Peeling, chipping, or lifting coatings need more than a fresh topcoat. Detroit Concrete removes the failed system entirely, assesses and repairs the slab underneath, then installs a complete coating system with proper mechanical prep so the new floor actually bonds. Free written estimate on every job.
A coating that peels within a season or two almost never failed because the product was bad. It failed because the concrete slab was not mechanically prepared before the coating was applied. Dust, sealer residue, or moisture on the surface prevents the coating from bonding to the concrete.
When you roll a new coat over a peeling coating, you are just layering failure on top of failure. The new coat will lift wherever the old one is already lifting. The only real fix is to grind or shot-blast the slab back to bare concrete, test for moisture, repair any cracks or spalling, and then install the coating system the way it should have been done originally.
We often recommend switching to a different polyaspartic coating or even polished concrete during the repair if the original choice was not the right fit for how you use the garage. The key is that the second install gets the prep right, so the floor actually holds.
Recent work
The repair sequence
How Garage Floor Repair Gets Done in Detroit
Inspect and diagnose
We examine the peeling or chipped areas, identify whether the failure is adhesion, moisture, or slab damage, and determine what coating system makes sense for the rebuild.
Strip the failed coating
Mechanical grinding or shot-blasting removes the old coating and any residue, exposing bare concrete so the new system has a sound substrate to bond to.
Repair the slab
Cracks are routed and filled, pitted or spalled areas are patched with repair mortars, and the surface is profiled to the right profile for the new coating.
Install the new system
Primer, body coat, and topcoat go on in sequence at the right temperature and humidity, so the coating cures and performs as the manufacturer tested it.
The difference between repair and recoat
Stripping Back Versus Painting Over
Painting a new coat over a peeling floor is the cheapest option in the moment, but it is also the fastest path to another failure. The new coat will peel wherever the old one is peeling, and you will be back to square one within a season.
Real garage floor repair removes the failed coating entirely, fixes the slab, and rebuilds the system with proper prep. It costs more upfront, but the floor will actually last. Many homeowners choose to switch to polyaspartic during the repair because it cures faster and is more UV-stable, or to polished concrete if they want no coating at all. The choice depends on your use and budget, but the prep is always the same: mechanical, thorough, and done right.
Why coatings fail, what stripping involves, and how to avoid repeating the same mistake.
Almost always because the slab was not mechanically prepped before the coating went on. Coatings rolled over a sealed or dusty slab cannot bond, and they peel at the tires within a season. The fix is to strip back and prep properly the second time.
No, and no honest installer would. A coat over a peeling coating just delays failure; the new coat lifts wherever the old one is lifting. Real repair strips back to bare concrete first, then rebuilds the system properly.
Depends on why the first one failed and how you use the garage. Often the original choice was right, just installed wrong. Sometimes a different system, polyaspartic or polished, is the better fit for the use.
Yes. Cracks are routed and filled, spalled and pitted areas are patched with repair mortars matched to the coating that will go over, and the surface is profiled fresh so the new system bonds to sound substrate.
Usually a few days from strip-back through new install, depending on coating type and cure windows. Polyaspartic rebuilds finish in about a day; epoxy takes longer to fully cure for vehicles.
Homeowner reviews
What Detroit Homeowners Say About Their Garage Floor Repairs
Previous epoxy peeled by the door within months. They ground it all back, prepped right, and re-installed the same brand of product. Two years later still solid where the original lasted one season.
S. T.
Detroit
★★★★★
Switched from a basic epoxy to polyaspartic during the repair because we cannot afford the downtime again. Done in a day this time, has held up perfectly.
C. L.
Dearborn
★★★★★
Honest assessment that the failure was prep, not product. Repair was thorough, the new floor bonds to the slab like it should have the first time.
L. A.
Sterling Heights
★★★★★
Stripped the failed metallic coating and went polished instead. No more coatings to worry about, the slab itself is the finish now.
N. O.
Warren
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Tell us what is happening with your garage floor, peeling, chipping, or lifting coating, and we will assess it free, explain what went wrong, and provide a written repair quote.
