastic properties of epoxy mortar materials, this method may cause the floor coating to crack and peel near the expansion joints.
2. Fill expansion joints with elastic material: After the epoxy floor is completed, use a cutting machine to make 2-5mm wide expansion joints in the original position. Then clean up the debris in the joints and fill the expansion joints with elastic materials such as polyurethane elastic glue. While this method reduces the potential for cracking and promotes a consistent base color, the rigidity of the coating on the elastomeric glue may cause minor cracks when the concrete experiences significant shrinkage.
3. Neat cut and epoxy filled: During floor construction, expansion joints are retained, immediately covered, and their location recorded. Subsequently, after the floor painting is completed, the expansion joints are cut neatly to ensure a width of 5mm. Then form a trapezoid with a wide top and narrow bottom, and fill the gaps with polyurethane elastic glue until it is straight. This method is commonly used in electronics and pharmaceutical facilities to prevent floor coating cracking at expansion joints and enhance the aesthetics of the floor, although achieving the same color as the overall floor coating can be challenging due to limited color options for polyurethane elastomeric materials.
4. Use fiberglass cloth to enhance crack resistance: For local expansion joints on the ground, fiberglass cloth can be used to improve the crack resistance. The construction method is to fill the expansion joints with epoxy pot slurry, apply primer, paste 1-2 layers of fiberglass cloth, and then apply middle and top coating materials. While this method ensures a consistent base color and prevents cracking caused by shrinkage of the concrete, it is best suited for epoxy floors thicker than 2mm to avoid operational difficulties and potential problems when applying the coating.

By employing these effective methods, epoxy flooring construction can address the challenges posed by expansion joints in concrete floors, ultimately ensuring the durability and aesthetics of the finished floor.

Proper removal of old epoxy floor paint is critical to a quality epoxy renovation 

To ensure the highest quality and effectiveness of your renovated epoxy floor, it is vital to completely remove the old epoxy floor paint. The composition of epoxy floor paint varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it is important to address any potential adverse reactions that may occur when applying new epoxy floor paint over an old layer. The presence of old epoxy floor paint not only affects the aesthetic effect but also affects the overall quality of the epoxy floor renovation.

Cleaning and treating old epoxy flooring requires specialized tools and techniques. For floors with residual epoxy layers less than 1mm, using a medium or heavy-duty grinder with a coarse diamond grinding disc can effectively remove the old paint.

When the epoxy mortar layer exceeds 1mm, a milling machine needs to be used to fully remove the mortar layer. Adjust the depth of the milling machine according to the thickness of the old ground to ensure the complete removal of the old epoxy material, ultimately laying the foundation for the success of the epoxy renovation.

In addition to mechanical removal, other ways to deal with old epoxy floor paint include using paint strippers or acid-based chemicals. However, it is important to consider the potential impact of these methods on the environment, as the use of such chemicals may have consequences that require careful handling and disposal.

The presence of old epoxy floor paint, if not handled properly, will seriously affect the quality of new epoxy floor paint. Residues of old epoxy materials can cause problems such as bond failure, uneven coating, and color inconsistencies, ultimately affecting the expected results and longevity of the renovated epoxy floor. In short, the thorough removal of old epoxy floor paint is a critical preparatory step when renovating an epoxy floor. By utilizing specialized tools and techniques, and considering environmental impact, the removal process provides the basis for achieving high-quality and visually appealing results for epoxy floor renovations.

Concrete Foundation Treatment

1. Repair and smooth out uneven areas: The first step in treating your concrete foundation is to use epoxy and quartz sand to repair and level any uneven areas. Once the repair is complete, use a grinder and grinding disc to sand away floating and protruding parts to ensure a smooth, even surface. Then, clean the floor thoroughly to lay the foundation for priming.
2. Fix cracks in concrete floors: Repairing cracks in concrete floors is critical to ensuring structural integrity and seamless results. For larger cracks, experts will directly address and repair them using repair materials. Smaller cracks can be managed methodically by using a power cutter to create a specified width along the crack, allowing the use of epoxy mortar and fiberglass cloth to reinforce the repair.
3. Polish and prepare epoxy floor coating: After confirming that the ground foundation strength reaches C25 or above and there is no sanding or powdering phenomenon, you can directly use a grinder to grind and clean the floor in preparation for laying epoxy floor coating. Ensuring that the floor is adequately prepared and has sufficient strength is critical to the successful application of epoxy floor coatings.
4. Remove sand or powder from the foundation surface: If sand or powder is present on the surface of the foundation, sandblasting or other mechanical treatments can effectively remove floating layers and loose particles. The floor is then acid-washed using oxalic acid and a thorough cleaning process is used to remove residual particles from the surface. Attention to detail and careful inspection of the sanding results ensure that the surface is perfectly prepared for subsequent steps.