Agree, a lot of information over there on this topic.

with that said, I also would do polished concrete.

Thanks for posting the garage journal info. I have an old barn with some new concrete but the original that I left isnt great. Real problem to roll the hoist around on. It really needs something to fill cracks and pits but local concrete guy said putting a skim coat on it wont last. I will do some reading

I did RUSTOLEUM epoxy on my brand new floors 3 kits for 1500 ft sq. I used VALSPAR texture additive, I DID NOT use the ENCLOSED flakes, I find it makes the floors too busy if trying to locate a dropped screw or the like.

The kits came with CITRIC ACID, however I etched the concrete with muratic acid, pressure washed then let dry for 2 days then checked them--- still had a powdery residue... pressure washed again, 2 days no residue...
I did half and half.. while doing the first half I dripped a couple of drops of paint on the non finished half... 2 days later when I took a razor blade to scrape them up... they took the floated finish of the concrete off with the paint chips... I'D HAVE TO SAY IT BONDED!

2 weeks after finishing my dad dropped the tractor scrape blade from 2 feet and they did not chip - I have, in the last few months, dropped multiple heavy tools, parts etc landing on the sharpest edge, the epoxy has not chipped.

I thought about this a lot when building my shed, which should be finishing up shortly. I considered epoxy, stain, pigmented and polished. What it came down to was several factors, mostly aesthetics, maintainability, functionality and cost. The shed is 60x80 so it was a relatively large area. With aesthetics I will admit the space will be more for entertaining and storage than work so the right look (color) was important. I was afraid with the epoxy it would inevitably chip and flake. One thing I'd be careful with polished is that it will be very slippery when wet, or with just sox on when dry . I ultimately went with pigmented concrete (addition or iron oxides to the concrete). With pigmented if it chipped the color would be relative undisturbed, it was finished and sealed a little rough so it wasn't so slippery when wet, it came in a color that went with the look I was going for and it was the least expensive option...polished concrete was 2x the pigmented and epoxy was 3x. I went with a shade called rawhide...I'll try and upload a couple pics.

Contrast of pigmented against standard.

The big flakes are the worst for finding bolts, screws and washers. If I were to do it again, it would be really small flakes that are uniform.

Never again without sand, especially in the walk ways. When it is wet, it is dangerous, the sand would help big time.

The coatings never hold up. Maybe it would longer if you used a shop peen machine. My floor at my new place was coated a few times, all Flaking off, huge mess. With Race Deck I can now go in my garage with just socks on, the race deck is awesome. Super clean. And not slippery. Plus you could always take it if you move. The front last row is custom cut for this place. Even that was easy, just run through a table saw.
I wouldn’t do black again though, the sun hits it and it does swell up temporarily. I have a double black border.

Damn Fred, that is a nice building, looks like you had a PBR POW WOW



Mike

:beers::beers::beers:

Final polish on floor. Just bare concrete.

^^ Zamboni'd!