MAINTENANCE
Learning how to clean an 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 you should be know to help insure a nice clean surface for many years to come. These cleaning tips work well for all types of resin-based concrete coatings.
As resilient as garage floors coatings are to dirt, stains and contaminants, they do require some cleaning maintenance to keep their shine. If not, some coatings can start to lose their gloss due to the abrasive sanding effect of the loose dirt and grime that gets caught up under shoes and tires.
Another issue to be aware of is that some cleaners will leave a film on the surface while others may de-gloss the shine or cause it to fade. So let’s take a look at which cleaning products to use and which not to use, as well as some recommended cleaning methods.
General Maintenance
Blower
A rechargeable air blower is one of the quickest and easiest ways to clean your garage floor. In a minute or two, you can effortlessly remove dust, leave, dirt and debris by blasting air across the surface of your floor, out onto your driveway.
Dust mop
A quality microfibre dust mop is a great tool for quick and precise cleaning applications. Since dust and dirt do not stick to the floor, just use the dust mop once a week to keep the floor clean. It only takes a few minutes and you are done. They even work well for floors that have anti-slip additives in the surface. Microfibre cleaning tools are best paired with warm water only – no chemical. Detergents and chemical are often unnecessary as the micro fibres are designed to collect contaminants easily and efficiently.
Spot cleaning
Spot cleaning for spills or fluid leaks from cars can easily be wiped up with a paper towel, soft cloth, or a clean rag. A spritz of window cleaner works well if the spill has left a film.
Heavy duty cleaning
For epoxy garage floor coatings that see a lot of traffic and dirt, it’s a good idea to give your floor a heavy duty clean once every 6 months. The best cleaning tool for this application is a microfibre mop and a bucket of hot water with added ammonia for extra dirty floors. It performs great at picking up dirt and debris and leaves very little liquid on garage floor coatings.
As with most floor mopping, frequent rinsing in the cleaning solution is the key for the best results.
Cleaning solutions
Our favourite cleaning solution that works well for regular floor cleaning is 200ml of ammonia a 5L of hot water in a bucket. Ammonia can be purchased from Woolworths for $1-2 per 1L bottle.
Apply it using the microfiber mop. Be sure to rinse the mop frequently in the bucket of hot water to rid it of the debris it picks up. This method also works well for floors that have salt film and residue. You really shouldn’t need anything stronger than this for most jobs.
For spot cleaning any stubborn dirt that you encounter, a soft scrub pad can be used. Just don’t scrub too hard or you may degloss the surface.
If you have some serious cleaning to do, Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner (APC) is a product that you can buy from Bunnings Warehouse and will work well at cleaning up grease and other grime.
Start with a solution of 1-part Simple Green to 8 parts water. You can mix it stronger if necessary, however, keep in mind that Simple Green can leave a film on the coating. The key is to use a separate bucket of clean water and mop to rinse the floor as you go.
When using any of these methods you can just let the floor air dry. You can also wipe it down with a lint free towel if you prefer.
Pressure cleaning
Our floors are tough and many of our clients choose to pressure clean their garage floors once or twice yearly. Ensure that you don’t get too much water near your skirting boards to avoid water logging and damaging the trim. Squeegee the excess liquid, followed by a dry mop and air dry.
Tyre marks
Sometimes our clients ask us how to remove tyre marks or tyre stains from an epoxy garage floor coating. This is usually followed up by the second question, why does this happen? After all, it can be a bit frustrating to put down a nice coating to discover that your car is beginning to leave ugly black tyre prints – usually right where you park every day. So, let’s take a look at what causes this to happen and what can be done to remove those tyre marks.
What causes tyre marks on epoxy?
There are 3 main causes for black tyre marks on garage floor coatings. These include road contaminants, silicone-based tyre dressing contamination and plasticiser migration.
1. Road contaminants
Road base, tar, diesel and petroleum-based contaminants can be picked up by your car’s tyres while driving on the roads. These contaminants are usually once-off problems that can be easily cleaned while a mild degreaser such as Simple Green or a solvent-based cleaner such as Goof Off, also available at Bunnings Warehouse.
2. Tyre dressing
Please avoid using petroleum-based silicone tyre shine products for your car. Instead, choose a gel-based, wipe-on tyre shine. Silicone tyre shine products are usually sprayed on tyres and are generally used at hand wash car cleaning facilities and car dealerships. These petroleum-based products drip down your car’s tyres onto the floor and can overtime, build up and mark the floor. If attended to early on, these contaminants can be easily cleaned while a mild degreaser such as Simple Green or a solvent-based cleaner such as Goof Off.
3. Plasticiser Migration
The process that causes tyres to leave black marks on your garage floor coating 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 plasticisers tend to relax and leach out of the tyre.
This leaching effect is what leaves brown looking tyre marks on the epoxy coating. Tyre marks tend to be more prevalent with high performance tyres and good quality all-season tyres.
This difference in tyre construction is why some people comment that one car in the garage has a tendency to leave marks or tyre stains and another car will not. If a car tends to sit for long periods of time in one spot, this same plasticiser migration can occur, but at a much slower pace.
When a coating cures, it creates a cross linking pattern that gives the coating its strength as well as density. The greater the cross linking, the stronger and denser it will be.
This is why commercial quality epoxies, polyurethanes, and polyurea’s resist tire staining much better than lessor quality coatings such as your home improvement store DIY garage floor coating kits.
High performance clear coats, such as polyurea and polyapsartic’s in particular, tend to resist tyre staining the best. The cross linking is especially dense and makes it harder for the plasticisers to migrate into the upper layer of the coating.
How to remove tyre marks
So how easy is it to remove tyre marks from your garage floor? Well, it depends on the quality of your clear coat and 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.
Generally, the easiest way to attempt removing these marks is to soak the area for a few minutes first with a good cleaner such as Simple Green APC or a concrete degreaser.
After it has soaked, use a nail brush to scrub the tyre marks. Be careful about using a scrub pad or a harsh bristled scrubber as these will sometimes marr the finish when excess pressure is applied.
It may take a bit of scrubbing and a second soaking to remove it all depending on how long you have let the marks build up.
Another product that people have had success with is Goof Off. Again, be careful with the scrubbing.
If the tyre marks are not cleaning up well or there has been a long period of build-up, then there are 2 commercial products available which are designed just for removing tyre marks on coatings:
1. Camco Black Streak Remover
2. Star Brite Instant Black Streak Remover.
Both are available from Australian seller’s on eBay, online or in selected stores.
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.
Cleaning your garage floor coating regularly is great preventative maintenance and helps to prevent such issues.
Tyre savers / tyre mats
Lastly, if you have a car that sits for long periods of time or if you simply want to avoid regular floor cleaning maintenance, you will want to park each tyre over a tyre save (sourced online) or a small carpet tile to prevent plasticiser migration and the build-up of contaminants. Tyre savers or tyre cradles are also great options for long-term vehicle storage. Brands include Race Ramps and Milenco.
Rust stains
For rust stains, we recommend using a 1:1 ratio of CLR and warm water. Apply it directly to the rust spot using a scrub brush or soft scrub pad and then rinse with cold clean water. Do not let it sit for more than a minute or two on the surface.
DO NOT use these cleaners on garage floor coatings
When cleaning your garage floor coating, do not use citrus-based cleaners or vinegar. These types of cleaners contain acids that can slowly dull and de-gloss the finish of epoxy and other floor coatings over time.
Don’t use cleaners with soap. Soap can leave streak marks and a hazy film on the surface that impedes the shine of the finish. The soapy film can also make the floor much more slippery when it gets wet.
Summary
Cleaning an epoxy garage floor coating should be easy. Just follow these simple cleaning tips for quick and easy floor coating maintenance. Doing so will help maintain a cleaner looking floor that will retain its gloss and finish for many years to come.