Step 1 - Diamond grind to remove hardened oil and grease.

The floors had oil and packed grease on the surface which needed to be removed prior to shot blasting the concrete. Diamond grinders were used for the largest areas and hand grinders were used on hands-and-knees around the equipment to reach all the little nooks that the large grinders couldn't.

Once this process was started, CMS discovered deep crevices. Chipping hammers had to be used to get into these crevices and clean out the pits. The floors were so contaminated with oil and grease that most companies would not have accepted the project due to the risk of the floors not adhering.

Step 2 - Shot blast the floor for proper coating adherence.

The floors had to be shot blasted twice and even three times in some areas to remove the oil and grease. At one point a decision had to be made regarding a particularly damaged area: Continue trying to clean out the pits of grease or tear it out and completely replace the contaminated slab with fresh concrete?

Step 3 - Chip out, route and patch cracks, joints and low spots/spalls with epoxy grout.

The crevices were extensive and very deep. Paint brushes were used in place of paint rollers to ensure that the epoxy primer was well into all the nooks and crannies. The primer was necessary to provide a barrier for good adherence. Extra dry mix was used to fill the cracks and joints so as not to waste the epoxy. Large batches of epoxy grout were made to fill the really deep holes, crevices, cracks and joints.

Step 4 - Grind patches flush with the concrete slab.

It was necessary to grind all of the high spots out of the patches so that they were flush with the rest of the floor. In this particular case, nearly the entire floor had been patched.

During this time it was also discovered that oil was still spilling from the pans below the large tanks. CMS requested National Technologies to caulk around all of the pans that were leaking oil.

Step 5 - An epoxy slurry is applied by trowel and backrolled to level out trowel marks.

Due to the extensive damage, this project took a double-slurry. The first slurry - a wet, resin-rich mixture of brown silica sand - was used to pre-fill the rough surface to flatten the floor as much as possible.

A second slurry of fines and aggregate blends was then applied to further fill the cracks and pits. Due to the large amount of resin, the floor was becoming visibly more level.

Step 6 - Broadcasting color quartz into the slurry mix for color, texture and strength.

The color quartz was then seeded until total rejection. This means that no wet epoxy spots could be seen on the surface. Quartz is spread by hand across the floor until the quartz granules stop sinking.

Step 7 - After proper cure, excess quartz particles are swept away and then vacuumed.

The slurry mixture was allowed to cure for 24 hours before CMS returned to sweep off the excess quartz granules. Due to the nature of the industry and the requirements of the work environment, the floors were not sanded to remove any of the texture. This was done to retain as much of the slip-resistant qualities as possible.

Step 8 - A chemical-resistant, clear epoxy top-coat is applied for a durable, seamless finish.

The final coating was about 20 mills of a chemical-resistant, water-clear epoxy.