One of the most frequently asked questions we get is how to remove tire marks from epoxy flooring. The second most asked question is why does this happen in the first place. We understand how frustrating it must be to put down a nice epoxy coating in your garage just to have it marred with ugly black tire marks. So why does this problem happen to garage owners across the country? Is there anything that can be done to either prevent or remove those offending tire marks?
Plasticizers are a combination of polymer compounds. They’re used in the tire industry to make rubber more flexible. This gives tires more traction and helps keep them soft and pliable in cold weather. Plasticizer migration is the process that causes tires to leave black rubber marks on any type of floor covering. While driving, tires heat up. These plasticizers leach out and leave oily marks on your floor. Even cars that sit for a long period of time will still leave marks on your floor, due to this process, but it’s much slower. Plasticizer migration is also more noticeable with high performance and quality all-season tires.
How do you remove tire marks on epoxy flooring?
Removing tire marks from your garage floor can be easy, but it depends on a few things. First, the quality of your epoxy floor coating and second, how long the tire marks have been building up. As epoxy cures, it creates a cross linking pattern. This gives the coating strength and density. Commercial quality epoxies, polyurethanes, and polyureas are much easier to remove tire marks from than the lesser quality products because they have a greater cross linking pattern. High cross linking does a better job of preventing the plasticizers from penetrating into the sealer.
To remove tire marks that have built up overtime, use one of Soybase Clean’s heavy duty cleaner degreasers. We have a heavy degreaser for every job. We’re even the number one Tennant floor scrubber solution. Call us today for pricing.