Smooth sailing … Not really

By Daich Coatings.

Project prep tips for working with Daich Coating products.

There’s no substitute for going through all the surface prep tips and instructions before tackling a project. There’s a reason for the old adage, “measure twice, cut once.” At Daich Coatings, while our products are fairly easy to apply, they must have the right surface to “grab” onto.

Generally, our products don’t like a smooth surface. They need a textured surface to latch onto. That’s why we talk about the importance of etching in our online surface prep tips.

Outdoor prep… Take time to get it right

When you’re preparing concrete to accept Daich Coatings products, it’s not a good thing if the concrete is powdery or very smooth. You can solve that problem by wetting the concrete, pouring cleaner/etcher onto it and scrubbing lightly. Move it around with a stiff brush. It’ll fizzle. That’s good. Let it do that for a few minutes and then rinse the etcher away. This opens up the concrete pores.

When outside, you should follow up with pressure washing. A good thing is that the etcher also removes stains. In the end, the surface won’t be smooth any longer, so the new coating will have something to stick to.

Don’t let this happen to you

What happens if you skip this etching step? As one installer found out, big headaches can occur.

The installer simply washed a garage floor and then applied TracSafe Color Coat directly to the floor. The problem, which he discovered several months later, is that the garage floor was too slick and smooth. Less than six months after applying, the product started to peel away. While it was smooth sailing on the front end of the project, he’d now hit the rocky shores.

His next step was to carefully remove all areas of the product that were peeling away. Then he applied the cleaner/etcher to the exposed area. After cleaning it out and letting it dry, he had to re-apply the TracSafe Color Coat and then the TracSafe Sealer.

He then had to “feather” it into the existing floor, and the color match was not exactly the same because the garage floor had been in place for a year. Lesson learned … don’t skip a step on the front end.

For more guidance on evaluating and prepping concrete, wood and synthetic surfaces prior to using Daich Coating products, visit the Surface Prep Tips page on our website.