Cult Hero
Well-known member
anyone used this stuff? I couldn't find a thread at all. AND I searched
any experience with u-coat it?
- Thread starter Cult Hero
- Start date
GearHead_1
Well-known member
I've got it and really like it. I did a write up with pictures and posted it on the site but for what ever reason it no longer exists. It's been down for 1 1/2 years with no problems, though I did get out of my truck the other day with snow on my shoes and slipped and fell on my ****. Road salt and dirt clean up in a snap and it looks like the day it was put down. Did I mention that it's a little slick? I never thought that to be the case but man I went down fast. I didn't put the Aluminum Oxide down, just the flecks. It hurt but my pride hurt even worse, what happened to those cat like reflexes I once had?
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Raven1911
Active member
GearHead_1 said:
Sounds like you put it down right! How did you prepare the floor? I also was thinking about u coat it.
GearHead_1
Well-known member
My prep was a little more simple than most who use it. I had a new virgin piece of cement that I didn't even drive on for 6 months. I stored some lumber in on it but no tire tracks. For me it was as simple as cleaning it, acid etch and applying according to instructions. I did however put 2 coats instead of 1 clear UV top coat on it. It's nice and thick. Even though my process was pretty simple putting it all down on just under 1700 square feet took me about 40 hours worth of labor not to mention the cure time in between coats. I felt like it was a little labor intensive. Their kits are very complete and I found their rollers to be much nicer than those I could buy at the paint store.
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I've done 3 garages with UCoatIt and I agree with Gearhead. Prep is the key to any epoxy coating. And it helps to have another person working with you to do the detailing around the base of the walls. Depending on the weather conditions, UCoatIt's pot life is fairly short so you can't delay in putting it down.
The last garage I did was done in white with red, black and gray flecks. The white doesn't cover very well so I ended up applying the base coat, 3 color coats and 3 coats of clear to cover and seal in the flecks, logo and stripes. A lot of work but it turned out fine.
(The bucket is covering the wiring coming up from the floor for the 4 post lift I will be installing inside the striped area in a couple of weeks)
The last garage I did was done in white with red, black and gray flecks. The white doesn't cover very well so I ended up applying the base coat, 3 color coats and 3 coats of clear to cover and seal in the flecks, logo and stripes. A lot of work but it turned out fine.
(The bucket is covering the wiring coming up from the floor for the 4 post lift I will be installing inside the striped area in a couple of weeks)
SWA Guy
Well-known member
I like the U-coat it system and plan to use it in my garage this spring.
Wardrum, what did you use to put down the graphics? Are those decals or paint? That looks great! Then one or two coats of clear over the top for protection. Good job!
Wardrum, what did you use to put down the graphics? Are those decals or paint? That looks great! Then one or two coats of clear over the top for protection. Good job!
Thanks!SWA Guy said:
Logo was made from vinyl sheet by sign shop, stripes are thin vinyl tape. Sequence I used for putting the logo and stripes down was as follows: 1) Paint floor with base coat and 3 color coats but no flecks, 2) place logo and stripes on painted floor, 3) lay down 1 coat of clear over complete floor including the logo and stripes, 4) cover logo, stripes and any other areas that you don't want flecks on with clear plastic film so flecks don't stick to them when applied, 5) lay down 2nd coat of clear only on area to have flecks, 6) throw flecks up in the air to fall onto wet clear coat (don't worry if some fall onto logo or stripes...they will come off when the plastic film is removed), 7) cut along edges of logo and stripes with exacto knife and carefully remove the clear plastic film that covers them, 8) lay down a heavy last coat of clear over entire floor to cover and seal the logo and stripes into floor and presto!!, you're done.
Well, not quite done yet. Then you need to pull up a chair, grab a cold one (or 2, or 3, or...) and admire your work
oldcarfart
Active member
Cult Hero said:anyone used this stuff? I couldn't find a thread at all. AND I searched
A good friend in Savannah, Ga. used it. He likes the finish but he thought it was a bit pricey.
GearHead_1
Well-known member
Having used it I agree it is a little on the high side price wise. I see few complaining about the results or durability. I have used Rustoleum's Professional Epoxy in a storage room and mechanical room in my basement. There is no comparison between these two products.
Raven1911
Active member
GearHead_1 said:
Meaning which one is better in your opinion??
GearHead_1
Well-known member
Sorry if I wasn't clear on this, it isn't the Rustoleum.Raven1911 said:
I would go one further than this also. Though this is only my opinion, I don't think you'll find many who have/used both that say they like Rustoleum's final product better. I'm sure you'll find many comments on it being more economical.
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I assume that you mean the AF solvent based top coat in your comparison?GearHead_1 said:Sorry if I wasn't clear on this, it isn't the Rustoleum.
I would go one further than this also. Though this is only my opinion, I don't think you'll find many who have/used both that say they like Rustoleum's final product better. I'm sure you'll find many comments on it being more economical.
For my application, the AF will run me about $500 more. About $2000 for my 1500sq ft garage. Just waiting for the weather to get better.
GearHead_1
Well-known member
Yes I assume, at the time it was advertised as a UV resistant top coat and it was solvent based. However prices must have risen significantly. I put down about 1650 square feet for about $1400 freight included. As I indicated it's been about 18 months ago.04 Navi said:
caddylow
New member
I think that if you do a considerable amount of work in your garage you should be realistic as to how durable this coating really is! My wife and I followed their directions word for word including acid etching2x,rinsing and rinsing again,and everything else you could think of. This coating was applied directly over brand new concrete which was never driven on until after the coating was fully cured. It's nice as far as cleaning up spills, but u-coat-it's claim as to how you can drop something from around waste height and it only will chip the clear coat is bull. It will chip right down to the concrete even with something as blunt as a dead blow hammer(the plastic covered kind) And yes I did wait until the concrete was fully cured! Also, make sure your jack wheels are well lubed and rolling . Any side to side movement will also scrape off the clear coat! Another point that I originally didn't think about is if you ever do any kind of metal work(grinding) make sure you sweep up any and all metal because as soon as you mop the floor the metal shavings will rust into the coating. Would I do this again? Yes, because spills are easy to clean up,it still looks nicer than bare concrete with spots,and also I'm inclined to think that this coating keeps any and all moisture from coming through. If you just park your car in your garage than your gonna love this stuff. I want to know know if any of the epoxy coatings that you see in the Nascar race shops which are "professionally applied" and fully chemically based are any more durable?
caddylow
New member
One more thing I almost forget about is be very careful and wipe up immediately any and all lacquer thinner , gasoline and brake fluid and I mean within seconds because they will stain(lighten up) and soften up (grippy to the touch) the coating right away! If you do wipe it up immediately the coating will reharden. ATF Trans fluid,oil can be left on the floor all day or longer.
juice
Active member
will this work on concrete block --my garage has 2 courses of block and was wondering if it would work on the block
mpraddict
Well-known member
caddylow said:
The professionally applied epoxy floors are very durable, but they too have their limits. We specify these for commercial kitchen applications from time to time. There are some available specifically designed to resist chemicals, and most have a thickness between 1/8" and 1/4"...BUT the installed costs run anywhere from $7 to $10 per square foot. I seriously doubt many of you will be doing this in your garage at that price!
just found this board, my experience is similar to caddylows, For prep I followed instructions I power washed and etched multiple times, but I have tool chests and car on dolly moving around, I have 2 base coats and the AF on top, my AF coat tend to come off with the 2nd coat, when scratched heavily by equipment, however the 1st coat remains so I never see bare concrete, I believe it to be better than the rustoleum product because the AF is pretty durable, but it is not invincible so to speak. Brake fluid and methanol needs to be cleaned or it will blister over hours. And I have a left tire yellow mark and oil stained in the AF coating. Since the AF is like a plastic coating, sometimes water will get under scratches and form a bubble. I still like it though, it's a pleasure to lay down on a smooth floor and not have to worry about temporary spills,and there is no concrete dust problem compared to a bare concrete garage, but it's wearing away as I work.. well the damages are not that noticable because I have the paint chips to help hide blemishes. Just shows signs of a garage well used 
I paid about $600 to for my 2 car garage.. My concrete might be too old or lack a moisture barrier, but who knows.
I paid about $600 to for my 2 car garage.. My concrete might be too old or lack a moisture barrier, but who knows.I used to own a car dealership and we used epoxy on the floors. If I was going to put down a floor again I would go with SwissTrax. I'm going to use it in my garage this spring, approximately 800 sq feet. I got a bid of $2500 to epoxy the floor and I can buy the SwissTrax DiamondTrax for a little more and install it myself in a day. Comes in a variety of colors, has compression strength of 5120 psi. I've got a few of their tile I'm testing with snow, dirt, gasoline, solvents etc to see how it holds up. So far so good and they claim they're excellent in chemical resistance. My experience with Epoxy was not very good but in fairness we had a lot of traffic. SwissTrax is used in many dealerships, car wash and LOF applications now.
RE: Swiss Trax
What about liquid getting trapped underneath the tile? This is why I purchased Race Deck over Swiss Trax, because Race Deck allows for air flow under the floor and Swiss Trax does not. Does anyone have any direct experience with water build up under Swiss Trax floors??
As far as epoxy goes, I think its great for commercial applications (I used to have in at my place of business), but one has to understand that with increased traffic comes increased wear. Normal residential use should not be an issue for a good epoxy, Ucoat It or otherwise.
What about liquid getting trapped underneath the tile? This is why I purchased Race Deck over Swiss Trax, because Race Deck allows for air flow under the floor and Swiss Trax does not. Does anyone have any direct experience with water build up under Swiss Trax floors??
As far as epoxy goes, I think its great for commercial applications (I used to have in at my place of business), but one has to understand that with increased traffic comes increased wear. Normal residential use should not be an issue for a good epoxy, Ucoat It or otherwise.
FrankJohnson69
Member
Hey All, Sorry to resurect an old thread but I saw the Ucoat it booth at Carlisle Spring show and it looks nice.
I'm not sure what ya'll are talking about with the "AF" since this is sort of new to me.
Anyway from what I can tell those that have used this product like it. True? Anyone out ther that doesn't like it and if so why?
Thanks much!
Frank
I'm not sure what ya'll are talking about with the "AF" since this is sort of new to me.
Anyway from what I can tell those that have used this product like it. True? Anyone out ther that doesn't like it and if so why?
Thanks much!
Frank
Rex Ruby
Well-known member
just found this board, my experience is similar to caddylows, For prep I followed instructions I power washed and etched multiple times, but I have tool chests and car on dolly moving around, I have 2 base coats and the AF on top, my AF coat tend to come off with the 2nd coat, when scratched heavily by equipment, however the 1st coat remains so I never see bare concrete, I believe it to be better than the rustoleum product because the AF is pretty durable, but it is not invincible so to speak. Brake fluid and methanol needs to be cleaned or it will blister over hours. And I have a left tire yellow mark and oil stained in the AF coating. Since the AF is like a plastic coating, sometimes water will get under scratches and form a bubble. I still like it though, it's a pleasure to lay down on a smooth floor and not have to worry about temporary spills,and there is no concrete dust problem compared to a bare concrete garage, but it's wearing away as I work.. well the damages are not that noticable because I have the paint chips to help hide blemishes. Just shows signs of a garage well used
I had a similar experience as the above members. Good prep on new concrete but not durable and significant tire lift. Also their customer service is poor, they will use every excuse in the book not to make good on their satisfaction guarantee. I did a lot of research on everything that went into my garage when I built it and U COAT IT by far was the most disappointing product.
Anyway from what I can tell those that have used this product like it. True? Anyone out ther that doesn't like it and if so why?
Thanks much!
Frank
Hate it see above. I cuss them out everytime I see their commercial on SPEED!
Hammerdown
Well-known member
I have used it on numerous projects and had good success with it. I have caused some minor damage to the completed floors, and have had a couple of areas that needed repair, but overall I am happy with their product and services. They explained what the problem was with the application- it made sense and seemed reasonable to me (that I may have made a mistake!-ego check- may have) and provided the repair material at no charge. Have had rusty brake fluid leave a stain- but other than that, I'm pleased with the results.
To be honest when I was shopping for epoxy back in 2005 there didn't seem to be much choices. It was the rustoleum stuff for cheap and there was u-coat it that's why I went for this brand. Then suddenly seem to have more choices for epoxy nowadays.
I didn't know what to look for back then The AF is really some kind of resin which does have reasonable chemical resistance, but the base coat (the color coat) is water clean up product.
Sure, I will try another product next time (if I move), as there seems to be more choices out there now, but I don't hate my floor it's still very adequate for the weekend mechanic. Yes there is some wear and tear, and this won't stop unless I replace all my dollys to use urethane wheels... it's still doing the job which is making the floor easy to clean and stop concrete dust.
I didn't know what to look for back then The AF is really some kind of resin which does have reasonable chemical resistance, but the base coat (the color coat) is water clean up product.
Sure, I will try another product next time (if I move), as there seems to be more choices out there now, but I don't hate my floor it's still very adequate for the weekend mechanic. Yes there is some wear and tear, and this won't stop unless I replace all my dollys to use urethane wheels... it's still doing the job which is making the floor easy to clean and stop concrete dust.