Peeling Epoxy Floor in a Commercial Site: Recoat Over It or Strip It Back?

A peeling epoxy floor on a commercial site rarely fixes itself, and the usual first instinct, to paint over it, is the one decision that can waste the most money. Before choosing between a recoat and a full strip, the floor needs to be diagnosed. Where is it lifting? How well is the rest of it bonded? What was underneath when the original coating went down? This guide is for operations managers and property managers who have inherited a floor that is flaking, bubbling or lifting in sheets.

Why coatings let go

A December 2025 article on inadequate surface preparation in industrial epoxy flooring lists the usual suspects. Sweeping or pressure washing without mechanical preparation leaves a weak surface layer and a slab that is too smooth for a high-build coating. Contaminants such as oils, greases, tyre residues, plasticiser marks, old sealers, curing compounds and hydrophobic treatments leave poorly bonded areas. Coatings put on young or wet slabs, or over slabs without an effective vapour barrier, can blister, whiten and debond. Mistakes in the coating system itself also appear, including wrong resin to hardener ratios, use after pot life has expired, incompatible primers and body coats, and application outside the recommended temperature range (Becosan).

Most of those causes were set in place on installation day, and the pattern of peeling is the clue. Lifting along walls and edges can point to moisture or poor edge preparation. Lifting in wheel paths can point to loads the system was not built for. Scattered patches can suggest contamination in the slab, and lifting along joints can mean a rigid coating was bonded across movement.

What proper preparation looks like on paper

A data sheet from a major Australian coating manufacturer shows the standard to compare against. For a water-borne epoxy floor coating, dated December 2025, the concrete must be at least 28 days old. It is diamond ground, track blasted or mechanically abraded to remove laitance, curing compounds, hardeners, sealers and other contaminants, and to provide a concrete surface profile of CSP 2 to 3 per ICRI 310.2R. Dust is removed by vacuuming, and large cracks and voids are filled with a suitable filler. The sheet asks for moisture checks before coating: an electronic moisture meter reading that does not exceed 6 percent, and a plastic sheet test showing no visible moisture. For projects over 500 m² or where moisture is a concern, it asks for at least one further test method, such as calcium chloride or relative humidity testing (Dulux Protective Coatings).

The same sheet adds a caution that is easy to overlook. It says that testing cannot guarantee avoidance of future moisture problems, particularly with existing slabs, and that this is especially true where an under-slab vapour barrier cannot be confirmed or where the slab is contaminated by oils, chemical spills or unreacted silicates. In other words, a floor that has already failed once may have an underlying cause that preparation alone has not solved. If you want a deeper look at moisture, our commercial warehouse flooring page explains the system we build from the slab up.

The recoat test: does the old coating still hold?

The Dulux sheet includes an overcoating procedure that is a good model for a decision. The existing floor is degreased, and the adhesion of the existing coating is tested by a standard cross hatch adhesion test. If the coating fails, the sheet says to remove it. If it passes, defects in the concrete are filled with a suitable epoxy filler, bare areas are spot primed, and the existing coating is mechanically ground to remove gloss and create a key for the new coat, followed by vacuuming to remove dust. It also says that if the maximum overcoat interval of a coat is exceeded, the surface must be abraded to ensure intercoat adhesion.

That gives a practical decision path:

• If the old coating is well bonded across most of the floor and only isolated spots have failed, a repair and recoat can make sense.
• If adhesion testing fails in several places, or the lifting runs in sheets, strip it back. A new coat on a failing layer is only as good as that layer.
• If moisture is the suspected cause, test the slab and fix the source before any new coating goes down.
• If the old system is a different chemistry or has sealers on top, ask for a compatibility check on a small area first.

What stripping involves and why it affects your schedule

Stripping an old coating means grinding or blasting back to bare concrete, which creates dust and noise and needs controls that suit an operating site. Ask how dust will be extracted and contained, how waste will be removed, and which areas can stay in use. Because the slab then needs the same preparation as a new floor, a strip is a bigger job than a recoat, and it adds days. Our commercial and warehouse page describes the shot-blast or diamond-grind preparation we use for commercial slabs, and our repairs and resurfacing service covers fixing tired or damaged floors.

Why June is a good time to inspect

Peeling shows up clearly in damp winter conditions, when wet tyres and wet boots test every edge. The end of the financial year is also close, and many businesses are setting budgets. A cross hatch test and a careful floor map now can turn into a scoped plan for a warmer window, instead of a rushed patch in July. This is planning advice, not tax advice.

Questions to ask the installer

• How will adhesion of the existing coating be tested, and at how many locations?
• What will the profile of the prepared surface be, and how will it be checked?
• What is the diagnosis of the cause, and what will be done differently this time?
• If recoating, how will gloss be removed and gaps filled?
• What does the written warranty cover if lifting reappears?

Businesses around Broadmeadows and Greenvale can start with the Broadmeadows commercial page or the Greenvale commercial page. We inspect the site, give you a written scope and a fixed price, and back the work with a 7-year warranty.