The MOST IMPORTANT TIP: “OUT OF THE BUCKET AND ONTO THE FLOOR” Leaving the epoxy too long in the bucket will cause it to heat up and start smoking. DO NOT POUR HOT EPOXY ON YOUR PROJECT.

• Whenever you break a kit, you must premix Part A for 3 minutes BEFORE pouring out of the bucket and adding metallic pigment to it.
• For example:  If you are not using a full 1-gallon pail of Part A in the batch that you are making, you must premix the full 1 gallon of Part A (in the original bucket) before pouring out of it & adding metallic to it.  If this is not done, the metallic powder may absorb additives that have risen to the top and it may have negative effects on your epoxy.  If you are mixing a whole kit at once (pouring and scraping the sides of 2 complete one-gallon Part A pails into your mixing bucket), you don’t have to premix the Part A.
• 1.5 - 3 mixed gallons at a time is a typical amount to work with for each color batch (use appropriate workforce for the size of project that you are doing).
• EXAMPLE if making 3-gallon batches:  The popular color combo of 50% Deep Mocha and 50% Lincoln Penny = 3 gallons x 60 sq. ft. x 2 colors = you should be working in 360 sq. ft. areas.  Measure out 360 sq. ft. areas and use painters tape on the wall (each side of the room) as a visual reference to indicate each area.  In this example, you are putting down 3 gallons of Deep Mocha and 3 gallons of Lincoln Penny within a 360 sq. ft. area.  360/6 gallons = 60 sq. ft. per gallon.
• It is a good idea to have each area of your whole project pre-measured & marked off before starting with your prime coat.  Even though this is not as critical in the prime coat, you’ll definitely want to be getting your average of 60 sq. ft. per gallon when you get to your marble coat.
• When Magic Troweling your marble coat:  Pull the epoxy across the floor to blend one color over the other and evenly cover the previous coat (use the magic trowel to pull and apply epoxy along the edges of the walls and around other obstacles). After you have your area coated, walk back into the epoxy to where you started, and lightly float the magic trowel over the surface of the colored epoxy (like washing a window with a squeegee . . . lightly floating the magic trowel over the surface of the epoxy to help level it out).
• What you don’t want is . . . make the floor to look like someone just threw paint all over the floor.  All colored ribbons, drips, and puddles should be manipulated with your magic trowel, rollers or a combination of these to “smear” one color over top of and with the other colors to blend and marbleize.
• Single Metallic colors look great as well as 2 color combos.  Keep in mind that the more colors you do, the more complex the project becomes (with a greater chance for error).
• Use The Concrete Protector’s large low viscosity mixing wand for mixing.  This is the correct mixing wand to ensure that you are not whipping air into your epoxy.
• Do not use a high-speed drill.  Do not mix so fast that you get the “tornado effect” in the product as it spins around the bucket (at this speed, you may suck air down into the epoxy . . . potentially entrapping it and possibly causing bubbles).
• Make sure the room is at a steady temperature or the temperature is on the decrease when applying the epoxy.  A room with floor temps rising while curing may cause the slab to breathe out and possibly cause outgassing bubbles).
• Do whatever it takes to control room temps.  If it means putting aluminum foil on the windows to block and reflect the sun, then do it.
• It is highly recommended to have ALL of your Marble Coat batches premeasured ahead of time (for both colored Part A Resin & Part B Hardener). This is called “batching”. This way, all your mixer has to do is pour the Part B into the colored Part A and then mix.  The less thinking involved in the mixing step, the less chance there is for mistakes.
• Use the appropriate labor force for the job that you’re doing.  Most residential projects may require 3 workers. One person dedicated to mixing only.  One person as your “runner”, taking buckets of mixed epoxy from the mixing area to the floor, and one person as the main applicator/finisher.
• Mark all “job” buckets to visually indicate the job buckets from mixing buckets. Apply painters tape around the buckets that you are designating as “job buckets” to clearly indicate which buckets are job buckets and which buckets are mixing buckets.  You DO NOT want to take mixing buckets (with possible unmixed Part A or B dripping off the bottom of it from a messy mixing station) onto your floor.
• When mixed epoxy is poured into your job bucket, make sure that the job bucket is sitting on a clean surface.