epoxy floor paint choice

[sjsfire]

OK, I've read many of the posts and have narrowed down my choice of paint. Unless I change my mind between now and next spring I'm planning on using the Rustoleum brand. I will plan on spending the extra $$ and go with the industrial slovent epoxy instead of the water based. From what I can tell by reading all your comments most brands are pretty much the same unless you go with the very high end paint. It's all in the prep from what I understand. Some of you might remember the guy next door to me was sold stain instead of epoxy paint and we spent a few nights stripping the stain and well, in was a big freakin mess....So what I need to know from the Rustoleum users. Were you happy with the product? Was any problem you had due to the prep work like acid etching, not mixing the paint according to instructions?? I did a "test etch" on my floor the other night. I work at a research facility and asked one of our chemists about the muratic acid. His reply was muratic acid is basically really diluted (sp?) hydrochloric acid. So he mixed me up a very small bottle with water. WOW did it etch the concrete. I'm probably better than the standard "should feel like 120 grit sand paper" but not too much. So I feel like I can get a good prep before painting. Sorry this is so long. I'd just like to here your experience with Rustoleum. Thanks

 

[katit]

My .02
I spent money on Benjamin Moore M40/M41 3-coat system.
It came out OK. No peeling, love paint, etc. But without expierence I didn't put it down evenly. Next time I will do better job but if I did this again I would probably go cheaper paint and pay pro to do the job.

 

[bjo]

I used the rustoleum solvent based and have been very happy with it. Much better than the griots garage paint. You must put on at least 2 coats or else it will look dull and ugly. I had no problems with the prep, I just acid etched with HCL and power washed several times afterwards. The pot life of the rustoelum is pretty good around 2 hrs when it was @ 80-85 deg before it started to harden. I did 1 kit at a time since the instructions say that it will harden fast if there is more than 2gal mixed. The fumes are nasty and you will need a p100 respirator or else you will kill your brain cells. To get good mixing results, I mixed the epoxy with the griots garage paint mixer that was left over from my floor painting of my old house. http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&SKU=90045

Use it for a good 4-5 minutes before allowing the 30 min precure time. Good luck and you will be happy with the results.

 

[Winmon]

I am also going with the Rustoleum. One other thing I have read is if you are going to use multiple kits, pour the cans of epoxy into 1 larger pail or can and mix them together. Then pour them back into the 1 gal. can. Then proceed with the activator. This will ensure you get a uniform colr instead of variances in the different gal. cans.

 

[sjsfire]

I am also going with the Rustoleum. One other thing I have read is if you are going to use multiple kits, pour the cans of epoxy into 1 larger pail or can and mix them together. Then pour them back into the 1 gal. can. Then proceed with the activator. This will ensure you get a uniform colr instead of variances in the different gal. cans.

That is true...messy but true. I do that when I'm painting my house inside or out. It's never happened to me personally but I seen difference in wall paint color can by can and it shows.

 

[dboat]

I used the rustoleum solvent based and have been very happy with it. Much better than the griots garage paint. You must put on at least 2 coats or else it will look dull and ugly. I had no problems with the prep, I just acid etched with HCL and power washed several times afterwards. The pot life of the rustoelum is pretty good around 2 hrs when it was @ 80-85 deg before it started to harden. I did 1 kit at a time since the instructions say that it will harden fast if there is more than 2gal mixed. The fumes are nasty and you will need a p100 respirator or else you will kill your brain cells. To get good mixing results, I mixed the epoxy with the griots garage paint mixer that was left over from my floor painting of my old house. http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_3000&L2=L2_3080&SKU=90045

Use it for a good 4-5 minutes before allowing the 30 min precure time. Good luck and you will be happy with the results.

This is the first post I have ever seen that a negative comment was made on the Griots paint.. would you elaborate?

 

[bjo]

I don't really have a negative opinion of the griots paint. I feel it is ok for a waterbased paint, but IMO the rustoleum solvent based epoxy is much better buy considering it is almost the same price per gallon.