My Rust Bullet is down!

All five coats.

Here is my experience and some of the things I've learned about applying RB and what I'd do different next time.

Overall, I'm happy with the results at this point. It hasn't sat long enough for me to start moving race cars and equipment in, so the longer term jury is out. I don't consider the final product to be "professional looking". That would be a disingenuous insult to the professional painters and floor coaters who do this for a living. But for a guy who had safely stayed away from painting his entire life (this is by FAR the largest painting project I've EVER tackled), I think it looks nice for a novice's race shop. If this were the floor in the $10 million climate controlled, bullet proof hangar I will need to build if I end up buying a new $65 million Gulfstream jet early next year ... it wouldn't be acceptable.

Floor was poured in August of 2014. The expansion joints were saw cut (which divided the 1000sf into 12 "sections") and a sealer was put on the concrete. At Justin Krauss's (GarageFlooring, LLC) recommendation I ground the sealer off using a floor polisher from Home Depot along with a Diamabrush disc also from Home Depot. Not all HD's rent this kind of equipment, call ahead. The Diamabrush is the nastiest piece of equipment I've EVER seen. Very interesting design. Expensive to rent. Diamabrush must be used with water; end result is a slurry that you need to vacuum up with a shop vac.

This was my floor prep sequence:

1. Sweep the floor clean.
2. Using Metal Blaster bought from Justin I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed three or four little areas that already had engine oil, gear lube, and ATF on them. They lightened up in color, but I could still see the stains when I had them as clean as I could get them. Diamabrushing lightened them a little more.
3. Diamabrush the entire floor using water liberally. Don't allow the Diamabrush to rotate on dry concrete. Vacuum up slurry with ashop vac. I did the 12 sections one at a time.
4. Let the floor dry. Sweep it with a very fine push broom. Cement dust is very fine, will go right through a coarse broom and stay on the floor.
5. Diamabrush entire floor again using water liberally. I felt I needed to Diamabrush floor a second time to get the areas it looked like I had missed getting the sealer off.
6. Let floor dry. Sweep it with a very fine push broom.
7. Using a floor mop, wet mop the floor. I changed the water after every section.
8. Wet mop the floor second time, changing water after every section. Water still had cement dust in it, but it was clearer.
9. Still had a little cement dust on it when I rubbed my finger across the concrete. Wet mopped it a third time. Water was very clear, but still was cloudy.
10. Now concrete had no discernible cement dust on when I ran my finger across it.
11. Pull a curved utility knife/putting knife/scraper through saw cuts to dislodge anything in them. Put filter back on the shop vac, went over sections slowly to get any bugs, dirt, etc. off the concrete. Make special effort to thoroughly vacuum the saw cut grooves.
12. Mask. Use only really wide 3M masking tape. More expensive than other stuff, but I find it works. Masked access door thresholds, three floor drains, overhead doors (see below), two PVC cleanouts for sewer, and PVC access for the RV sewer dump. I didn't mask three inch high concrete that wall plates sit on. Its a race shop, not a hanger for a private, intercontinental jet.
13. Break out the Rust Bullet.
14. Used a 12" roller with 3/8" nap (I purposely did not use a microfiber roller). I had picked up four orange plastic roller plans from HD not knowing if I would be able to reuse them, along with two rollers, one long handle, and a box of nitrile gloves. I had bought a respirator from Justin when I bought the RB from him. Do not try to apply Rust Bullet without a respirator!! I left the garage windows open; the neighbors and my wife could smell it a long ways off. With the respirator on, I couldn't smell it.
15. Anything that RB comes in contact with, RB will stay on it. Make sure you mask off all door handles and backs of doors you will touch. Remove your shoes immediately after walking away from project. I left the five gallon buckets of RB in the cardboard boxes they came in; cut top 12" or so off the boxes. Set the boxes on a wooden utility dolly and had big sheet of card board under that. Used a small plastic bucket to get RB from 5 gallon pail to roller pan, don't even try to pour it directly from bucket! I used small, low cardboard boxes and trays that I masking taped the corners of to set the small pouring bucket in as it oozed RB.
16. First coat. Went to a corner, got roller wet and started apply RB. I discovered art and science of back rolling to get product distributed evenly. As Justin had said, first coat will take lots of RB. I figure 1000sf of recently Diamabrushed concrete took 3 gallons of RB. Used same roller for the entire coat. Took about three hours from start to backing out the access door.
17. Second coat. Waited about 21 hours and repeated the process. I could walk on floor without any problem, nothing sticky after 21 hours. I shop vacced entire floor section by section before starting to get little pieces of dirt, bugs, & stuff that came from who knows where. I notice little nubs & pimples of RB from time to time, so I knocked those off with a wide putty knife & vacced them up too. Kept doors closed as much as possible & windows have screens, but there was still stuff on floor. Used a new roller tray. Used a new roller, used it the entire coat. Took two gallons, tiny amount of RB left in bottom of bucket. Took almost three hours from start to backing out access door.
18. Third coat. Waited 21 hours. Knocked nubs and pimples off. Shop vacced and repeated process with a new roller and roller tray. Coats three, four, and five used a touch under the five gallons in the second bucket; all three coats took about two hours.
19. Fourth coat. Waited 24 hours. Now I noticed old roller trays sitting & RB looked awfully hard. I flexed trays & RB broke away from the plastic in huge sheets. In about 5 min I had a 98% clean, free of RB, ready to re-use roller tray.

As I got to end of session, I noticed that RB in tray was starting to firm up & wasn't as liquid as first coat out of bucket or even beginning of session. I attribute this to two things. (1) once you open bucket & every time you take the cover off bucket to put more RB in roller pan, air with moisture gets to the RB & moisture is what cures RB. Second, on this coating I didn't completely use the last of the RB in roller pan before refilling, so there was RB in roller pan towards the end that had spent about 2 hrs in there curing. If I do this again I will change roller half way through a coating when I do coats three & after (two rollers/coat) & use all the RB in roller tray before filling it.

19. Coat five. I emailed Justin & told him RB was firming up at end of 4th coating. He told me to "thin" it with solvent he had provided; no more than 6oz per gallon. I figured I had about 1.5 gallons so I used 8oz of solvent. This worked must better, didn't thicken at end of coating. I do have a number of spots on floor that got "thick" & didn't get properly back rolled out. I attribute that to having partially cured RB in roller pan & also in nap of roller (hence changing rollers half way through next time!). It seems like coats 3, 4, and 5 used about same amount of RB (5 gal/3).
20. Second color. I wanted to put four colored squares under tires of the race cars so I can center them north to south & east to west in garage easily. So after waiting about 24 hrs I masked off eight squares & painted them with Safety Red RB. I'll probably put on 4 or 5 coats of red RB, with no less than 6 hours betw coats ... no more than 18 to 21 hours.

That is my RB story.

Next post will cover "what I learned"!

I'm posting a few pictures and will post some more with the red squares tomorrow. Expecting questions, criticisms, and suggestions.

What things I learned and what I would do differently next time:

1. Dealing with three overhead garage doors. I have one 16' and two 9' doors. I didn't want to go through work of blocking doors up & building tents on outside of garage to keep dust, dirt, leaves, bugs, birds, etc. out during process. So naively thought I could mask a line just short of where door gaskets come down, mask gaskets, lift doors up individually when I coat those areas, & then let door down. Well let me tell you ... that was really, really stupid on my part. Still had **** blow in while doors were up on wet RB that I tried to pick off by hand. Then masking tape on door gaskets stuck to wet RB on masking tape on concrete and between coatings I had to spend about an hour remasking laying on my back. Next time I will build the tents! The end result was that after first three coatings, I ran out of patience to remask door openings and coated up to within an inch of door gaskets & called it day!

2. Use two rollers per 1000sf coating session, especially after the bucket has been opened.

3. Use all the RB from the roller pan before putting more in.

4. Be prepared to start thinning the RB with solvent as soon as it starts to thicken. Don't allow it to thicken and roll out nicely.

5. When you're working in close quarters at the end of a coating session, doing the area immediately around the door you're backing out of ... be very careful NOT to step back onto the wet RB. Because you're at the end of the session it might be thick. If you do, at least have the presence of mind (like to did) to get your balance on one foot, get the wet RB shoe off and toss it into the yard without slinging it so the RB comes off the shoe onto the door frame.

6. The solvent is pretty good at taking some of the wet RB off your skin, but if it has any time to cure, it won't come off. Thick cured RB can be peeled off in a sheet, but thin cured has to be "worn" off.

7. Try to keep the RB off the roller handle. Otherwise the nitrile gloves will stick to the RB and the pole and tear, then you grab the pole, and you have a handful of RB!

8. I thought that the RB would flow into the saw cut expansion joints and fill them up. It flowed in, but didn't fill them up. Next time I would probably fill them first, razor the excess off, and then coat with RB.

9. (added 6/16/2015) Don't put the RB on thick. I don't recalling seeing any cautionary statements in the instructions, but in an email Justin cautioned me that it can be put on too thick. I have a couple of spot where it got on too thick, it was probably think to begin with, but it just didn't flow out and cured "thick". It's especially easy to get it too think in a corner or against a wall when starting out. Next time I put RB down when I have a fresh load of RB on the roller or when I'm starting out I won't start right into a corner or against a wall. I will start a roller width away, work the RB into a good sized patch, and then into the corner or against the wall with a more reasonable thickness of RB.

Thanks for the information. The floor looks really nice!!!

Good looking job. Thanks for sharing your experience with those who, like myself, are planning on doing the same thing.

****,

Thanks for the detailed report on your RB experience!

Your floor looks great based upon the current photos!

Questions:

1. Why did you use the 12" roller instead of the 9" Wooster?

2. If you could do it over, would you still use the 12" instead of the 9"?

3. If you were to build the door "tents", specifically what materials would you have used and how would you have built them? (Looking for advice because I have never built a door "tent")

4. Did you add anti-skid grit to the final coat?

5. Can you post photos of the final floor?

Thanks...Dean

**** in Wisconsin said:

What things I learned and what I would do differently next time:

1. Dealing with three overhead garage doors. I have one 16' and two 9' doors. I didn't want to go through work of blocking doors up & building tents on outside of garage to keep dust, dirt, leaves, bugs, birds, etc. out during process. So naively thought I could mask a line just short of where door gaskets come down, mask gaskets, lift doors up individually when I coat those areas, & then let door down. Well let me tell you ... that was really, really stupid on my part. Still had **** blow in while doors were up on wet RB that I tried to pick off by hand. Then masking tape on door gaskets stuck to wet RB on masking tape on concrete and between coatings I had to spend about an hour remasking laying on my back. Next time I will build the tents! The end result was that after first three coatings, I ran out of patience to remask door openings and coated up to within an inch of door gaskets & called it day!

2. Use two rollers per 1000sf coating session, especially after the bucket has been opened.

3. Use all the RB from the roller pan before putting more in.

4. Be prepared to start thinning the RB with solvent as soon as it starts to thicken. Don't allow it to thicken and roll out nicely.

5. When you're working in close quarters at the end of a coating session, doing the area immediately around the door you're backing out of ... be very careful NOT to step back onto the wet RB. Because you're at the end of the session it might be thick. If you do, at least have the presence of mind (like to did) to get your balance on one foot, get the wet RB shoe off and toss it into the yard without slinging it so the RB comes off the shoe onto the door frame.

6. The solvent is pretty good at taking some of the wet RB off your skin, but if it has any time to cure, it won't come off. Thick cured RB can be peeled off in a sheet, but thin cured has to be "worn" off.

7. Try to keep the RB off the roller handle. Otherwise the nitrile gloves will stick to the RB and the pole and tear, then you grab the pole, and you have a handful of RB!

8. I thought that the RB would flow into the saw cut expansion joints and fill them up. It flowed in, but didn't fill them up. Next time I would probably fill them first, razor the excess off, and then coat with RB.

Click to expand...

NICE WORK!!! Regarding saw cuts and cracks... If its deep enough that you can fill it, it should be filled before coating if you are worried about it. So a hairline crack, there is no way to fill, coat over it. A saw cut... fill it or leave it, but don't try and fill it with the coating.

Great thread.
I'm just waiting for my samples before I pull the trigger on an order!

ihscomputers said:

1. Why did you use the 12" roller instead of the 9" Wooster?
2. If you could do it over, would you still use the 12" instead of the 9"?
3. If you were to build the door "tents", specifically what materials would you have used and how would you have built them? (Looking for advice because I have never built a door "tent")
4. Did you add anti-skid grit to the final coat?
5. Can you post photos of the final floor?

Click to expand...

1. I went to the local ACE Hardware Store and Home Depot, neither had the Wooster 9" in stock. I went with 12" over 9" because of the 1000sf to cover knowing I had multiple coats to put on. Being naïve at this, I didn't think it would matter. Maybe Justin has a technical reason for 9" vs 12". Given that the RB started to cure and firm up during application, I'm glad I was using 12" vs 9".

2. If was to do it over again, I might try the 9" Wooster to see if there is a difference.

3. Build the door tent; or at least don't do what I did! I would get the clear plastic drop cloth from HD and use wide 3M blue painters tape. Maybe another poster has experience with overhead door tenting he or she could share. Another strategy would have been to mask right under the O/H door gasket, mask the gasket and bottom 6" of the inside of the door, close the door, and paint up to the door. I suspect them one might have to cut the RB to open the door. There are probably a number of different ways to skin this cat.

4. I didn't add anti-skid. Talking to both Justin and another poster who has recently applied RB, I learned that regular grey RB is not really slippery (Justin is obligated to tell you all painted surfaces can be slippery under certain situations). So far I've walked on it with sneakers and Teva sandals and it is NOT at all slippery. Obviously not as "grippy" as troweled or brushed concrete, but so far its fine for me. It might get slippery after curing for two or three weeks, but I'm not expecting that to happen. Justin and the other poster did say that if you use a clear coat (with or without flakes), the clear when cured is a little more slippery than the regular grey. I was concerned about it, but Justin and the other poster put my fears to rest.

5. I'll post another picture in the next day or so.

GarageFlooringLLC said:

Regarding saw cuts and cracks... If its deep enough that you can fill it, it should be filled before coating if you are worried about it. So a hairline crack, there is no way to fill, coat over it. A saw cut... fill it or leave it, but don't try and fill it with the coating.

Click to expand...

Should I try filling the saw cuts now? Or just leave them.

I did have one hairline cracks in the concrete (happened the first night after the install). After 10 months the only crack inside or outside. The RB filled that crack in really well. Took three or four coats to get it all filled in.

Nice job on the floor, looks great!
Excellent write up, good points all !!
You did a ton of prep, probably more than most.
5 coats should last a long time.

(Enough left over for the trailer floor?)

Hey ****, Would ya mind posting some close-up shots from maybe 2-3 ft above the floor and angled when you get some free time?

**** in Wisconsin said:

Should I try filling the saw cuts now? Or just leave them.



I did have one hairline cracks in the concrete (happened the first night after the install). After 10 months the only crack inside or outside. The RB filled that crack in really well. Took three or four coats to get it all filled in.

Click to expand...

Morning. Sorry for delay vacation calls [emoji1]. I would not try and fill them now. If you decide to go with a product of similar color and don't try to coat over it IMHO


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

12ozd said:

(Enough left over for the trailer floor?)

Click to expand...

No. No much left in the bucket after the fifth coating and I was concerned about how long it would last in the bucket. I'll buy fresh RB for the trailer floor.

QUESTION FOR OTHER RB USERS:
How long did you wait before you started to put stuff on the floor and what were the results? Justin has counseled me that the floor must sit at least 72 hours before putting races cars, equipment, etc. etc. etc. on the floor.

What has been the experience of other users? Is 72 or 96 hours enough? or is there value in waiting a week or ten days?

**** in Wisconsin said:

I'll buy fresh RB for the trailer floor.

Click to expand...

Floor would look pretty nice, flaked w/ your race team colors.

QUESTION FOR OTHER RB USERS:
How long did you wait before you started to put stuff on the floor and what were the results?

Click to expand...

I waited a week.
(only because that's how long it is between Saturdays)

**** in Wisconsin said:

No. No much left in the bucket after the fifth coating and I was concerned about how long it would last in the bucket. I'll buy fresh RB for the trailer floor.

QUESTION FOR OTHER RB USERS:
How long did you wait before you started to put stuff on the floor and what were the results? Justin has counseled me that the floor must sit at least 72 hours before putting races cars, equipment, etc. etc. etc. on the floor.

What has been the experience of other users? Is 72 or 96 hours enough? or is there value in waiting a week or ten days?

Click to expand...

I would say 72 is plenty, its probably safer sooner than that, but that have to consider all the different humidity conditions.

According to Allison at Rust Bullet, the full cure time for RB is 72 hours. So apparently there is no advantage to waiting longer. Like I told her, I want to maximize curing for the most long-term value but at the same time want to start using the garage.

Wait time for full cure on the red is 72 hours also.

Thanks for taking the time to report your experience ****, Looks really good.

Please keep us updated as you move your tools in.

Im leaning this way too.

We had a couple of inches of rain during the last few days. I had occasion to walk from the outside (with wet sneakers) through the shop and across the Rust Bullet a number of times. The wet sneakers "squeaked" as I walked, the Rust Bullet was not slippery to walk on, even with wet shoes.

I have no anti-slip in the RB, I used just the standard RB with no clear and no flakes. I was concerned about the RB being slippery when wet, but at this point I think RB has passed that test with flying colors (of grey).

**** in Wisconsin said:

We had a couple of inches of rain during the last few days. I had occasion to walk from the outside (with wet sneakers) through the shop and across the Rust Bullet a number of times. The wet sneakers "squeaked" as I walked, the Rust Bullet was not slippery to walk on, even with wet shoes.

I have no anti-slip in the RB, I used just the standard RB with no clear and no flakes. I was concerned about the RB being slippery when wet, but at this point I think RB has passed that test with flying colors (of grey).

Click to expand...

The lawyers say we have to say any floor can be slick when wet but what **** is seeing is pretty typical. The more coats you put on though the slicker it can be. Also if you use clear (especially w/o flake) or color coats it can get real slick quick.

The other thing that has a huge impact is the texture of the cement to start with. I have a smooth block we coated and you could not pay me to walk on it wet.

Additional thing I learned:

9. (added 6/16/2015) Don't put the RB on thick. I don't recalling seeing any cautionary statements in the instructions, but in an email Justin cautioned me that it can be put on too thick. I have a couple of spots where it got on too thick, it was probably thick to begin with, but it just didn't flow out and cured "thick". It's especially easy to get it too think in a corner or against a wall when starting out. Next time I put RB down when I have a fresh load of RB on the roller or when I'm starting out I won't start right into a corner or against a wall. I will start a roller width away, work the RB into a good sized patch, and then into the corner or against the wall with a more reasonable thickness of RB.

**** in Wisconsin said:

Additional thing I learned:

9. (added 6/16/2015) Don't put the RB on thick. I don't recalling seeing any cautionary statements in the instructions, but in an email Justin cautioned me that it can be put on too thick. I have a couple of spot where it got on too thick, it was probably think to begin with, but it just didn't flow out and cured "thick". It's especially easy to get it too think in a corner or against a wall when starting out. Next time I put RB down when I have a fresh load of RB on the roller or when I'm starting out I won't start right into a corner or against a wall. I will start a roller width away, work the RB into a good sized patch, and then into the corner or against the wall with a more reasonable thickness of RB.

Click to expand...

Definitely true. Stick with the coverage rates on RB or any solvent based product for that matter. Will make sure we clarify.

Hi ****,

Did you ever get any pictures of the full floor to post? You mentioned in another thread that it had some kind of texture to it. What exactly did you mean? Any close-up's?

benwah said:

Hey ****, Would ya mind posting some close-up shots from maybe 2-3 ft above the floor and angled when you get some free time?

Click to expand...

Joeys79 said:

Did you ever get any pictures of the full floor to post? You mentioned in another thread that it had some kind of texture to it. What exactly did you mean? Any close-up's?

Click to expand...

I didn't get any pictures of the finished floor showing the entire garage before I filled it with cars and stuff, which I realize was dumb.

I did take the following pictures today. Light isn't too good, have only temporary lights up so far and it was cloudy today. I tried it at an angle and got too much reflection from the lighting.

These pictures should show the texture of the floor (a little like orange lemon peal) and the "bumps" or "pimples" that resulted.

While I think some of the "bumps" and "pimples" might be from dirt or dust that I didn't clean off, I think most of it came from the Rust Bullet. Maybe Justin can enlighten us.

You might recall I painted eight approximate one foot squares red to locate the race car tires. I had trouble with the first can of red, RB sent me another can, which worked out better. But I notice that the red is more prone to "chipping" when something is dropped on it than the rest of the regular gray RB.

All in all I am pretty happy with the Rust Bullet. This is the first time I've installed anything like this. I am NOT a painter by any means, largest painting project I've ever tackled in my 62 years.

Some of the thing I really like:

1. Cleans up really easy. Sweeps clean easily (maybe epoxy does too, I wouldn't know, never had it). Oil wipes up with just a paper shop towel. Grease and trans fluid leave a little residual when wiped with a paper shop towel, but I hit the residual with brake clean and one swipe of the paper shop towel takes it all away.

2. Not slippery with wet shoes. I haven't tried covering it with water and talking on it, but I've walked through with very wet sneakers and for whatever reason not slippery. Just squeaky.

3. Things slide easily across it. I have a full-size residential refrigerator we took out of the motorhome sitting on card board and I can easily push it across the Rust Bullet. When I kneel down on the RB with shorts, it isn't uncomfortable. When I have to slide under the race car without a creeper, my shirt and jeans slide easily across it, not at all like concrete.

One thing I learned about Rust Bullet is that it doesn't fill cracks and divots in the concrete very well. It I were to do another floor, I would first fill the cracks and divots, then apply the RB. I put four or five coats of RB on the floor (can't remember because I put RB in the new race trailer ... five or six?) and tried to get some RB in the saw cuts, but that didn't work. Very little got in there. I should have filled them before I started. Now I have to go back and do that ... maybe.

Thanks so much for the post. Im trying to decide between RB or epoxy. Sounds like you are a very meticulous guy. Those last few pics worry me a little. Are those bumps common to RB? Does epoxy do that too?

streetdaddy said:

Thanks so much for the post. Im trying to decide between RB or epoxy. Sounds like you are a very meticulous guy. Those last few pics worry me a little. Are those bumps common to RB? Does epoxy do that too?

Click to expand...

I'm going to let Justin comment on the "bumps".

Thanks so much for the post. Im trying to decide between RB or epoxy. Sounds like you are a very meticulous guy. Those last few pics worry me a little. Are those bumps common to RB? Does epoxy do that too?

Click to expand...

One of the big advantages of Rust Bullet over epoxy is that Rust Bullet does not require you to acid etch or grind the floor, providing it does not have a prior sealer. This can make a big difference for some people in determining whether to put down a floor coating or not.

The pics do look like there may have been some debris on the floor and maybe some roller lint. Not sure however as it's hard to tell the real story just from pics. There was a lot of work done on ****'s floor including grinding. He did a great job for not having done something like this before.

Epoxy can develop the same bumps from debris and/or improper rolling technique as well. Many times it's not so much the product as it is the application.

On thing to keep in mind, if you are planning to add color chips and a clear coat, many of these imperfections are masked by the chips whether you choose Rust Bullet or a good epoxy system.

Shea said:

One of the big advantages of Rust Bullet over epoxy is that Rust Bullet does not require you to acid etch or grind the floor, providing it does not have a prior sealer. This can make a big difference for some people in determining whether to put down a floor coating or not.

The pics do look like there may have been some debris on the floor and maybe some roller lint. Not sure however as it's hard to tell the real story just from pics. There was a lot of work done on ****'s floor including grinding. He did a great job for not having done something like this before.

Epoxy can develop the same bumps from debris and/or improper rolling technique as well. Many times it's not so much the product as it is the application.

On thing to keep in mind, if you are planning to add color chips and a clear coat, many of these imperfections are masked by the chips whether you choose Rust Bullet or a good epoxy system.

Click to expand...

**** in Wisconsin said:

I'm going to let Justin comment on the "bumps".

Click to expand...

streetdaddy said:

Thanks so much for the post. Im trying to decide between RB or epoxy. Sounds like you are a very meticulous guy. Those last few pics worry me a little. Are those bumps common to RB? Does epoxy do that too?

Click to expand...

There are two basic causes of 'bumps' in a Rust Bullet system and they generally extend to other systems as well.

1. To thick will cause an orange peel texture from solvent entrapment
2. Debris or imperfections in the floor

I believe that thanks to people like **** and many many others on the forum we have revised our instructions and our formulation enough to minimize application related issues BUT there is not much we can do about stuff on the floor to start with.

Shea said:

The pics do look like there may have been some debris on the floor and maybe some roller lint.

He did a great job for not having done something like this before.

Click to expand...

I was very concerned about keeping the floor clean, especially after the first coat and I found the bumps, so I was very careful to make sure the floor was clean between coats ... sweeping and vacuuming. Roller lint is most likely much of it. Too thick might be a reason too, but I don't know about RB to say "too thick is the reason".

Thanks for the compliment!

GarageFlooringLLC said:

There are two basic causes of 'bumps' in a Rust Bullet system and they generally extend to other systems as well.

1. To thick will cause an orange peel texture from solvent entrapment
2. Debris or imperfections in the floor

I believe that thanks to people like **** and many many others on the forum we have revised our instructions and our formulation enough to minimize application related issues BUT there is not much we can do about stuff on the floor to start with.

Click to expand...

My vote is "too thick", especially at the end of coat (1000 sf). In my thread I mention discovering that if RB is left in the roller pan when new is poured in from the bucket, it appears to thicken and be difficult to work with. I think as the RB sits in the roller pan the solvent evaporates out, pouring fresh in doesn't "rejuvenate it", and that contributes to the bumps, pimples, and orange peel. It probably gets worse as usually the five gallon bucket is left slightly open during the coating of 1000sf.

Justin ... if a small amount of solvent was poured into the bucket between coatings (and stirred into the RB) to replenish the solvent that I presume evaporates, would that improve the results?

Changed "too think" to "too thick". ****

**** in Wisconsin said:

I was very concerned about keeping the floor clean, especially after the first coat and I found the bumps, so I was very careful to make sure the floor was clean between coats ... sweeping and vacuuming. Roller lint is most likely much of it. Too thick might be a reason too, but I don't know about RB to say "too thick is the reason".

Thanks for the compliment!



My vote is "too think", especially at the end of coat (1000 sf). In my thread I mention discovering that if RB is left in the roller pan when new is poured in from the bucket, it appears to thicken and be difficult to work with. I think as the RB sits in the roller pan the solvent evaporates out, pouring fresh in doesn't "rejuvenate it", and that contributes to the bumps, pimples, and orange peel. It probably gets worse as usually the five gallon bucket is left slightly open during the coating of 1000sf.

Justin ... if a small amount of solvent was poured into the bucket between coatings (and stirred into the RB) to replenish the solvent that I presume evaporates, would that improve the results?

Click to expand...

Did I write 'to think'?

GarageFlooringLLC said:

Did I write 'to think'?

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NO! I did. You're off the hook.

**** in Wisconsin said:

NO! I did. You're off the hook.

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OK good

Bump.
Saw your comments in another thread so I thought id bump this one.
One of the better RB threads I think.
Hows the floor doing BTW?

What I learned from a pro painter on how to reduce roller lint:

1. Don't buy cheap roller covers.
2. Wrap a new cover tightly with painters tape, going around from end to end like stripes on a barber's pole. Pull off the tape. Any loose lint will come with it.

**** did you put top coat on your floor? Just wondering I was tempted not to put mine on. I dont see a glossy finish in the pictures of your floor.

Looks great!

bullnerd said:

Bump.
Saw your comments in another thread so I thought id bump this one.
One of the better RB threads I think. Hows the floor doing BTW?

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Going well. Happy with it. I've accidentally dropped heavy tools or car parts a few times. Sometimes with NO visible impact on the RB, once in a while the top one or two layers might have a tiny chip taken out. I think this was to be expected. RB appears to be pretty tough, probably as much or more than I expected with nothing from previous experiences to compare it to.

I've pulled heavy stuff with apparently sharp edges across it a few times and scratched through one or two coats, so now I'm a little more careful. With the red squares to put the race car tires on, the floor jack is always in the same place. Over time of jacking the car up and down over and over again, the spot where the floor jack rides all the time is getting black from something (probably the aluminum wheels and roller on the floor jack). Green degreaser and brake clean takes much of the black off, but not all of it. I haven't go after it aggressively though.

All the oil, grease, gear lube, ATF, brake fluid, and brake cleaner cleans up with ease. Oil, grease, gear lube, and ATF has sat on the floor for weeks and months with no adverse impact. I don't let brake cleaner or brake fluid sit on the RB for more than a minute, always clean up quickly.

Zippercat said:

What I learned from a pro painter on how to reduce roller lint:

1. Don't buy cheap roller covers.
2. Wrap a new cover tightly with painters tape, going around from end to end like stripes on a barber's pole. Pull off the tape. Any loose lint will come with it.

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I wish I would have known that at the start!!!!!! Justin ... put this in the instructions!

easlers said:

**** did you put top coat on your floor? Just wondering I was tempted not to put mine on. I dont see a glossy finish in the pictures of your floor. Looks great!

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No top coat. Just five coats of RB as stated in at the beginning of my original post. No glossy finish. Dull grey. I'm happy with that.

BTW ... no flakes. I've never had trouble finding a small nut, bolt, or washer when dropped.

All good news, thanks for the update.

great thread

I agree this is a good thread, Helps me with my decision of what product do I really want I just want to make sure whatever I do will stand up to some abuse

Finished half of my floor with Rust Bullet recently and like the results. Important but not mentioned in this thread on application techniques is proper rolling. I found if you hold the pole upright or even at a slant, you will get roller marks in the paint. If you use the roller in a horizontal position with the pole parallel with the floor and don't put any weight or pressure on the roller, you will minimize or eliminate the roller marks. Just let the roller do the work without putting any pressure on it.

Mine is three coats of gray with two top coats of clear.

Glen

glentre said:

Finished half of my floor with Rust Bullet recently and like the results. Important but not mentioned in this thread on application techniques is proper rolling. I found if you hold the pole upright or even at a slant, you will get roller marks in the paint. If you use the roller in a horizontal position with the pole parallel with the floor and don't put any weight or pressure on the roller, you will minimize or eliminate the roller marks. Just let the roller do the work without putting any pressure on it.

Mine is three coats of gray with two top coats of clear.

Glen

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THIS ^^^^^^