Floor Prep

  • Yes. We recommend mechanically grinding a smooth garage floor to open the surface and create the proper profile for strong coating adhesion.

    If grinding isn’t an option, we also offer Fusion Primer. Fusion is sprayed directly onto the prepared concrete and acts like a bonding layer between the floor and your epoxy coating — essentially like glue for your floor. Once applied, the epoxy can be installed directly over it.

    If you’re unsure which preparation method is best for your floor, contact our team and we can help you choose the right option.

  • Yes, there are multiple different options, that achieve surface prep, without the use of grinding or harsh acids. Two alternative options PowerCOAT offers is Premera Fusion Primer & WashAway Xtreme. Both of these products are fantastic, because they don’t use harsh profilers such as muriatic acid.

  • Yes, prep is the most important part of any coating system, regardless if the concrete/substrate is new or “like new”. Let’s put this into perspective with an analogy. “Let’s say you buy a brand new car, with brand new paint, but you would like to re-paint it. If you ask any painter the proper way to re-paint, they will tell you that the surface must be sanded and cleaned prior to re-painting, this gives the new paint something to grab and bond onto, so it won’t peel up”.

  • Yes, you should definitely still prep your floor. In the case of broom finished concrete, the only prep option is a mechanical grind to create a consistent surface and open up the pours of the concrete. Broom finished concrete tends hold embedded dirt and contaminants, which could cause a coating system to fail. Additionally, broom finishes create many weak points due to a high content of laitance and a weak cream layer. What happens is the weak cream layer concrete starts to crumble under the coating, which will eventually cause de-lamination in your coating system.

  • Although you have prepped the floor, it is important to address the contaminants, which soak deep into porous concrete, which traditional grinding cannot reach. If you do not address these contaminants, it could affect your coating system, by causing fish eyeing, an oil in water appearance or adhesion issues in general. So, you must draw these oil’s out or prime to mitigate this happening. Two fantastic options PowerCOAT offers is WashAway Xtreme, which physically draws the contaminants out of the floor or CHEMTEC Oil Prime, which is designed to prime and encapsulate the contaminated surface and allows the coating system to go over the prime coat, without being affected by the contaminants.

  • There is a lot of different tooling options, so it can be extremely easy to get confused. Typically the industry standard to prep your floor for an epoxy coating system is 25 grit diamond segments. However, you will want to determine if you concrete is hard or soft. The best way to do this is to test your concrete with a mohs harness scale, as this will provide you a great starting point if your concrete is hard or soft.

  • Yes, this is absolutely something you want to address prior to applying your coating system. Flake does a fantastic job of camouflaging many minor blemishes and imperfections on your concrete. However, some more substantial imperfections my telegraph through our coating system if they are not addressed first. Some amazing and easy to use crack repair options PowerCOAT offers are Polyurea Crack filler, epoxy gel crack filler & CEMENT-ALL.

Technical Coating Questions

  • You can easily calculate your material requirements using our Epoxy Calculator and Rubber Calculator located under the Resources tab. Just enter your square footage and the calculator will estimate exactly what you need. The Rubber Calculator requires you to create an account before using it. If you still need assistance or would like a second opinion, please feel free to contact us — we’re always happy to help.

  • Fusion Primer is designed to be sprayed in a thin, even layer. Rolling is not recommended, as it applies the product too thick and can drastically reduce the open working window for the next coat. Spraying ensures proper coverage, adhesion, and curing performance.

  • Our garage epoxy kits are recommended for interior garage spaces. They can also be applied to the garage threshold/apron (just outside the overhead door), and they will perform well through winter freeze–thaw cycles in that small transition area. For larger exterior surfaces such as driveways, sidewalks, and patios, epoxy isn’t the best long-term solution. These outdoor areas experience more movement and UV exposure — so quartz broadcast systems or Rubber Paving are typically better suited for durability and traction in Canadian climates. If you’d like, we can review your project and recommend the ideal product based on location, size, and weather exposure.

  • Yes, excess moisture can be a coatings worst nightmare. You should always moisture test your concrete with a moisture meter prior to coating. Especially if the concrete is below grade or has had moisture issues in the past. If moisture is present, PowerCOAT offers some great moisture mitigation/moisture vapour barrier (MVB) systems. Ask us about our VersaGuard, Easy MVB or CHEM-PROOF MVB.

  •  In short yes. However, there is an additional step that needs to be taken. Epoxy is not designed to go direct over wood. It will stick and work, but it will not offer a seamless appearance and coverage like it would over concrete. What happens is for some reason wood tends to leach the pigment out of epoxy. At first the coverage will look nice, but after some time, the epoxy will cure to almost the colour of the wood, which will telegraph through your flakes. So, in order to achieve a more seamless finish, you must first prime any wood with a generic grey latex primer, which is similar to the colour of the epoxy. Once that is cured, you can do your coating system just like you did over the rest of your concrete floor.

  • Yes, this is definitely possible. However, there are additional steps and some things you want to keep in mind. Firstly, you will want to make sure this additional square footage is factored into the rest of your square footage. Secondly, they must be coated prior to the rest of your floor (horizontals). You should also prep the verticals with a quick pass with a diamond cup wheel, or braided wire cup wheel and then vacuum. After you would coat the footing in epoxy, then you would put handfuls of flake on a large drywall putty knife and drag it up the wall. Whatever flake sticks, sticks. If there are some bare spots you can try to introduce some extra flake and see if it sticks. Any spots you are unhappy with, you can address and fix in your top coat.

  • Yes, you must wait a minimum of 28 days for your concrete to fully cure prior to applying a coating system.

  •  In theory, yes. However, it will look beautiful for a very short period and then start to degrade. This is because flake systems are not designed to consistently withstand the direct impacts of the weather, UV, frost wedging and other harsh elements that nature can throw at it. However, we do have other amazing coating solutions such as rubber paving, which are specifically designed to withstand the elements.

  • Yes, you technically can fill expansion joints on your concrete substrate without causing issue most of the time. However, this is not something that we highly recommend. This is because expansion joints are there for a reason and its right in the name. Expansion joints are there to allow your concrete to shift with changes in the environment such as temperature, moisture, while causing minimal damage to the rest of the slab. So if you do fill them, this normally becomes a weak point in the substrate, which means if the coating were to fail, it will normally be at these weak points. If you were to fill expansion lines, some products PowerCOAT offers are Polyurea Crack filler, epoxy gel crack filler & CEMENT-ALL.

  • In theory, yes. However, it will look beautiful for a very short period and then start to degrade. This is because epoxy does not what proof the wood. So, the wood will accept moisture, expand, contract and cause the coating to start failing. However, PowerCOAT does offer a system called PowerDECK. It is nearly the same process as a flake coating on concrete. However, instead of using epoxy as a base coat, you would be replacing it with our waterproof coating called PC-260 or PC -220. Ask a PowerCOAT representative for more information on this system.

Shipping Questions

  • Most orders ship within 1–2 business days depending on product availability. Shipping times vary depending on your location and selected carrier.

  • Yes! Customers may pick up orders at our St. Albert, Alberta warehouse. You will receive a confirmation email when your order is ready.

  • During colder months, any order that contains liquid goods is shipped using protected service, meaning the carrier uses temperature-controlled transport to prevent freezing during transit. We carefully monitor weather conditions and shipping methods so your products arrive in proper condition and are ready to use.

  • Many of our products are heavy and may be classified as hazardous or require special handling. Carriers charge more for weight, pallet shipments, and deliveries to residential addresses, especially when a tailgate is needed. If prices seem too high, contact us and we can shop around for alternative rates - shipping to a nearby depot can often reduce costs significantly!