Epoxy-Sheild Floor Installed this weekend

It's all in the prep work that matters the most, The best ones on the market is U Coat it, Sherwin Williams epoxy kit for garage floors, for do it yourselves folks.
 
MikeWinLDS said:
So pretty much water, oil, and chemical proofing?
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I did my floor about three and a half years ago with a high solids, industrial two- part epoxy flooring made by a local company in my area. This stuff has proven to be pretty bullet proof.



Over the past few years I had a brake line rot through on my F350 while I was away on vacation. Had brake fluid (maybe a 6 inch puddle) sitting on the floor for over three weeks by the time I returned and actually used the truck. I wiped up the brake fluid and it didn't even leave a stain in the paint -- nada, nothing.



I also had a battery charging on my bench over night. My charger was old and malfunctioned. Over charged the batttery sending acid EVERYWHERE. A huge puddle. Ruined my benchtop, bench frame and one of my cabinets. I had a huge puddle of battery acid on the epoxy flooring for about 24 hours. I neutralized it with lots of baking soda and water and then washed the floor. It discolored the epoxy where the acid sat but the integrity of the finish was fine and it didn't eat through it.



If you use a quality product geared towards commercial/industrial you will have good results. As said before, prep is 110% of the job.



I was going to recoat my floor recently but I decided to step it up a notch. I had the floor diamond grinded to the bare concrete (that epoxy was tough -- took two men 9 hours of continuous grinding) and then had a four layer quartz aggregate two part expoxy flooring system installed. It is unbelievable. The coating is probably 3/16"+ thick. Cost a kings randsom but looks very nice.



Stay away from the retail warehouse epoxy. Most of it is junk. A lot depends on prep and how you use your garage but if you want something to last look at the commericial/industrial products. You will have to search online or using your phone book. These places don't advertise and usually don't deal directly with retail consumers (but most will if you find them -- they will often guide you through the process or recommend professionals that use their products).
 
I've used the rustoleum epoxyshield shown by the thread starter, its "good enough" for the average home user. By this I mean, it will resist tire pickup, mild chemicals, and other things fine.



However, if you plan on doing intense automotive work, or spill heavy chemicals, the floor doesn't like it too much. When using a floor jack and lifting heavy vehicles, the paint will chip a little bit because of the large amount of stress on a small area. Also, if you leave things like oil drips and such for an extended period of time, it will slightly stain the paint.



I will say however rustoleum really backs up their product. If you have an issue and call up their customer service, they are very willing to work with you. I've had them send me another box of paint for free due to a color inconsistency in one of my cans
 
Mine has been down for almost 4 years now with zero problems. It's starting to get some wear marks from the tires but other than that still going good. Wish I had top coated it with the clear but didn't know they had it back then. I used the "retail" Rustoleum gray.



Think it's just like detailing..... All in the prep! 10 hours of, power wash, 2 times Simple Green and rinsing, lots of rinsing. Used a new push broom to scrub with, hand scrubbed a few spots. My 2 car garage was 17 years old when I did it and pretty clean for it's age.



And make sure you rinise, rinse after using the etch stuff.
 
Rustoleum stuff is great, its all in the prep as everyone else said. Perhaps the people that knock it without experience enjoy paying significantly more for the same results?
 
3+ years and the floor still looks great.



I am going to clean out my garage tomorrow and I will post some updated photo's of it hopefully. Just wanted to give an update.
 
OKay...it has been almost 5 years and the garage still looks good. Well...at least the floor is holding up. My cleanliness in the garage has dwindled with a child.



Here is a pic from tonight.



IMG_4808.jpg
 
I did mine last fall and everyone compliments me on it. It is nice to look at and makes the garage a nice place to be. However.....I put the clear over the top and holy crap it is slippery when wet. Don't even think about stepping on it you have snow on your shoes !! Not sure how slippery the plain epoxy is, but the clear is over the top slippery. Just fyi...something to think about. Your wife and kids will probably give you an earful from time to time. The clear does come with traction additive, I just didnt want to use it as I was going for maximum durability.



I also tossed the citric acid it comes with and used diluted muriatic to ensure a good etch !!
 
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