overwhelmed with options... help me decide

[701_Fargo]

Have new 4 stall garage floor, so nothing on it, yet.

Priorities...Winter is on its way and want to protect floor from salt. Also, we have three older vehicles and want to protect floor from dripping fluids that may happen at times.

I like the look of raw concrete and do not care for expoy floors with flecks on top. I can appreciate it in someone else's home, just not mine. I could maybe live with Rust Bullet, because it has the industrial look we like. I would like the look of white epoxy, but not sure that is really practical. My house is all white, and the magic eraser is frequently in use to keep walls looking their best. Not willing to keep the garage floor looking that nice.

So... is there a matte (really don't want high gloss, but COULD live with it) protective finish that will let me appreciate the beauty of concrete and protect it from salt, oil drips and the like?

What I am willing to spend, depends on life of product. We are do it yourself people, my spouse is the grunt person and I am make sure it looks good.

We use our garage, it is not just a place to park cars. Planters get planted inside each spring, we often have carpentry projects we are building, husband will tinker on cars and even change is own oil.

 

[Garage Flooring]

A densifier followed by Ghostshield 8505 or 8510 will protect the floor flawlessly without changing the look.

https://www.garageflooringllc.com/siloxa-tek-8505-concrete-sealer/

 

[701_Fargo]

Thanks Justin for the advise. We have a 900 sq/ft area how much product will I need to order of the densifier and the Ghostshield?

 

[Garage Flooring]

Thanks Justin for the advise. We have a 900 sq/ft area how much product will I need to order of the densifier and the Ghostshield?

Assuming you go 8510

2 gallons of densifier and a 5 of the 8510. Call me before install as there are some minor install adjustments with densifier when being done in conjunction with 8510

 

[glentre]

From experience, I would not use Rust Bullet. Mine is down less than a year and is a disappointment. The product comes with an anti slip grit in it, I guess because without it the floor would be slippery when wet......so what. If you drag anything over the floor, the tops of the grit get shaved off and you have small black dots like a light tire skid mark on your floor. I only do light work in my garage so the floor is not abused. Also, it is very difficult to get an even surface with the grit mixed in because it settles quickly to the bottom of the roller pan and you either get too little or too much when you reload the roller. If they sold it without the grit, I think it would have resulted in a much better appearing and wearing floor.

Glen

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
We offer matte and semi gloss coatings in clear that would let you see the concrete. Kindly contact us directly below (not PM) for more info and to get pricing based on sq footage and location for shipping costs. Thank you.

 

[Garage Flooring]

From experience, I would not use Rust Bullet. Mine is down less than a year and is a disappointment. The product comes with an anti slip grit in it, I guess because without it the floor would be slippery when wet......so what. If you drag anything over the floor, the tops of the grit get shaved off and you have small black dots like a light tire skid mark on your floor. I only do light work in my garage so the floor is not abused. Also, it is very difficult to get an even surface with the grit mixed in because it settles quickly to the bottom of the roller pan and you either get too little or too much when you reload the roller. If they sold it without the grit, I think it would have resulted in a much better appearing and wearing floor.

Glen

We have always included an antiskid with Rust Bullet Clear. At some point last year they decided they would included it. And they mixed it in. They used a Silica which is much more aggressive than the products we sell -- and they put a ton of it in there.

At this point they have started attaching it to the side of the can instead of pre-mixing it in. If you do not want a really aggressive anti-skid, use less of it or we can send you some of our very fine anti wear anti skid.

If you wanted to lightly sand the floor and put another coat of clear on top, I would be happy to help you out as best I can.

 

[glentre]

Justin,

Looks like your supplier realized they had a problem shipping the clear coat with the grit already mixed in and then decided to send it separately. When I did the first section of my floor, I stirred the can of clear all the way to the bottom and did not realize there was any grit in the can because it had settled to the bottom and was hard as a brick. The result was that my first coat of clear had only a small amount of grit in it. It wasn't until the second coat that I stirred up some of the grit but it was so thick, I just let most of it settle to the bottom. I can't imagine how my floor would have looked and performed had I applied two coats with all of the grit stirred in from the start. It would have been impossible for anyone using a roller as recommended to lay down an even coat because the grit will not stay in suspension. The floor would have looked like the bottom of a sand box. Luckily my first coat had little to no grit in it.

So, the manufacturer had a problem they fixed but meanwhile, I end up with a disappointing floor. Thanks for your offer to help me fix the problem with another coat of clear. However, I have two lifts installed in a three car garage plus cabinets, benches and other normal garage stuff. Moving all that equipment, sanding the floor and applying another coat of clear at this point is just too much for my 78 year old body.

While on the subject, I also have a number of chips in the floor from dropping tools etc. I'm not knocking the Rust Bullet for that since the chips go down to the concrete itself. If you can help with some suggestions, I would like to know what paint product I could use to touch up these dings. Water base or oil based paint or what? I still have an unopened can of the original grey paint but as soon as I open it (assuming it has not already gone solid) it will soon solidify and be useless to touch up future dings. I went with a solid color instead of flakes so I could do repairs when necessary but that is not possible with Rust Bullet because it goes bad too quickly. What do you recommend I use for repairs?

Not a happy camper,

Glen

 

[Garage Flooring]

Justin,

Looks like your supplier realized they had a problem shipping the clear coat with the grit already mixed in and then decided to send it separately. When I did the first section of my floor, I stirred the can of clear all the way to the bottom and did not realize there was any grit in the can because it had settled to the bottom and was hard as a brick. The result was that my first coat of clear had only a small amount of grit in it. It wasn't until the second coat that I stirred up some of the grit but it was so thick, I just let most of it settle to the bottom. I can't imagine how my floor would have looked and performed had I applied two coats with all of the grit stirred in from the start. It would have been impossible for anyone using a roller as recommended to lay down an even coat because the grit will not stay in suspension. The floor would have looked like the bottom of a sand box. Luckily my first coat had little to no grit in it.

So, the manufacturer had a problem they fixed but meanwhile, I end up with a disappointing floor. Thanks for your offer to help me fix the problem with another coat of clear. However, I have two lifts installed in a three car garage plus cabinets, benches and other normal garage stuff. Moving all that equipment, sanding the floor and applying another coat of clear at this point is just too much for my 78 year old body.

While on the subject, I also have a number of chips in the floor from dropping tools etc. I'm not knocking the Rust Bullet for that since the chips go down to the concrete itself. If you can help with some suggestions, I would like to know what paint product I could use to touch up these dings. Water base or oil based paint or what? I still have an unopened can of the original grey paint but as soon as I open it (assuming it has not already gone solid) it will soon solidify and be useless to touch up future dings. I went with a solid color instead of flakes so I could do repairs when necessary but that is not possible with Rust Bullet because it goes bad too quickly. What do you recommend I use for repairs?

Not a happy camper,

Glen

Glen,

I'm sorry that your not happy. I have no idea where you purchased the product, when you purchased versus installed it and all of the other circumstances surrounding your install. What I do know is I am here to help in any way I can.

It's hard to trouble shoot problems in the middle of someone else's post and with no real data. My suggestion would be to email me [email protected]

In the meantime, Rust Bullet has a shelf life of about 2 years. If you look for the white label on the can you can tell when its made. If what you have is worth holding on to, I would do that. If you ordered from me, I can send you a quart of gray and a quart of clear at no charge for your repairs. If you ordered from someone else, send me your invoice and I will work with the manufacturer to get you taken care of.

On our brand, we have full control over what is included and how it is included. Unfortunately on someone else's brand... We just don't have that.