major problem with Muscle Gloss

[JungleJim]

I have had a very bad experience with Muscle Gloss. I carefully followed the brief instructions printed on the containers. The Floor Prep worked well on the new concrete -7 weeks old so I have no complaint about adhesion.
The epoxy was another story. My floor required 4 kits. After application, I anticipated great results - it did have a nice gloss. The following day the surface was still sticky and the small amount left in the last bucket had not hardened either. A call to the manufacturer (Motor City Flooring) only got a response of "you did not mix it correctly" and give it few days to set.
The company would not let me talk to the chemist and followup calls indicating that it still did not harden properly got no help of any kind.
Bottom line, I was left with a sticky mess that required tiles to allow any use of the floor.
Beware! I understand now that this "you did not mix it properly" response is typical from some in the industry if you encounter problems.

 

[Jaguar Fan]

I have had a very bad experience with Muscle Gloss. I carefully followed the brief instructions printed on the containers. The Floor Prep worked well on the new concrete -7 weeks old so I have no complaint about adhesion.
The epoxy was another story. My floor required 4 kits. After application, I anticipated great results - it did have a nice gloss. The following day the surface was still sticky and the small amount left in the last bucket had not hardened either. A call to the manufacturer (Motor City Flooring) only got a response of "you did not mix it correctly" and give it few days to set.
The company would not let me talk to the chemist and followup calls indicating that it still did not harden properly got no help of any kind.
Bottom line, I was left with a sticky mess that required tiles to allow any use of the floor.
Beware! I understand now that this "you did not mix it properly" response is typical from some in the industry if you encounter problems.

can you post some pics?

 

[thegarageguy]

Sorry to hear about your dilema. Unfortunately there are way too many factors and not enough info to come up with the exact reasoning behind your problem.

It could be that you mixed wrong. It could be that you added too much thinner. It could be that you never premixed the resin. it could be that they sent you only resin and no hardener. It could be that your floor was very damp. I could go on and on.

The fact is, and maybe a chemist could chime in (Wolverine), if it hasn't hardened in a few days chances are it will never harden. Also if it does, such a slow cure would probably affect its adhesion and fail quickly.

Your best bet is to scrape off all that material and chemical wipe off your concrete until its completely removed. I would suggest getting a pro involved to further limit your pain and suffering.

 

[JungleJim]

The floor was not damp, as we had no rain in weeks, the humidity was low, and floor dried for three days after prepping.
No direction was given to mix either the resin or catalyst before mixing them together. Each kit contained the specific quantities to mix for application. No thinning was done. Catalyst was clear before mixing and resin was a consistant color, so no stirring was done. Power mixing was done for the prescribed time and the mixed material was consistant color with no catalyst streaks. The only possible clue might be that the catalyst cans all were identified as "patching catalyst". The company
person said all their catalyst cans are identified that way.
After a week I tried scraping off the coating with VERY slow results. I quickly decided at that point to cover the floor with RaceDeck type tile to avoid the additional expenditure of time and money and gain use of the space ASAP as close to two weeks had already been lost. The tile went in quick and easy. The only down side is that the tiles make crinkeling noises in some places as the tiles move slightly on the sticky surface.
I am satisfied with the tile and only wish I had saved the time and money invested in the epoxy coating.

 

[SC-Eric]

Sorry to hear about your issues. Are you going to post pics of your racedeck?

 

[thundercow]

It's got to be a mixing problem, it sounds as if the chemical reaction did not take place. And the other guy who wrote is right, even if it does dry, it's not going to ever have any reliable properties such as: adhesion, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, etc. In fact, if it doesn't cure, but air-dries, I'll bet you could soften it with acetone or brake fluid in 30 seconds.

My buddy did this once on a very small area his personal garage, got in trouble with the mix and called me:
1. We scraped it off with a paint scraper(easier than it sounds, but it still sucked)
2. Wiped with acetone-soaked rag.

It worked pretty well, and then we re-coated with the proper mix, and as far as I know it has held up just fine.

 

[thegarageguy]

I had ******* new worker mix resin with resin once. Never thought to look at the damn bucket, which it clearly syas "A" and "B". Well thankfully the next day I was walking through to see progress and stooped down to the edges. All gooey!! It was the whole perimeter of the garage. Thankfully it wasnt the whole garage. We had to scrape it, then we scrubbed it with pure hardener. Then we chemical wiped it clean. It was a nightmare. Thankfully I caught it before the dumbasses began to apply the topcoat. Could you imagine. The next day they where bringing in their antique cars, one of which was in excess of 500k. A Mercedes gullwing. I was having nightmares of epoxy goo stuck on the tires and fenders of that car.

You see, even seasoned pros make mistakes. We are only as good as our worst worker. Below is the after picture. This was a 4 car part of a 12 car garage project.

 

[robert mitchell]

Not sure about mixing it wrong.Three years ago I used muscle gloss
for 1500 sq.feet garage. This was my first try. Choose muscle gloss
because they had the red color I was looking for. Made a few mistakes,
mixing too much at one time,, etc.Floor turned out great.
Has held up for 3 years of abuse. Did put down prime first then the color
then paint chips, no clear coat.
The only problem is this floor does not like battery acid on it.Oil,
brake fluid,and other liquids are fine.

As for mixing they sent Part A and part B and mixed it 1 to 1.
Pot life was about 12 minutes. You have to work fast with this product.