When it comes to prepping an already painted epoxy floor for another coat, the process can be very different than first applying epoxy to your floors. There are many things to consider before you decide to go through with it. If your existing epoxy coating is showing signs of wear and damage, you don’t want to use epoxy over it. In that case, it would be better to remove the old coating by grinding the floor. If your epoxy floors show signs of delamination, this is the best choice to make. But if it’s still in decent shape, we recommend using a new coat of epoxy on an already painted epoxy flooring space.
The most important factor for the new coat is creating a rough surface for the new epoxy to properly adhere to it. This can be achieved by using an orbital sander, you want to rough up the surface, not damage or remove it. You could also use a floor buffer, which is more suitable for covering a lot of space. These two options will get the job done. Once you’re done with that, you can sweep up the thick stuff and vacuum the floor, then use a denatured alcohol on a towel and wipe down the surface area. It is essential to have these tools and resources to effectively prep your already painted epoxy flooring.
The most important step is making sure you wipe down the floor with a high quality denatured alcohol. This will remove all dust particles and dirt, which will ensure the surface is clean and ready for the epoxy coating. This process takes fewer steps than an original epoxy coating. Most of the tough work for that isn’t necessary for re-coating an already painted epoxy flooring space.
Just like every other epoxy task, prepping the floor is extremely important. If it isn’t done correctly, the epoxy won’t adhere to maximize it’s potential. It will look and perform better under the right circumstances. We want to make sure we give you the tips, tools, and resources needed to perform this task effectively.