Is this stuff any good? Garage floor coating...

[Doug Hatton]

I know we talked about this before, but I never got a clear answer on what products were good or not. For about $150 I could do the garage floor with this stuff. Will it last or is it going to chip up and look bad a year from now??

[TRAXX]

Thats the stuff I used, and it's holding up reasonably well 5 years later. Surface prep is key. If this is going on existing concrete with oil stains, do the best you can to get the stains out. The spots where I do have some peeling are areas that had oil stains.

Id wait for others to chime in, as I have heard of other products that might be better but regardless of the product you use, spend plenty of time scrubbing the crap out of the floor.

[Got Stripes?]

I used a similiar product from Lowes, although i think i was made by American Standard, instead of Rustoleum. It had some blurb about a 5 year garuntee on the box.

I acid etched the floor prior to laying the epoxy coating, and put down 2 very heavy coats. I had to buy 5 cases to do mine at about $79 a case. (3 car garage)
The whole project cost me about $600 with rollers/Acid/ and misc supplies.

3 years later its holding up great, I had a car parked in one spot for 1 solid year without moving and no problems with the coating, I have even welded on the floor without hardley leaving a mark. I am very pleased with the performance of it as to date there is not one scratch on the floor.

If you prep it right and get a nice thick coat down it should last. Make sure its at least 60 degrees in the garage though or it will never dry, it was about 65 degree when i did mine and it took over a week to completly set.

[Doug Hatton]

Yeah, that temperature thing is the only part that stinks. I was hoping to do this before I moved in, but that should be around mid January! LOL. Not gonna predict any +65 temps around then. I guess I'll plan on doing this in the spring and moving all the crap outta the garage to do it. :\

[Got Stripes?]

Yeah, that temperature thing is the only part that stinks. I was hoping to do this before I moved in, but that should be around mid January! LOL. Not gonna predict any +65 temps around then. I guess I'll plan on doing this in the spring and moving all the crap outta the garage to do it. :\

If you can get it dont before you move in, I would highly suggest it. That epoxy coating will stink up your house for a good week as it dries. Plus it recomends not putting anything of significant wieght on it for 10 days, which means you would have to empty the garage into you house for almost two weeks, or let all your tools and shit live in the backyard for a while.....

I did mine the first week of January 3 years ago, i kept the garage doors closed and the temps in the garage were right at 65 for most of the day, at night i am sure it got much colder, just took extra time to dry, I let mine set up for 14 days before walking or driving on it.

[wesman]

If you can get it dont before you move in, I would highly suggest it. That epoxy coating will stink up your house for a good week as it dries. Plus it recomends not putting anything of significant wieght on it for 10 days, which means you would have to empty the garage into you house for almost two weeks, or let all your tools and shit live in the backyard for a while.....

I did mine the first week of January 3 years ago, i kept the garage doors closed and the temps in the garage were right at 65 for most of the day, at night i am sure it got much colder, just took extra time to dry, I let mine set up for 14 days before walking or driving on it.


Exactly, if you keep the garage doors closed it sould dry ok. the lower temps will just prolong the curing process, but it will still cure. definitely do it before the move-in, save a lot of time and heartache.

--wes

[Doug Hatton]

Yeah, I'd definitely like to do it before I move in if possible. If I can just give it some extra time to cure, I'll do that. I should have almost a month of vacant time at the house before I move my stuff over towards the end of Jan.

[TINKRD]

if its a brand new garage, do you still need to acid etch it??

<--- closing on new house first week in Jan

[JP135]

Do a search on garage floor coatings on here. Blackstang1996 (I think that's his name) does painting for a living. He suggested some stuff in another post that recently came out and says it's better than the Rustoleum.

I used the Rustoleum on mine and its fine, but I'd use the newer stuff given the choice.

EDIT: BlackSnake1996

[Got Stripes?]

if its a brand new garage, do you still need to acid etch it??

<--- closing on new house first week in Jan


Yes Acid Etching is part of the prep process, new concrete or not, etching allows the epoxy to penetrate into the concrete and form a better bond. Without etching the epoxy will not bond to the surface and will start to flake with time.

you can test your concrete with a drop of water, if you place a drop of water on the suface and the concrete imeadiatly soaks it up very little ecthing will be needed, if the water stays in drop form on top of the surface a good amount of etching will be needed.

[doopie]

I used the Sherwin Williams product on my shop. 840 sq feet and it took two days. Once day for the epoxy to cure and then put two coats of clear. If yu are going to do grey with fleck and clear the Costco in Soutlake has the H&C Armor shield for 69.99 a kit.

If you want to check mine out tomorrow let me know.
I added the shark grip and it is not slick and still allows for easy brooming.
Will be doign the house garage when it is cleaned out from all of the construction material.

Raymond

[miketyler]

Used that on the rent house and is holding up great. Its water based so clean up was easy. Includes prep agent. There was a place in GP thats had several kits for 50% off so it was an easy choice fo me.

[BlackSnake1996]

Do a search on garage floor coatings on here. Blackstang1996 (I think that's his name) does painting for a living. He suggested some stuff in another post that recently came out and says it's better than the Rustoleum.

I used the Rustoleum on mine and its fine, but I'd use the newer stuff given the choice.

EDIT: BlackSnake1996
Yes, we use to use the Rustolem all the time and swore it to be the best, but as of late, there had been a significant upgrade in the ShieldCrete. And there is no etching required.
Link: http://www.hc-concrete.com/product/shieldCrete.asp

[grape]

acid etching is a sure fire way to get your product to lift........where do you think the concrete dust goes that has just been removed by the process? diamond grinding or shot blasting is the ONLY way to prep, properly. Our products have a pot life of 24 minutes at 70 degrees, the colder the better for us, just gives us more time.

there is a trick to oil and grease stains also but it involves a torch............. before you do any prep at all.


as far as the concerns for real epoxy flooring holding up, REAL epoxy is tested well beyond what standard 3500 psi concrete can offer for adhesion. I can show you guys some of our stuff that was chisled up that has concrete on the back of it, if you'd like.

[BlackSnake1996]

acid etching is a sure fire way to get your product to lift........where do you think the concrete dust goes that has just been removed by the process? diamond grinding or shot blasting is the ONLY way to prep, properly. Our products have a pot life of 24 minutes at 70 degrees, the colder the better for us, just gives us more time.

there is a trick to oil and grease stains also but it involves a torch............. before you do any prep at all.


as far as the concerns for real epoxy flooring holding up, REAL epoxy is tested well beyond what standard 3500 psi concrete can offer for adhesion. I can show you guys some of our stuff that was chisled up that has concrete on the back of it, if you'd like.
If you are trying to sell your business, you have a very good product to use indeed. The problem here is that I believe he wants to do it his self.

Acid etching only leaves the dust that you leave. We usually turn the pressure down on a power washer and push all the dirt and dust out, followed by a blower the next day after it dries.

Now we use to have "some" problems with the old concrete paint, but we haven't had a single problem with the Rustolium or the ShieldCrete. I just like the ShieldCrete because its so much easer to use and there is no etching involved.

[grape]

whatever you buy at home depot or a paint store will not look like this, end of story............


http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x199/grape09/Phoenix2.jpg

[doopie]

Why the extra pad under the cars?

That looks nice, but expensive.

[franks]

Why the extra pad under the cars?

That looks nice, but expensive.
is for setups, the floor isnt flat and that pad is a liquid and when it settles it is completely level.


its not as expensive as most think (installed)

[wesman]

whatever you buy at home depot or a paint store will not look like this, end of story............


http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x199/grape09/Phoenix2.jpg


Very nice, but it's also not $69.99 per two car garage.

--wes

[miketyler]

That does look nice though. If its your own garage I would spend the bucks and buy the Sherwin Williams or other quality epoxy product. When we purchased it was around $60/activated gallon. Would take two gallons for most std 2 car garages.

I used the lower grade one (Tile-Clad?). The upper end stuff was a self-levelling product and had MUCH less coverage area, coating thickness spec was 1/8-3/16" and was applied with a trowel. It would have cost much more to have went with it.

As for the fumes and cure time, it was pretty strong initially. We coated it during a warm summer evening but within 24 hours all odors had completely dissipated. Although it is rated at 14 days cure time @77degrees the surface was dry and cured with no soft spots overnight. We reloaded the garage (no cars) the next day.

http://www.sherlink.com/sher-link/ImgServ?id=datapages/tile_clad_hs_epoxy_4-30.pdf

[BlackSnake1996]

whatever you buy at home depot or a paint store will not look like this, end of story............
I'm not sure what your point is here. I believe we have both came to that conclusion already. But do you think he can do it on his own, or is he gonna need a pro?

Olso...what would it cost to have the average 2 car garage done?

[grape]

Why the extra pad under the cars?

That looks nice, but expensive.

a race car is only as good as the floor it's sitting on. Set up pads are around $40 per square foot installed with travel included.......

[grape]

As for the fumes and cure time, it was pretty strong initially. We coated it during a warm summer evening but within 24 hours all odors had completely dissipated. Although it is rated at 14 days cure time @77degrees the surface was dry and cured with no soft spots overnight. We reloaded the garage (no cars) the next day.

http://www.sherlink.com/sher-link/ImgServ?id=datapages/tile_clad_hs_epoxy_4-30.pdf


if you ever do it again, the higher the solids content the lower the odor. 100% solids coatings take a chemical reaction between the two parts and does not rely on evaporation of a chemical which is where odor during cure time comes from.

[grape]

Olso...what would it cost to have the average 2 car garage done?

anything under 500 ft is $5 per foot installed and up depending on details needed around door openings, baseboards, and garage entry step ups.

[BlackSnake1996]

anything under 500 ft is $5 per foot installed and up depending on details needed around door openings, baseboards, and garage entry step ups.
OK, so we are looking at about 2k for the average 2 car garage. I think thats a pretty good price for what you are getting. I know what your job consist of, and although it sounds pricey, you get what you pay for.

[franks]

OK, so we are looking at about 2k for the average 2 car garage. I think thats a pretty good price for what you are getting. I know what your job consist of, and although it sounds pricey, you get what you pay for.
i think it is in the same price range or cheaper then having tile installed

[Doug Hatton]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. (both commercial experts and amateurs that have real world experience w/ doing it.) I'm aware that there are MUCH better quality solutions out there. Hell, the ENTIRE subfab area at TI is coated in the high grade stuff! (can't imagine what they paid for THAT!) I'm looking for something inbetween latex paint and $2000 epoxy. I would be doing it myself and understand that what I'm planning on doing isn't as nice, nor as durable as paying a professional. I'm not interested in building race cars in my garage. No offense, but if I wanted to spend $5 a square foot, it'd be on travertine, I'd do it myself and it wouldn't be in my garage. I just want a decent coating that isn't gonna chip up and look like shit in a year or two. Thanks to those that have personally done the DIY coatings. Your information was valuable.

[BlackSnake1996]

Thanks for all the comments everyone. (both commercial experts and amateurs that have real world experience w/ doing it.) I'm aware that there are MUCH better quality solutions out there. Hell, the ENTIRE subfab area at TI is coated in the high grade stuff! (can't imagine what they paid for THAT!) I'm looking for something inbetween latex paint and $2000 epoxy. I would be doing it myself and understand that what I'm planning on doing isn't as nice, nor as durable as paying a professional. I'm not interested in building race cars in my garage. No offense, but if I wanted to spend $5 a square foot, it'd be on travertine, I'd do it myself and it wouldn't be in my garage. I just want a decent coating that isn't gonna chip up and look like shit in a year or two. Thanks to those that have personally done the DIY coatings. Your information was valuable.
ShieldCrete is what you want then. It is very easy to use and has a very good bond. Your main concern is to get the surface clean of greese and dirt. You can pick it up at Sherwin Williams for about 100 bucks a kit.

[one slow 5.0]

has anyone on here try U Coat. coasts about $1100 to do 1200sq. ft

[GRAYHORSE]

Hey Doug, did you use it?

I used that stuff for my garage and it's done well for almost 2 years now.
A little tip for the little color chips. Dont try and sprinkle it on evenly with your hand. The best way to get it even was to grab a hand full and throw it hard accross the area and let it fall to the ground. Spreads nicely this way...

[Doug Hatton]

I haven't used it yet. I'm closing on the house next Thursday and will be doing it sometime in the next few weeks. I'll remember your technique! LOL...

[wesman]

If you're looking for a race deck type flooring, Costco has theirs on sale with a coupon from their last flyer. Check out costco.com for the motofloor garage floor tile, item 232502 .

It's 42 sq ft per box, with the coupon it's $30 off a box, no item limit.

Regular price is $119.99 a box, it's $89.99 a box right now.

--wes

[wesman]

Damn....gonna have to convince the wife on this one....I already have the "paint" to coat the floors with but I'd much rather have the racedecking.......except my garage is 33x21.....so about $1500 bucks worth :eek:

or I could just disappear on Sat morning and go pick it up and return with it......yeah, that's more my style :D


--wes

[wesman]

Damn....gonna have to convince the wife on this one....I already have the "paint" to coat the floors with but I'd much rather have the racedecking.......except my garage is 33x21.....so about $1500 bucks worth :eek:

or I could just disappear on Sat morning and go pick it up and return with it......yeah, that's more my style :D


--wes


Called Costco and in the store it's only $110 a box, so you save $10 a box over ordering online (because shipping is included)....so my garage is at about $1350 + tax.......I think I may have to make a stealth trip on Sat morning.....not sure how I'm gonna explain the stack of garage tiles sitting around tho :D

--wes