My budget Rustoleum Epoxy project/ story

Decided to start a clean thread on my budget Rustoleum Epoxy project.

It all started here...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5008233#post5008233

We moved into our new house and I finally got my 2 car garage! The previous owner(s) pretty much beat up the floor. Oil, old paint, unknown stains and just neglect.

Not much money to really do what I want, but I want to just clean up the look. I already tested some RaceDeck FreeFlow and you can see the mess through the tile, so this project will at least clean up the look for the future.

After a lot of reading I know that this project is very short term and will expect some possible tire lift. I expect to RaceDeck it in the far future.

This process will show the short and long term effects of a semi-prepped floor before big box store water based Epoxy. I'll be sure to update this over time.

>As this is a short term project I wanted to spend as little as possible. So far just spent $180 for Epoxy, degreaser and brushes/ misc. I borrowed my father in laws power washer. Oh.. and of course my time. I bought and extra single kit if I need it, but hopefully I can return it and get my $60 back. **EDIT** I was able to return the extra kit and flakes. So in all I spent just a hair over $100 for this project.

>So far hit the the floor with a pressure washer to get it pretty clean and to power off some adhered items (not really sure what they were).

>I hit the floor with Zep Fast 505 Industrial Cleaner and Degreaser and double treated areas that had water beads... It worked quite well. I scrubbed it with a stiff nylon brush head and rinsed.

>Purchased Rustoleum 2.5 garage epoxy kit, one single kit and all the needs to apply it. I have ~ 462sq/ft to cover and the surface isn't perfectly smooth, so I bought an extra kit in case I need it on the fly and an extra bag of flake. Since the weather was nice, I painted my garage windows since the existing paint was so old and dingy. The white really brightens them up. BTW painting original windows with moldings is a huge pain.

>Did the final cleaning today with minor hand scraping, etching and power washing.

>I started first thing in the AM and decided to look over the old paint again. Decided to scrape it a bit more. I had some coarse sandpaper in my chest so I hit some of the old painted areas... I figured a bit of scuffing could only help. Then blew out the area and vacuumed again.

>Mixed the epoxy and set the timer for the recommended times. Then started cutting in and rolling out sections. It's pretty tough for one person to cut in, roll out, flake and keep a wet edge. I started out being fairly conservative with the flakes, but around mid painting I seemed to have a lot of flake and became more liberal. Then as I got closer to the end, pulled back a bit and I ended up using all the flakes.

>The kit claims 500sq/ft. I had ~460sq/ft so I thought I would be close... nope I have a half gallon left that is going to be trashed. I was surprised I had that much left. In the end.. it does look better and more consistent. But because I had a hard time keeping a wet edge (and I was going quick) and the fact that there was bare concrete and old painted areas, I'm seeing variations in the finished product. I'm hoping as it cures/ drys, it will even out a little.

>Cured for 12 days and parked a car in it with cool to the hand tires.

>Overnight, but with cool tires... No lift the next morning.

>5hrs of hot tires from wife's SUV. Air temp mid 80's.... no lifting!

>Just about a month since rolling out the Epoxy and no issues yet.

>Almost 2 months now... no hot tire lift. Although I turned the wheel on the car while stationary and noticed that there was a bit of grey "residue" on the tire. It wasn't hot tire lift, but almost like the tire scraped the surface of the floor. I looked at the area on the floor and didn't notice any obvious epoxy issues. I'll keep an eye on it.

>Four months now with no hot tire lift.

>I'll update with the short/ long term effects over periods of time.



Original state of the floor



Floor degreased, etched, power washed and drying now. I also hand scraped some questionable paint up. Def not a perfect base, but it's very clean now.



End product (just finished so needs to cure/dry)

I wouldn't waste your money. Clean it up real good and just save for a Swisstrax floor. You'll need to grind your floor to make the epoxy stick correctly.

Of course, this is all up to you and this is only my opinion. I'd just hate to see you spend the money and time only for the epoxy to start peeling and bubbling.

PipeLayaz said:

I wouldn't waste your money. Clean it up real good and just save for a Swisstrax floor. You'll need to grind your floor to make the epoxy stick correctly.

Of course, this is all up to you and this is only my opinion. I'd just hate to see you spend the money and time only for the epoxy to start peeling and bubbling.

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I don't disagree with you and have debated on it myself.... Spending $200 now will give me a year or more to save up for some Race Deck since RD will cost me upwards of $1400.

My original application of the rustoleum epoxy flooring lasted ~10 years. I parked a chevy avalanche on it frequently. For the longest time, the only problem I had with the floor is a stain on it from battery acid (battery blew up). Eventually, there was lift in the tire grooves. I recoated the floor with the same stuff. Apparently the prep process for the second coat is different because it isn't holding up as well.

^^Thanks.. makes me feel a bit better although I know it isn't a long term fool proof solution. Going to review the instructions tonight and start clearing out the garage.

shadowden said:

My original application of the rustoleum epoxy flooring lasted ~10 years. I parked a chevy avalanche on it frequently. For the longest time, the only problem I had with the floor is a stain on it from battery acid (battery blew up). Eventually, there was lift in the tire grooves. I recoated the floor with the same stuff. Apparently the prep process for the second coat is different because it isn't holding up as well.

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I find this to be a common issue with all of your over the counter big box junk epoxy garage floor kits....Most people usually say something along the lines of
my KIT lasted me ** yrs..but then follow up the statement with however,except or
something along those lines and then list all the things that went wrong with the floor and the products over the yrs...(chemical elimination,color loss,adhesion failures and etc..)

Save your money until you can afford a quality professional contractor to perform professional surface preparations,utilize high quality products and offer you a good warranty.

Stay away from big box store kits...They don't work effectively and there are junk!

good luck!

^^Thanks for the good luck. I'm moving fwd with the project for a few reasons...

- I think it would be good to document for others on the process and outcome in the short and long run.
- I need something to just "clean up" up the look for the short term. (And so I can save up for proper flooring)
- This will be a good color coat underneath for my future Race Deck.

**Progress edit above.

I'm at 12 years and counting on a Rustoleum garage floor that is still almost completely intact. There are a few dings here and there and it has worn away in places where the garage door seal contacts it, but 99.9% of the coating is still there. It has been exposed to plenty of oil, brake fluid, jack stands and dropped tools over that time. I spent a lot of time on prepping the floor, which seems to be the key to any coating working well. It doesn't look like a higher end epoxy finish (looks more like coat of gray paint), but I'm more than happy with it for the <$150 I spent on it. My only regret is not putting the flakes down since it always looks dirty without them.

Having said that, I just bought a new house, and I'm going to go with a nicer product this time around, but I wouldn't be afraid to use the big box stuff again if my budget was more limited.

Rock solid was suppose to make a better garage floor kit than epoxy shield. I use to work for menards for many years. However as agreed that they typically don't last long. I for one like my garage floor bare and just cleaned up since I am tough on it.

Updates above.

The floor looks really nice! You did a great job! Hopefully it will last for many years to come. I like the way epoxy looks, but the prep time is pretty intense and quite frankly, I am not up to the task. I went with Racedeck and I am really happy with it.

I got almost ten years on my last coat of Rustoleum in my last house (1400 sq foot between extra-wide 4-car garage and adjacent workshop and storage room). I didn't like the "yellowy" tan so HD threw a few drops of brown tint into it and made it beige. I never top coated it or used flakes. It was awesome when you dropped a screw because the floor was so clean and unicolor. Little things (like scorpions and spiders!) showed up well. Few hot tire spots but overall, it held up well.

If you prep it correctly and apply it per direction, it's the cheapest decent coating out there. (Unless they change the formula and screw it up!)

James-W said:

The floor looks really nice! You did a great job! Hopefully it will last for many years to come. I like the way epoxy looks, but the prep time is pretty intense and quite frankly, I am not up to the task. I went with Racedeck and I am really happy with it.

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Thanks.. It looks pretty good and for the costs, I'm happy how it turned out.

I was told by a Rust-Oleum helpline that it can last a lifetime, but like anything it needs proper maintenance over the years. They advised after 4-5 years to clean and clear coat the paint again. Do it every 4-5 years and the paint will hold up. I don't know how true this information is, and I am by no means an expert. I am just passing on what I was told.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=284998&highlight=frank001

This is my description of the Rustoleum epoxy floor I put in my garage several months ago. Very satisfied so far.

So it's been three days since I've finished the floor. Walked on it so far... can I roll my tool chest on it now?

mnavillus said:

I find this to be a common issue with all of your over the counter big box junk epoxy garage floor kits....Most people usually say something along the lines of
my KIT lasted me ** yrs..but then follow up the statement with however,except or
something along those lines and then list all the things that went wrong with the floor and the products over the yrs...(chemical elimination,color loss,adhesion failures and etc..)

Save your money until you can afford a quality professional contractor to perform professional surface preparations,utilize high quality products and offer you a good warranty.

Stay away from big box store kits...They don't work effectively and there are junk!

good luck!

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Meh. I know this is your living but many, many, people have diy'ed with great success. And clearly, someone looking to spend a couple hundred on a kit generally isn't going to make the leap to spending a few grand on a professional contractor. But that person might, with a little education and help from people in the know, be able to make a leap to a better product. And that same person might be able to do a pretty darn good, professional, and long lasting diy job with a little help from people in the know. That's the point of this forum me thinks.

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Officially cured for 12 days... Washed the cars and parked them with cool to the hand tires. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I used a Rustoleum kit on my floor. It lasted better than I figured it would and actually probably would have held out even longer. When I was pressure washing my floor to put another coating down it cleaned up very nicely, I almost left it alone and saved my new coating for later. Mine lasted about 5-6 years it had some lifting here and there from leaky vehicles and dragging jacks across the floor. My shop is a working shop, I do bodywork and paint work, I don't have time to be gentle with the shop floors or the shop itself as it only stands to make me money! So with the abuse of the semi commercial environment of my shop I was very impressed it lasted that long. As for high dollar coatings, I can't bear to spend the cash myself due to my thoughts of if I can get 5 years each out of the coatings I'm using now and only spending chump change, why take the chance on spending big $$$ on a coating that can let go? My floor has only been coated twice in 15 years, the current coating is going on 7 years old and I only paid about $100 for each time. So I'm at $200 for 12 years of service, yeah I'll call it good lol.

Pulled the car out this AM and no tire lift from cool tires last night. Today will be a good test with hot tires right after work. Current temp in NJ is mid 80's.

My Rustoleum floor is 5 years old now and is holding up ok. The color coat is doing fine, but the clear is peeling up in a few places (none of which are in high volume areas) along with pretty consistent yellowing in areas that are prone to sun exposure... especially with my one garage that faces SW. I am going to live with the condition for now, but definitely second guessing this "cheaper" approach

OP... yours look good. Hopefully it holds up to expectations.

Ok... things are looking so far so good... Wife brought in the SUV directly after work, so the tires should be fairly hot, but today was only the mid 80's so I really don't know if the air temp really affects tire temps.

SUV sat in there for 5 hrs before we took it out for dinner. At this point the tires are cool to the touch. Pulled out the SUV and no lift!

Tomorrow I'll pull out the sedan as I brought it in after work and it will have sat in one spot for over 15hrs. Hopefully that will pan out OK.

So far so good.... brought the sedan in an out today with hot tires... no lifting... keeping my fingers crossed.

It's now Aug 13... a week after full cure (10 days). In and out with hot tires right after work. The weather has been favorable/ only high 80's so far... and no tire lift from either the car or SUV.

I'll keep posting how long this stuff lasts.

MagicMarker said:

It's now Aug 13... a week after full cure (10 days). In and out with hot tires right after work. The weather has been favorable/ only high 80's so far... and no tire lift from either the car or SUV.

I'll keep posting how long this stuff lasts.

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Nearly a month since rolling out the kit and no tire lift or other issues to speak of.

Updates.. four months and no hot tire lift or any other issues to report.

MagicMarker said:

Updates.. four months and no hot tire lift or any other issues to report.

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Good to hear that you're having success with the inexpensive big box garage floor kit. Thanks for the detailed posts.

I did my parent's 2 car garage 12 years ago with Rustoleum. Light automotive work and New Jersey's wicked freeze/thaw cycles haven't put a dent in it. Just needs a mop with 409 every few weeks to get the road salt off.

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Jim Pelosi said:

I did my parent's 2 car garage 12 years ago with Rustoleum. Light automotive work and New Jersey's wicked freeze/thaw cycles haven't put a dent in it. Just needs a mop with 409 every few weeks to get the road salt off.

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Good to know... Not sure what I was going to clean it with after the winter.

I put on a Rustoleum floor in my 3 car garage 2 1/2 years ago and I am delighted with it. I followed the threads of the pundits on this site who were promoting their products and listened to a number of them disparage the 'big box store products'. I think everyone understands that there is a difference between a Toyota Corolla & a Lexus in quality as well as cost. I opted for the lower cost DIY solution partly because I had used it in a previous garage floor I installed in 2008 and still looks good. I did a ton of work preparing the floor including renting a grinder. I bought two of the 2.5 car garage kits for my 780 sq foot garage & laid it on heavy. I bought 3 of the 'clear' kits & layer it on heavy too. We've had great luck with it, no lift or problems and used it hard. I highly recommend the Rustoleum product especially for the money. Just dothe prep.

Freddo said:

I put on a Rustoleum floor in my 3 car garage 2 1/2 years ago and I am delighted with it. I followed the threads of the pundits on this site who were promoting their products and listened to a number of them disparage the 'big box store products'. I think everyone understands that there is a difference between a Toyota Corolla & a Lexus in quality as well as cost. I opted for the lower cost DIY solution partly because I had used it in a previous garage floor I installed in 2008 and still looks good. I did a ton of work preparing the floor including renting a grinder. I bought two of the 2.5 car garage kits for my 780 sq foot garage & laid it on heavy. I bought 3 of the 'clear' kits & layer it on heavy too. We've had great luck with it, no lift or problems and used it hard. I highly recommend the Rustoleum product especially for the money. Just dothe prep.

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Curious, was this the Rustoleum Pro (solvent based) epoxy kit or water based?

I did our 2 car garage, 3.5 years ago. It gets used every day by three of us as it is our small business sharpening/repair shop. I think I used the pro version. I know there were two parts to the color, but I don't remember if it was solvent based. The clear was separate and was solvent based.

This garage isn't used for parking cars or welding. We do have carts and chairs drug across it all the time and small equipment set and pushed across the floor. Most of the work is done on benches. It has held up pretty well. The sun discolored a bit of it outside the roll up door and just inside the man door. The clear is scuffed up and not glossy like it was when new. There is one place where a pencil eraser size piece of paint came up and it is near where I patched the floor.

The floor was used for auto work, welding, engine work, boat storage, painting, etc. in the past. It looked a lot like the OP's pics.

The catch: I was a professional painter for about 20 years, and I did professional steam cleaning for 7 years. I didn't have a pressure washer to prep my floor, but it would have helped. I used to prep floors for epoxy companies on occasion. We ran 3500 psi 5 gpm units at 200 degrees f with floor surfacers (like a lawnmower, but with a spray bar instead of a blade) and recovery vacuums. My dad and I prepped with scrapers, grinders where it was rough, and brooms and degreaser, then citric acid. It was a PITA.

It was well worth the couple hundred dollars and the effort. There weren't any great alternatives for a small budget and the epoxy (along with all the other finish work I did), made the garage look very professional.

CGT80 said:

I did our 2 car garage, 3.5 years ago. It gets used every day by three of us as it is our small business sharpening/repair shop. I think I used the pro version. I know there were two parts to the color, but I don't remember if it was solvent based. The clear was separate and was solvent based.

This garage isn't used for parking cars or welding. We do have carts and chairs drug across it all the time and small equipment set and pushed across the floor. Most of the work is done on benches. It has held up pretty well. The sun discolored a bit of it outside the roll up door and just inside the man door. The clear is scuffed up and not glossy like it was when new. There is one place where a pencil eraser size piece of paint came up and it is near where I patched the floor.

The floor was used for auto work, welding, engine work, boat storage, painting, etc. in the past. It looked a lot like the OP's pics.

The catch: I was a professional painter for about 20 years, and I did professional steam cleaning for 7 years. I didn't have a pressure washer to prep my floor, but it would have helped. I used to prep floors for epoxy companies on occasion. We ran 3500 psi 5 gpm units at 200 degrees f with floor surfacers (like a lawnmower, but with a spray bar instead of a blade) and recovery vacuums. My dad and I prepped with scrapers, grinders where it was rough, and brooms and degreaser, then citric acid. It was a PITA.

It was well worth the couple hundred dollars and the effort. There weren't any great alternatives for a small budget and the epoxy (along with all the other finish work I did), made the garage look very professional.

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So, basically, the lesson is "don't skimp on the prep work." Thanks for your input. I'm sure other GJ members lurking around in their spare time looking for tips will appreciate this info.

Curious, was this the Rustoleum Pro (solvent based) epoxy kit or water based?

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It's solvent based. http://www.rustoleum.com/~/media/Di...Solvent_based_Professional_Floor_Coating.ashx

DoItMyselfToo said:

So, basically, the lesson is "don't skimp on the prep work." Thanks for your input. I'm sure other GJ members lurking around in their spare time looking for tips will appreciate this info.

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Yes, do the best you can on prep and use good technique to work the finish into the concrete and make it even, while moving fast and keeping a wet edge. It would have been much better if I had called in a favor or paid my old boss to steam clean the surface and grinding with a floor machine would have made it even better.

It was a lot of work to do the color and clear, as I did it by myself.

In the past, I had painted floors for customers and we also did a similar epoxy kit for a new garage, but I never heard how it held up. It is easy to see where a DIY'er may get into trouble with prep or finish and the product isn't the best, based on how the clear has worn.

For the money it isn't a bad option if you put the effort into it.

Just wanted to add my experience to the discussion. In our first home, one of the first projects I did was to epoxy the garage floor with a Lowes-purchased DIY kit (Rustoleum?). I used 2 kits for my 2 car garage at a cost of about $160 ($80 per kit). We lived there for almost exactly 10 years, and over the years it gradually looked worse and worse (hot-tire pick up, many scratches from tools and dog nails, etc.). In fairness, it was better than the bare, dirty concrete that was present before, but still not as nice-looking as I had hoped.

Our current house has a 3 car garage, and I just put down the Armorpoxy epoxy. With the GJ discount, and purchasing the separate primer, I spent a little less than $500. I used a grinder to prep the floor (vs the acid wash with the Rustoleum) and there are three steps (primer, coating, then clear) vs one step for the cheaper brand, but otherwise it is just as DIY-friendly. Though I can't yet speak to the long-term durability, I certainly expect the Armorpoxy to hold up better than the Rustoleum brand.

Comparing costs, if I had done a 3 car garage the first time, it would have been about $240. So for me, going with the better brand cost me about double (plus the cost of renting the grinder) but should be worth it in terms of durability and long-term happiness.

^^Lots of great feedback.

It's now Jan 2016.... No issues on tire lift.

Did add something on the wall.

DoItMyselfToo said:

Curious, was this the Rustoleum Pro (solvent based) epoxy kit or water based?

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Actually it was the water based version.