Having pride in your workspace is critical, which is why United Speed Shop has a flash new fresh coat of Fortis Coat 823 concrete sealer/epoxy paint on the floor (supplied by the team at KBS Coatings).
“I painted the floors with another product when we moved into this space a few years ago, but it was hammered by jacks, fluid spills and general wear and tear, to the point that I hated looking at it,” laughs Ryan, Bossman Deluxe and Chief Cat-Herder at United Speed Shop. “The Fortis Coat 823 is a proper HS high-build two-part epoxy, which means it is really hard-wearing and designed for industrial use, which is perfect for the shop.”
Epoxy paint is a two-part product, mixing epoxy resin and a hardener, to form a tough, solvent-resistant paint finish that is perfect for industrial and commercial applications. In much the same vein as two-pack paint on a car, part of the key to the epoxy’s tough-wearing nature comes from having proper substrate preparation, and this meant grinding the concrete floor to clean it and give the paint the best chance at proper adhesion.
With a shed chock full of heavy equipment and project cars, some mobile and a few immobile, emptying the shop to paint the floor is easier said than done. The solution turned out to be dividing the shop in half and moving everything to one side so Greg, Kurt and Ryan could take turns grinding the concrete floor.
The floor was ground it was then ready to be washed down with a surface prep-wash supplied in the kit. This provides excellent adhesion for the paint to really bite into, so it is capable of handling the hard work that Ryan and the lads will dish out.
Once the prep-wash dried Ryan could roll the epoxy paint out across the floor in two coats, doing half the shop each time and leaving it to dry for 24 hours. After one spin around the clock the floor was fine to walk on, though Ryan left it a few days before moving all the gear in the shop so he could paint the other side of the floor.
While the silver paint previously used appeared quite light in tone at the time, the difference in illumination of the workshop with the new Fortis Coat 823 light grey hue is staggering, and Ryan is once again proud to show off the United Speed Shop workshop to all and sundry.
“It’s lighter, brighter and now looks much more professional,” says Ryan. “It’s amazing just how new a place feels once you give it a coat of paint!”
Given the size of the area of the USS workshop, commercial quantities were required but KBS Coatings (you may be familiar with their great range of automotive restoration products already) has teamed up with Fortis to bring out epoxy floor coating kits suitable for standard garages based on the same great Fortis Coat 823 product, so if your shed floor needs a new lease on life contact KBS Coatings Australia
