And welcome to the Fast Floors Epoxy Family!  We have put together some info for your new Epoxy Flooring.

 

Cleaning and Maintenance Tips Overview

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Maintaining your new epoxy garage floor coating isn’t hard. In fact, one of the primary reasons for having a floor coating is for the ease of maintenance. There are some basic cleaning tips for epoxy floors that will help insure a nice clean surface for years to come.

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• As resilient as garage floors coatings are to dirt, they do require some cleaning to ensure longevity and reduce the sanding effect of loose dirt and grime that gets caught up under shoes and tires that can reduce gloss over time.

• Since dust and dirt do not stick to the floor, just use a clean dust mop to keep the floor clean.

• Make sure the dust mop is clean of dirt or particles as you can scratch you floor if debris is stuck to your cleaning mop!

• You can also sweep with a soft microfibre dust broom/soft bristle broom.

• You can mop the floor with a bucket of hot water with a very small amount of dishwashing liquid.

• Do not pressure wash.

• Do not use any chemicals or harsh cleaning products.

• Do not leave your garage door open for prolonged periods of time, exposing your floor to external elements.

• Spot clean any spills or fluid leaks immediately. Wipe up with a paper towel, soft cloth, or a clean rag.

• Do not scrub the floor.

• Do not drag heavy items across surface. Most scratches can be repaired at your expense.

 

After Installation Care

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Please let your floor completely cure.  We understand it is tempting to move items back into the garage as quickly as possible- but you can risk damaging your floor if you have not let it cure.

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The time frame your Epoxy floor coating needs to cure will vary depending upon temperature, atmospheric conditions, and the condition of the concrete underneath. We advise the minimum is at least 48 HOURS after the clear coat application, before allowing light and careful foot traffic, and at least 14 days before driving on or moving heavy objects onto the floor.

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• Do not put let your garage door touch wet or curing epoxy or clear coat. This will damage both the floor and your door.

• If we have advised a longer timeframe- please adhere to it- as various factors would have contributed to the advice provided.

• DO NOT wash your floor with water until the floor is completely cured. This will be a minimum of 14 days but you must refer to instruction from us, as this can differ.

 

Avoid dragging heavy objects

Always lift anything you are moving, completely clear off the floor, to avoid gauging and damaging your floor. Dragging objects across your floor can result in scratching and damage.  Never drag items across the floor, as damaged cause by this will not be warranted but can be repaired at your cost.

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General Ongoing Cleaning

Keeping on top of floor-cleaning on a regular basis will ensure that the floor will be maintained, but more importantly the lifespan of your flooring will be increased. Cleaning an epoxy garage floor coating should be easy.

Just use these cleaning tips and methods for your quick and easy floor coating maintenance.  Simply because of the pure fact that this is a floor means that it will have spillages, dirt, marks, dust settlement depending upon use and despite the strength of this flooring system, ironically, damaging your epoxy coating is very easy to do if you don't keep it clear of debris and spillages.

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We suggest the following:

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• Sweep clean: Since dust and dirt do not stick to the floor, just use the dust mop once a week (or sooner if needed- it all depends on your foot/car traffic on the area) to keep the floor clean. It only takes a few minutes and you are done. The floor should be maintained and kept clean and free of any loose debris, that could scratch the surface. To clean the floor, start by sweeping with a soft microfibre dusty mop/broom, or blowing out the garage floor

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• Wash Clean: Our favourite cleaning solution that works well for regular floor cleaning is a tiny amount of mild dish washing liquid and hot water in a bucket. Apply it using a clean soft foam or microfibre mop. As with most floor mopping, frequent rinsing in the cleaning solution is the key for the best results and to rid the mop of and debris it picks up. It is not necessary to saturate the floor with water! use a soft-foam squeegee to pull the water out of the garage or a microfibre cloth to soak up excess water

You really shouldn’t need anything stronger than this for most jobs.

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Spillages

Any spillages, of any kind, need to be cleaned up as soon as possible.  Your Epoxy Flooring is stain resistant, but not stain proof- if spillages are not cleared in a timely manner they can corrode or discolour your floor.

• Spillages include oil, coolant and fuel from your car, oils and grease picked up from your tyres on the road, chemicals and any liquids. 

• It is important to clean up any spillages to maintain the longevity of your floor.  If spillages are not cleaned you will risk damaging your coating and can also void warranty due to lack of care.  We are able to determine if corrosive spillages have been on an epoxy floor for extended time frames.

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Chemical & Oil Based Spillage's

It is very important that the spillage of chemicals such as petrol or oil should be attended to immediately and not left to ‘settle’ on the floor.

• This applies to any and all spillages.

• Never use harsh chemicals and acids to clean a floor.

Be aware that after some chemical spillages whether they are small or large, there are certain chemicals that may well cause some colour changes to your epoxy flooring. Generally this is caused by a surface reaction only and is unlikely to impair the mechanical performance of the epoxy flooring system.

 

Battery acid, brake fluid and any highly corrosive agents like acid WILL HURT the epoxy coating- if this is a risk, you may want to consider a Parking Mat or sheet underneath the battery compartment.

 

DO NOT

• Pressure wash your floor

• Drag objects across the floor

• When cleaning your garage floor coating, do not use citrus cleaners or chemical cleaners. These can contain acids that can slowly degloss the finish of epoxy and other floor coatings over time.

• Avoid continuous abrasion- eg. An example of this is a motorbike kickstand in the exact same spot every time you park it. Repeated abrasion over a long period of time may wear the floor prematurely.

• Sorry, but it’s no to “burnouts” or “skids” on your epoxy floor.

• Abrasive cleansers must not be used. Try using a soft microfibre cloth and make sure the cloth is clean of dirt.

• Avoid leaving your garage door open for prolonged periods of time, exposing your floor to external elements.

• Scraping and scrubbing the surface of the epoxy flooring should be avoided but it is okay to lightly use a squeegee. Ensure they have rounded corners as they are less likely to scratch the floors surface.

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TYRE MARKS

One of the occasional questions we receive is how to remove tyre marks or tyre stains from epoxy garage floor coatings. This is usually followed up by the second question of why does this happen. After all, it can be a bit frustrating to put down a nice coating to discover that your car is starting to leave tyre prints – usually right where you park every day.

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• Marks left by tyres are avoidable but if not cleaned, can be the toughest to remove if not cleaned regularly.

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The process that causes tyres to leave marks on your epoxy flooring is called “plasticiser migration”. Plasticisers are a combination of polymer compounds and other chemicals that are used in the tyre industry to create a more flexible rubber compound. This flexible compound will give a tyre more traction and help to keep it soft and pliable in cold weather.

When a tyre heats up from driving, these plasticizers tend to relax and leach out of the tire. This leaching effect is what leaves looking tyre marks on the epoxy coating. Tyre marks can also be caused by the pick up of fluid and grime from the road.

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If a car tends to sit for long periods of time in one spot, this could also occur.

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HOW TO REMOVE TYRE MARKS

Tyre mark removal depends on how long the marks have been left there before attempting to remove them. The key is to keep your eye out for any sign of tyre marks. The sooner you tackle cleaning them, the more successful you will be. Please call us for cleaning instructions.

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Generally, the easiest way to attempt removing these marks is to wipe with a clean microfibre cloth and metho.

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If you have a car that is leaving tyre marks on your epoxy garage floor, the best thing you can do to prevent any permanent tyre stains is to not let the marks build up over a period of time to begin with. Routinely cleaning your garage floor coating is great preventative maintenance that helps to prevent these issues.

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Lastly, if you have a car that sits for long periods of time, you may want to park each tyre over a small scrap of cardboard, carpet, or similar material that you can later discard.