If you are going to lay down some garage floor epoxy then you should be aware of the circumstances in which you cannot use it. While garage floor epoxy can make a huge difference to your garage floor and make your floor a lot more durable, comfortable and safe, you should be aware that there are a certain conditions which should be present. The first thing to remember is that you cannot lay garage floor epoxy directly onto sealed concrete. Sealed concrete is concrete which has been treated with a certain substance to make its surface more waterproof and durable. This is very useful in a number of situations and can make your garage floor very water and oil proof. If you are for example carrying out some car engine repairs and get a lot of oil on your garage floor then you will probably have sealed your concrete.

The best way to find out if your concrete has been sealed or not is to put a little water on it and see if the water seems to soak into the concrete or just bead on the surface. If the water beads on the surface and does not get absorbed by the concrete then the chances are that your concrete has been sealed. The reason you cannot apply epoxy to sealed concrete is that the surface will not take up the epoxy. Instead of the epoxy sticking to your floor it will come loose and will not stay on or adhere properly.

Another surface that you should be wary of applying garage floor epoxy directly too is poorly bonded paint. Poorly bonded paint is paint which is already falling off or coming loose. If you apply your floor epoxy to a surface that is covered with loose paint, then you will probably find that as the underlying paint surface begins to come loose, then you will also be loosing your new epoxy layer which is on top of it. Therefore, if you want to apply epoxy to a concrete surface that already has a peeling paint surface, you will have the extra job of scrubbing the old paint from the surface. You can do this with a wire brush or a high pressure hose. Once you have removed all of the loose paint you will have a much better surface for your garage floor epoxy.

You should also avoid applying garage floor epoxy to loose or dusty concrete. If the concrete on your garage floor is very loose and falling apart then it will make a very poor surface for epoxy and all of your hard work will go to waste. Therefore, before applying any epoxy make sure that your concrete is in good condition.

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