Auto Showroom Floor Coatings in Valley View, PA

Showroom Coatings in Small Town America

In February 2012, we received an inquiry via ServiceMagic.com (now HomeAdvisor.com) asking about epoxy coatings for a Ford dealership showroom in Valley View, PA. This small town in Schuylkill County features views of the valleys (named appropriately) and sports a main street that could've been illustrated by Norman Rockwell on a magazine cover. The automotive dealership, Palmer H Reed Motor Sales, is a friendly business that felt welcoming the moment we walked through their door.

Our Showroom Floor Needs Help!

The great people running the dealership REALLY needed an update to their showroom. The following items were on their list of desired improvements:

• Replace the tan commercial floor paint in the showroom with a decorative, commercial grade floor coating.
• Replace the grey commercial floor paint in the parts room (much of the floor paint had already worn away).
• Replace the multiple layers of floor paint in the bathroom with a decorative coating.
• Improve the entry at the front door, as it contained a step down, trip hazard.
• Increase the safety for employees walking from the showroom to the parts room’s front entrance (the step up created a constant trip/slip hazard).
• Fix the long, jagged cracks in the showroom floor and fill the wide expansion joint in the middle of the showroom.
• Create a designated customer “waiting area” in the showroom via differences in the floor finish.

The showroom’s tan floor was masking several additional layers of floor paint and garage floor epoxy kits. None worked with the Ford corporate colors or added to the dealership's identity. Moreover, the garage floor paint behind the parts and service counter was gone in the walking paths.

Decorative Chip Coatings to the Rescue!

For the showroom, we proposed removing all of the existing floor paint, cutting/filling the cracks, filling the joints, and coating with our decorative chip floor coatings. This system would be comprised of a base coat of 100% solids, gray epoxy with a full broadcast of our Union blend of paint chips. The epoxy and chips were then sealed with a top coat of polyaspartic polyurethane with an aluminum oxide additive for added slip resistance and wear resistance.

We also suggested:

1. Using a similar, but slightly different blend of chips to give dimension to the customer waiting area.
2. Highlighting the step up from the showroom to the parts & service area’s front entry by using “safety yellow”.
3. Using the same decorative chip blend in the bathroom as in the showroom.
4. Installing a light gray, solid color epoxy floor in the parts area to make dropped or spilled items stand out on the floor.
5. Completing the coatings during a known long weekend where the dealership would be closed.
6. Correcting the trip hazard at the front door by installing epoxy mortars to transition the main floor to the height of the front, entry door.

The team at the dealership agreed. The owner was even more excited that we could complete our activities while they were closed for a long weekend of hunting. The showroom coatings were scheduled for April 2012 and the parts room coatings for June 2012.

Installing the Showroom Coatings

On a Friday afternoon, all existing floor paints were removed by our diamond grinders. We cut out and epoxy filled all cracks and joints in the showroom floor. Airborne dust was minimized with our HEPA vacuums. The small, designated customer waiting area was coated with epoxy and a full broadcast of acrylic paint chips.

On Saturday, all joints and cracks were ground again to flush with the epoxy repair materials. Final grinding was completed on all edges using our shrouded 7” hand grinders. Our team then applied the gray epoxy and broadcast the chips until refusal on the main floor and the bathroom.

On Sunday, we removed all excess chips and applied the polyaspartic clear coat to the entire showroom floor and bathroom floor. The whole process mimicked what our teams do each week in residential garages.

On Monday, the dealership re-opened its doors to the public and resumed normal operations.

Installing the Parts and Service Area Coatings

After additional showroom upgrades were completed, the owners called us back to complete the Parts & Service area coatings. We arrived on a late Friday afternoon to get started. It was great to see our showroom coatings now accompanied with fresh wall paints, trim paint, furniture, counters, and displays.

Because the parts area had very tight aisles, our walk-behind floor grinders could only do a portion of the work. Our three person team took turns running our 7” hand grinders to complete each aisle.

The coatings were installed over two days without issue. The improvement in the reflectivity of the room’s lighting was immediately noticeable.

Sunday provided a day for the new coatings to cure and get ready for a normal work week. Monday kicked off as usual, with the staff coming back to a brighter, more inviting work area.

A Better View in Valley View

All around, the teams at Palmer H Reed and STRONGHOLD FLOORS were pleased with the end results. The new floor coatings really complimented the overall facelift to this central Pennsylvania automotive dealership.

The “after” pictures shown here were taken 18 months after we completed the coatings projects. Steve, our PA Sales Manager at the time, was in the area to review an upcoming residential project and stopped in to take a few quick pictures.

Thanks again to the team at Palmer H Reed Motor Sales.

Other Automotive Projects STRONGHOLD FLOORS Has Assisted With

• Racing

o   Keen Racing: Racing garage floor coatings (Carlisle, PA)

o   Ed Trump/Baker Door Company Racing: Race car trailer coatings (Mechanicsburg, PA)

o   Selinsgrove Ford: Race car showroom coatings (Selinsgrove, PA)

• Dealerships

o   Bob Davidson Ford: Offices, bathrooms, and garage coatings (Baltimore, MD)

o   Bobby Rahal Toyota & Lexus: Recon and other service area polished concrete (Mechanicsburg, PA)

o   Regester Chevrolet: Service garage coatings (Thompsontown, PA)

o   Deer Lake Auto Sales: Service garage coatings (Orwigsburg, PA)

o   Honda of Bowie: Customer service area coatings (Bowie, MD)

• Service

o   Main Car Care: Office, bathroom, customer service, and service area coatings (York, PA)

o   K&W Tire: Service area coatings (Lancaster, PA)

o   Browns Service Center: Service area coatings (Mifflintown, PA)

o   Texaco Express Lube: Service area coatings (Selinsgrove, PA)

• Specialty

o   HP Engines: Office and production coatings (Thompsontown, PA)

o   Schwalm’s Babbitted Bearings: Bathroom, hallway and restoration area coatings (Lancaster, PA)

o   American Axle: Entry and showroom coatings (Lancaster, PA)

• Parts

o   NAPA: Retail showroom coatings (Manheim, PA)

o   NAPA: Retail showroom and shop floor coatings (Columbia, PA)