Rust Bullet Questions for Justin

Coasterbuilder · Jul 14, 2015

Justin- I am very familiar with Rust Bullet products having used it for years on steel and other metals in an industrial environment. Given my success with it, I am confident it is a good product for my garage floor. That said, I am primarily interested in Rust Bullet for the easier prep. The idea of not needing to grind my floor makes the process much more appealing.

My floor is 20'x20' and the concrete is 20 years old. It appears to be trowel finished and a water bead test resulted in most of the applied water to still be puddled after an hour. A moisture test with plastic wrap taped to the floor showed no moisture from the slab after 24 hours. The surface is sound with minimal tight cracks, no expansion joints, no indication of slab movement, and only a few small divots that I would fill with an appropriate epoxy filler.

I plan to use the standard RB grey color with a heavy/ full broadcast chip and clear coat. Would this also require silica sand for acceptable traction? It seems to me that cleaning would be easier without the sand.

With these results, is it still reasonable to expect that the coating will be a success with no grinding? Frankly, if I have to grind, I lean more towards an epoxy job to have more options on color.

Garage Flooring · Jul 14, 2015

Can you upload some pics. Some with water on it at first, 1/2 hour later and an hour later would be helpful. If it was my floor... I'd get a 1/4 pint apply it in an inconspicuous area, let it cure completely and see how it sticks.

We always suggest out anti-skid in the clear and indie it free but several full broadcast projects have done without. You will need two coats of clear.

Not sure where you get product from, even if it's not me give me a call as there are a couple things with concrete you need to know and it won't be in the box if you order from someplace else.

I don't like the silica sand. Use our mix in anti-skid or someone else's mix in type. Watch the video and look at some of the full broadcast jobs in our blog. Just type in rust bullet in our search bar and scroll through.

If you need to go epoxy route I'm happy to help.

Coasterbuilder · Jul 15, 2015

Thanks Justin. I would definitely get my product from you. Its just not right to pump a guy for his advice and knowledge, then turn around and buy his product somewhere else to save a nickle.

I'll redo the water test tomorrow and take photos. Frankly, there is still standing water 3 hours later in a spot or two!

Test spot sounds like good advice in any case. Is the RB product the same for concrete as metal?- if so, I'll grab a small jar from work for a test.

Garage Flooring · Jul 15, 2015

Coasterbuilder said:
Thanks Justin. I would definitely get my product from you. Its just not right to pump a guy for his advice and knowledge, then turn around and buy his product somewhere else to save a nickle.

I'll redo the water test tomorrow and take photos. Frankly, there is still standing water 3 hours later in a spot or two!

Test spot sounds like good advice in any case. Is the RB product the same for concrete as metal?- if so, I'll grab a small jar from work for a test.

I'd like to think we're the low price too. I don't mind sharing information. I don't expect to sell every gallon. for such a small area use the rb standard without worrying about adding anything.

Coasterbuilder · Jul 17, 2015

Here are some photos of the entire floor, and some of a water test at different time intervals- times are marked on the photos. For the test, the floor temp was 83 degrees, the ambient temp was 82 degrees, and humidity was 42%

I have a sample of RB and will apply a test tonight.

benwah · Jul 17, 2015

Yeah that's not a good absorption rate at all... It helps if you spread the water out a bit, as you would never apply RB that thick.

Coasterbuilder · Jul 17, 2015

I plan to apply a test patch of RB- about 1'x1' and after it cures, attack it to failure with a variety of vectors- scraper, heat gun, ect.

benwah · Jul 17, 2015

For comparison, here is me pouring water on my warehouse floor, the last pic was taken 30 minutes after the first pic. http://imgur.com/a/sSmoG

Coasterbuilder · Jul 17, 2015

Your first picture looks pretty close to mine in terms of the "bead" or build up of water. I had dropped 2 oz. of water inside a 1 sq. ft. box.. Did you spread the water in the subsequent photos? I was concerned that too thin of a film would evaporate rather than absorb.

I'm thinking that if I spread it thin rather than let it stay built up, it would more closely match your photos

Garage Flooring · Jul 17, 2015

benwah said:
Yeah that's not a good absorption rate at all... It helps if you spread the water out a bit, as you would never apply RB that thick.

Coasterbuilder said:
I plan to apply a test patch of RB- about 1'x1' and after it cures, attack it to failure with a variety of vectors- scraper, heat gun, ect.

benwah said:
For comparison, here is me pouring water on my warehouse floor, the last pic was taken 30 minutes after the first pic. http://imgur.com/a/sSmoG

So you are all 'spilling' stuff on your floor and you expect me to believe none of it is beer :shocking:

In all seriousness I have to agree with BENWAH but lets see how the adhesion test comes out. The only other thing I would do with your test is put a piece of something thin down (next to the section you are coating) and run the coating up onto it but don't cover it completely. I want you to have an edge you can grab too. Then put up lightly and put a putty knife under it while pulling up.

davidlee · Jul 17, 2015

I did RB with full broadcast and three coats of clear and it still has plenty of texture. I glad I did not use any anti-skid it did not need it.

I hope this is not wrong to add but I have about 150#s of flake left over from my job. Gray , black and white mix.

LegacyIndustrial · Jul 17, 2015

Mr. Lee please PM or email me with the details of your flakes. We use gray/black/and white occasionally on local installs.

Coasterbuilder · Jul 17, 2015

GarageFlooringLLC said:
The only other thing I would do with your test is put a piece of something thin down (next to the section you are coating) and run the coating up onto it but don't cover it completely. I want you to have an edge you can grab too. Then put up lightly and put a putty knife under it while pulling up.

Good idea- that's the way I will do it.

Garage Flooring · Jul 17, 2015

davidlee said:
I did RB with full broadcast and three coats of clear and it still has plenty of texture. I glad I did not use any anti-skid it did not need it.

I hope this is not wrong to add but I have about 150#s of flake left over from my job. Gray , black and white mix.

Had we sold the flake we always take them back. If you don't find a better option, ship them to me and I will give you a $262.50 customer service credit on the rest of your order.

benwah · Jul 17, 2015

Coasterbuilder said:
Your first picture looks pretty close to mine in terms of the "bead" or build up of water. I had dropped 2 oz. of water inside a 1 sq. ft. box.. Did you spread the water in the subsequent photos? I was concerned that too thin of a film would evaporate rather than absorb.

I'm thinking that if I spread it thin rather than let it stay built up, it would more closely match your photos

The first pic was taken seconds after dumping a few OZ's on the floor. I spread the water after a minute or two then left it.

Usually I just take a handful of water and sprinkle it onto a floor. A large concentration of water is going to take quite a while to absorb.

GarageFlooringLLC said:
So you are all 'spilling' stuff on your floor and you expect me to believe none of it is beer

I wish I had some beer right now. :beer2:

Headed up North for the weekend once the clock strikes 4. Spirits will be consumed!!! :drink:

Coasterbuilder · Jul 20, 2015

Tonight was a full 72 hour cure on my test patch. I was able to pretty easily chip the coating from the edges with a scraper. More importantly, after heating the patch to 160 degrees I was able to peel the coating up as shown in the attached photo.

Justin- it seems like a fail for my floor unless you see it otherwise.

Garage Flooring · Jul 20, 2015

Coasterbuilder said:
Tonight was a full 72 hour cure on my test patch. I was able to pretty easily chip the coating from the edges with a scraper. More importantly, after heating the patch to 160 degrees I was able to peel the coating up as shown in the attached photo.

Justin- it seems like a fail for my floor unless you see it otherwise.

Yes. I would not apply it or anything (coatings) else without grinding.

Dick in Wisconsin · Apr 27, 2017

I wonder what the OP ended up doing.

I'm impressed that Justin had him do that adhesion test. Reinforces for me that he is an honest guy.

For the record, I put four coats of RB on my race shop floor. No flakes, no non-skid stuff, no clear coat cover. The end result was a surface with just enough texture it isn't slippery even with water and snow on it. Sweeps up very, very easily. Oil, grease, anti-freeze, and gear lube cleans up instantly with a paper shop towel. I liked RB so much I put it on the wooden floor of my new 26' enclosed race trailer.

Garage Flooring · Apr 27, 2017

**** in Wisconsin said:
I wonder what the OP ended up doing.

I'm impressed that Justin had him do that adhesion test. Reinforces for me that he is an honest guy.

For the record, I put four coats of RB on my race shop floor. No flakes, no non-skid stuff, no clear coat cover. The end result was a surface with just enough texture it isn't slippery even with water and snow on it. Sweeps up very, very easily. Oil, grease, anti-freeze, and gear lube cleans up instantly with a paper shop towel. I liked RB so much I put it on the wooden floor of my new 26' enclosed race trailer.

Thanks!

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