In the planning phase for a new wash and wondering whether to use epoxy paint, or other coating, on the floor. What have you used and how durable is it? Also does it get slippery? How difficult is it to clean?
Floor Coatings
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Bill Capron
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Or the walls either. The coating just becomes a maintenance nightmare.
Bill Capron
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If I was building a new wash I would use tilt up concrete panels.
washnshine
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Not sure if you are talking ss or tunnel. Definitely nothing for ss, but I have seen tunnels with coatings on the walkways of each side - outside of the equipment footprint. The ones I am thinking of looked like it had some sand mixed in for traction for employees.
I have never used epoxy on a self serve but I have in a tunnel. I would highly recommend a professional contractor. Many will be warranties. I’ve also seen different kinds of coatings. The typical thinner coatings you see in garages and a lot of car dealers and I’ve seen a thick coating, maybe as thick as a 1/4” used as well.
I would prefer paneling for the walls as it would be much easier for the epoxy to get compromised on a wall
I would prefer paneling for the walls as it would be much easier for the epoxy to get compromised on a wall
Rfreeman
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He asked about a car wash not a car dealer. I agree the floor coatings make the room pop. I have my garage at home coated and it looks great that being said we still don't know if he is talking about ss wash or tunnel. If we are talking ss wash are talking about the equipment room, bay floors, iba floors or what? I have seen tunnel washes where the floor is coated and it looks great and reflects light well to light it up because personally I think most tunnels look too dark and dirty.
I just picked up a new wash that has been closed down and I am considering coating the equipment room floor just to light it up more. I know slipping might be an issue depending on the coating selected but I am pretty quick to fix the smallest of leak because I don't want them to turn into a larger leak/problem therefore I don't think I will have any issues with slipping.
Rfreeman
Well-known member
What type of wash are you planning? I know you posted in the self-serve section but just confirming. Additionally, are you looking at the bay floors, equipment room, or where?
Yes, self serve. Thinking coating the floors in the bays would really dress things up. Concerned that it won't hold up and look terrible in a year or so. I had epoxy paint on the floor of my old shop and even the slightest bit of water would turn it into an ice skating rink. I'm thinking the newer thicker coatings that are troweled on would be better and was hoping someone had tried it in a wash.
There's a car wash nearby here that they used an epoxy floor coating. It looks like crap and it's slippery. After a couple of slip and falls the new owner tried to get it off. he's now thinking about sand blasting it off. Another car wash I know put epoxy floor coating on his equipment room, it looked nice for a while and now it looks shabby an it slippery.
Waxman
Super Moderator
Just clean the floors with a special concrete cleaner. They look good enough like that. Spend your money on some thing that will make you some money instead.
washnshine
Well-known member
Not only could the water cause slickness, but a bigger concern would be the soaps and waxes.
Kimberly Berg
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I just started researching Polyurethane flooring for my 5-bay SS bay floors. I have a 40-year wash, and the bay floors are aggregate concrete. I'm seeing more rocks popping out, and cracks are getting deeper. I was hoping this option would help preserve the concrete. Another CW owner had a contractor apply an Epoxy coating 2 years ago at his 4-bay SS car wash and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED it!! I drove to see it myself, and looks very nice. The contractor added silica sand to give it more texture. The flooring was not slick at all, you could FEEL the sand grains. The only issue I saw was that a couple bays had black rubber tire burn marks. The epoxy didn't lift up, you just saw the black tread marks on the light gray flooring. I called his contractor a couple weeks ago for a quote but haven't heard back. I did some research and found that Polyurethane is a better option than Epoxy. More flexible and more durable with cold/heat, UV protection and moving tires. I just received a quote from California Custom Coating and SHOCKED AT THE PRICE!! At first, I thought the price was for the entire job, but it was $7680 FOR 1 BAY (480 square feet)!! That would be OVER $38,000 to do all 5 wash bays!! They apply a 1/4" thick Polyurethane base coat, color coat and 1/4" thick Polyaspartic top coat. They offer a 2 year warranty, in case the coating lifts. They said they "don't think you'll need to re-coat the bays for probably 8-10 years or so the polyaspartic holds up very well and does not break down quickly at all." His company has not done any other SS washes, just a couple gas station tunnels. He said that in a few years, I could have the top coat replaced for $2000 - $3000 / per bay. While I want to preserve my concrete, I'm not sure this is the best option. The ROI is not there! The last thing I need is a maintenance nightmare. Next week I'm meeting with 2 other coating companies. Attached is a photo of the car wash with the epoxy flooring...
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Roz
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Yes it is a labor intensive process. Seen it done at another wash. Looked great for the first 12-18 months and then eh. You were quoted CA pricing but even east coast pricing was much higher per bay than you would imagine. For the money you mentioned you can get new radiant heated floors (concrete and plumbing). Per bay was just under $10k including the two bay aprons per bay.
i did it in my automatic bay and am very happy with it. i have to power wash it once a month as the vehicles exhaust leaves a black build up at both ends of the bay (entrance because sitting there for 5 minutes & exit because moving very slow through dryer). it comes clean very easy. i would never do it in my self serve bays as it is too slick and would be constant maintenance. i used a 2 part epoxy sealer then a 2 part epoxy paint from ppg
cbchevy4x4
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Ok so in my past i did concrete coatings, since then I have got out of that and just run my wash. There is NO WAY i would do it at my wash... Nope Nada, honestly don't care if it was free i still wouldn't do it. The cost is too great, the liabilities will increase exponentially, the maintenance increases, and so on. Just cleanup the concrete and move on. Don't let anybody tell you adding "traction additive" will help, that stuff wears away. We aren't running pristine shops building engines in clean rooms or selling cars at a dealership. People are giving us their dirt, trash, etc. Keep your money or invest in in something that will actually produce revenue.
cbchevy4x4
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$16/sf...i did floors at $6/sf. Only time i ever charged somebody that ridiculous price was if i didn't want to do the job cause i knew failure was eminent.
I have to agree with cbchevy4x4, you DON'T EVER!! want to use any coatings on your bay floors. It looks good for a while but will wear off and look like crap in a couple of years. It also makes the floor very slippery. One of the operators here had his floors coated and in less than a month he had a slip and fall, poor guy slipped and shattered his hip, he sued the car wash owner big time and won. He's no longer a car wash owner and the coating has been sand blasted off the floor.
