How to Strip Epoxy Paint from Garage Floor

LESLIE: Darryl in Georgia needs some help with how to strip epoxy paint from a garage floor. Tell us what’s going on.

DARRYL: Leslie, I have a garage, about 500 square feet, that has about two coats of, well, it’s Sherwin-Williams acrylic epoxy paint on the floor. Vehicles parked in there pulled some of the paint off. I want to get it to completely off and all. Some of it is adhered really well to the base concrete; some of it is coming up in sheets and all. But I’d like to know what kind of a chemical stripper that I can get to do that that is economical and do the job.

TOM: If it’s coming up in sheets, like peeling up, you might actually be able to pressure-wash that up. You just have to be careful that you don’t erode the concrete at the same time. I might be tempted to give that a shot with a pressure washer.

DARRYL: OK.

TOM: If you have to use a chemical stripper to strip epoxy paint, then you’re going to probably want to use a pretty good-quality one. For example, Rock Miracle does a good job. Because you can’t put good paint over bad paint.

Listen, here’s what I would do, no matter what product. Because it’s so expensive, I would tell you buy the smallest quantity you can and test it. And this way, you know it works or it doesn’t work and you find out before you’re into it for a couple hundred bucks. This way, you could try it in a couple of places and see if it works.

DARRYL: Yeah.

TOM: Just keep in mind, though, that when you do strip epoxy paint, you’re going to have to ventilate the space really well. And if it’s a still day, you’d be wise to have some fans moving through that so that you pull that fresh air through it and doesn’t get too stinky while you’re working on it.

DARRYL: Right. If you use a respirator, would that be for methyl chloride, you know, the cartridge?

TOM: If you use the right respirator, it would, yes.

DARRYL: Yep. Mm-hmm. OK.

TOM: Yep. Use the right respirator. OK?

DARRYL: Yeah, I would use – definitely use fans, gloves and safety glasses and all that, because this stuff does not take any prisoners and all.

TOM: Yep. You be careful. Yeah, I hear you. Alright. Well, we hope we get you – give you a couple of ideas there and places to start.

DARRYL: OK. Well, I certainly do appreciate it. And I listen to your program and get a lot of good tips there, too. And thanks for taking my call and giving me some information.

LESLIE: Thanks so much for calling The Money Pit.