Have you put down epoxy on your garage floor?

[Russell Tribby]

I've got a friend that wants me to put epoxy down on her garage floor and I'm wondering how difficult it is to do. The house is new so I wouldn't have to move anything out of the way. As far as I can tell it would just be a matter of cleaning the floor and then putting down the epoxy. Any suggestions/recommendations from your experience would be really appreciated. Is there a specific product that you'd recommend?

[Harlan Coverdale]

I've used the Rustoleum epoxy with the little paint chip sprinkles that Lowes sells, and have been real happy with the results. There are another three or four garages or utility rooms in my family that have the same treatment, and everyone who's done it has been very pleased with it. As far as tips or pointers, just follow the directions closely. Extra time spent on the prep is worth it to get good results.

[Doug Shepard]

I used Sherwin Williams Shield Krete because I wanted a white floor to brighten up the shop. Couldn't find white in a lot of brands and read good comments on the SW stuff. So far the only places I've had issues isn't with the paint but the underlying concrete patch in a few spots.
I splurged for a really wide roller (forget the exact size) and think it was worth it. The epoxy can start setting up and getting tacky if you take too long to get it rolled out. The easiest way is to get a helper and pour it straight from the can after mixing. Have them pour out a line while you follow along and roll it out.

[Eric Roberge]

Ditto to what Harlan said. I too have used the RO brand. It's not difficult at all, just follow the directions and you'll be good to go.

I did have some issues with tire peal. However, I believe that it is a concrete issue and not an problem with the product. My neighbor did his floor around the same time, with the same product and he has had no issues. (Just want to clarify that I gave it more than the recommended cure time and still had tire peal)

Good luck!

[Anthony Scott]

I used Rustoleum. I am very happy. But follow the directions exactly. Make sure to clean the floor thourghly. Make sure the outside temp is right. And do not drive on it for the amount of time the directions say (7 days I think). I know someone who didn't follow the directions and the stuff is peeling up.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

I have it in my shop and it's great. I.m getting ready to put an addition on my shop and plan to do it as well as the original section just to freshen it up.

[Jeff Monson]

I used these guys http://www.epoxy-coat.com/

It was easy to apply and it is VERY durable, I had a rust oleum kit in my last shop and it was not quite as durable but it was alot less expensive. IMO if it were a garage or shop that I would be planning on owning for many years it would be worth spending the extra money on a better product.

[Jason Roehl]

If it's new concrete, moisture is your enemy. Use duct tape to tape a 2'x2' piece of clear 6 mil plastic to the floor. If there is condensation on the underside of the plastic after 24 hours, hold off on the coating. Test again in a few weeks.

[Michael Drew]

As suggested, make sure the concrete is fully cured before you start. You will also need to make sure it’s as clean as possible. Being new, you’re off to a good start. If you get this far, the battle is all but won. Most people buy whatever they can find at their nearest hardware store. It works OK for about a year, then starts to flake or pull up. The best floor coating I’ve ever seen is made by Devoe. Amazing stuff. I have seen loaders with chains drive on this stuff and not tear it up (not continued use). If you can find it, or find an industrial painting supply source, I’d suggest you use it.

They make couple different floor coatings.

http://www.duspec.com/DuSpec2/product/ProductDocumentSearchController.htm?documentFormat =pdf&systemSetId=13&productCode=525&documentType=d atasheet&submit=Get+Document
http://www.duspec.com/DuSpec2/product/ProductDocumentSearchController.htm?documentFormat =pdf&systemSetId=13&productCode=521&documentType=d atasheet&submit=Get+Document

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Recently visited some friends, and their garage was done. My friend's wife did it - she's not "handy" in the construction sense, but she does do good work painting/etc (she's done most of the rooms in their house). I believe she used the Rustoleum, and it came out great. She used a slightly different formula (or brand - not sure) on the concrete walls (about 2' high), since they wouldn't have trafic or wear/tear like the floor would.

[Dick Mahany]

I used Armor Clad epoxy (100% solids) and love it. My shop floor is 30 years old and I used a power floor grinder to clean and level it. I used solvents and TSP to clean the areas where grease and oil had penetrated the concrete over all those years. I followed this with an acid etch. The Manufacturer has very thorough instructions, and as with everything, a solid preparation is the most important aspect to applying the epoxy.

The epoxy is nearly odorless, very easy to apply and I used spike shoe treads to make application of the color fleck easy. The Manufacturer recommended their commercial/military clear UV proof protective topcoat for use in the shop since I move my tools to make room for vehicles as it is a garage shop. This top coat was an upgrade and requires a respirator mask during application. Both the base coat and the top coat are two-part formulas and require very thorough mixing. This stuff is bullet proof and I can't even tell where I've dragged the floor jack over the top coat. It is very slippery, so I used the glass bead additive for a non-skid surface. The only down side is that now I can't find small screws when I drop them as they seem to disappear in the fleck pattern, but a magnetic sweeper bar takes care of that.

Wish I had done this many years ago. It really brightens the shop up and cleaning is a breeze.

[Van Huskey]

If you want a extremely durable long lasting finish use only a 100% solids epoxy, the water based low solids stuff is closer to wall paint. The cheap stuff will last a while but cars and particularly heavy tools on mobile bases (I assume you don't have a forklift , they are much worse) they will wear pretty quickly. Do it right and do it once. If you use flecks I suggeat you seperate it into 4, 6 or 8 even amounts and do it quadrant by quadrant for equal coverage. I have seen a lot of garages with tons of flacks on one end and toward the door it drops of considerably when they ran low!

[Chris Bruno]

The best resource is www.garagejournal.com.

I've done 3 garages... All were prepped rather extensively (acid etching, powerwash, complete dry, etc).

The first one, I used the water based rustoleum kit from HD. It was peeling rather significantly within 4 years and cars were rarely even parked in that garage.

The second one, I used Epoxy-coat, which is not water based, but is still a single coat system. Much more durable than the Rustoleum, but stained pretty good after 3 years.

The last one, I used Wolverine epoxy, which is expensive as far as epoxies are concerned. The quality is definitely much higher.. it's quite strong and is doing well so far, though I didn't use the UV resistant top coat, which I now am regretting. It's by far the most durable.

In short, proper preparation is critical, but for my own garage in the future I will not use any water based products or go without a base and UV resistant top coat in the future. Also, mixing thoroughly is SOOOO important that it cannot be overstated.

HTH,
Chris

[keith ouellette]

. Yes I've done it 3 times. its great stuff.

the floor may need to be etched because it is brand new, not to mention it being fully cured.

If it is so smooth that it is almost shinny then I would suggest etching the concrete first.