Rust-Oleum EPOXYSHIELD Nightmare- Help

[Keith T]

I followed the directions to the letter and on this past saturday put down 3 gallons of EPOXYSHIELD- Grey. Before I added the catalyst to each gallon separately I mixed all three gallons together to ensure good color mixing. It has been more than 24 hours now and the results are shown on the attached pictures.
I have no idea why the color is different as shown here and some areas are still wet.

I am really disappointed and do not understand what has happened. Now thinking about sand blasting it off and using tiles.

Help!!

Keith

 

[retfr8flyr]

Man I'm sorry to see you had such bad results. I can't imagine how it could be so off in color when you pre mixed everything. It also should be dry after 24 hrs, maybe the epoxy experts can offer some help.

 

[softailgarage]

Not an expert, but how did you prep the floor and what did you use to apply it? Is it possible the application tool became contaminated?

 

[pauls_workshop]

Also not an expert on this one, but I have read of others using the water based kits or the kits requiring induction time where any amount of water or dampness will discolor the result, as well as differences between batches in the amount of induction time (time mixed up and sitting in the can before putting on the floor) discoloring the result. You are always supposed to mix all the parts fully separately for multiple batches before doing each batch after that. Different production lots also might be slightly different color. The mixing comments above and water apply to any epoxy, the induction time is of course only for the lower grade epoxy kits. Not much help for you really. You can always coat over again with new stuff and cover up the problem. Just scuff sand over it all with a random orbital sander to rough it up a bit before coating over it. Not much, just 20 seconds of sanding per sq foot of area or so. 80 grit is good. You just want to scratch it up slightly so the next layer will stick to it. - Paul

 

[c7fx]

My guess is that the darker areas the product is very thin and the lighter areas have better coverage.
I have use this product before and it can cover very thinly or as I say it can be stretched to cover but the results are not that good. When rolling it one needs to be mindful to have a wet roller.

Just buy one kit and cover the floor again thinly to get uniform color. I don't think it has anything to do with the product since you mixed all the color together. I think it was in application.

 

[pauloman]

I've had folks call me for help with this exact problem (I do a lot of epoxy support and help online and on the phone) - this brand of epoxy has an induction time (sweat in) and when that varies - due to time and temp etc. each little batch is different in finish and color.

- on the positive side, you have a good primer coat for some real modern epoxy, on the bad side you purchased cheap box store - first generation , waterbased epoxy. Keep in mind the box store keeps about 50% of the purchase price so the real cost of the epoxy is very very low.

rustoleum purchased this product from a manufacturer that years ago had decided this version of product was old, over the hill technology (or so I was told by him)

 

[Zick]

My guess is that the darker areas the product is very thin and the lighter areas have better coverage.
I have use this product before and it can cover very thinly or as I say it can be stretched to cover but the results are not that good. When rolling it one needs to be mindful to have a wet roller.

Just buy one kit and cover the floor again thinly to get uniform color. I don't think it has anything to do with the product since you mixed all the color together. I think it was in application.

I believe c7fx nailed it on the head.

I used Rust-Oleum about 4 years ago (back when they had the solvent based stuff) but I have the exact same issue and look you have.
When looking at it up close it appears that I went thicker in some areas and too thin in others causing this look to appear.

It didn't bother me enough and I just left it. 4 years later you can't hardly tell with all the dust and dirt over the floor.

 

[Zmw]

Lay 2 coats down!

 

[pauloman]

coating thickness sounds like a lame excuse.... you used the same rollers etc. Vendors put in enough pigment to provide uniform hiding with differences in application film thickness.

Do the painted walls in our house or your exterior house paint show differences in color as the paint on the roller or brush decreases?

Do you recall reading any similar posts here from folks using the 'more professional' epoxies pushed by the vendors that dominate this forum? the answer is no.

It is a product issue - it is a first generation floor epoxy and today's similar epoxies are third or fourth generation. It is sold in box stores to milk the last remaining profits out of an outdated product that professional epoxy floor contractors have long stopped using.

It was on its last legs 20 years ago when I was just a newbie in the epoxy resin industry.

 

[porschedude996TT]

Whatever it is, it is either the mixing (booking) the three gallons, or the application. I say this because of the roller marks or paths are very evident. You don't mention a primer. Did you roll anything before the gray paint?

 

[swireless2013]

i've never been a R/o fan to begin with.

I stick to Krylon/Sherwin for anything I need. There tech support is always really good.

 

[c7fx]

coating thickness sounds like a lame excuse.... you used the same rollers etc. Vendors put in enough pigment to provide uniform hiding with differences in application film thickness.

Do the painted walls in our house or your exterior house paint show differences in color as the paint on the roller or brush decreases?

Actually Yes. Thats why most walls need two coats. Have you ever painted drywall that was patched and not primed compared to the rest of the wall. The patch ***** in the paint and appears flat compared to the surrounding wall.
This is no different than painting a non primed cement floor. The floor sucked up the product and now appears flat compared to other areas where enough epoxy was applied.
That is the same as painting with a wet roller and a Dry roller.
Comparing to other products is a joke since "more professional epoxies" either are applied after a primer is applied or are mixed in small batches and poured out to be squeegeed and back rolled. Rustoleum is mixed and left in a can and applied like house paint. Much easier to apply very thinly.

If you look at picture 4 you can see darker areas within a lighter patch. Also look at the darker patches with lighter areas. Not uniform coverage In my opinion.

kind of looks like this...... hmmmmmm same paint with same amount of pigment

 

[Zick]

coating thickness sounds like a lame excuse.... you used the same rollers etc. Vendors put in enough pigment to provide uniform hiding with differences in application film thickness.

Do the painted walls in our house or your exterior house paint show differences in color as the paint on the roller or brush decreases?

Do you recall reading any similar posts here from folks using the 'more professional' epoxies pushed by the vendors that dominate this forum? the answer is no.

It is a product issue - it is a first generation floor epoxy and today's similar epoxies are third or fourth generation. It is sold in box stores to milk the last remaining profits out of an outdated product that professional epoxy floor contractors have long stopped using.

It was on its last legs 20 years ago when I was just a newbie in the epoxy resin industry.

It is/can be a thickness problem.

So tell me why all the lighter spots on mine are clearly a different thickness than all the darker areas?

Oh and fyi, mine was not the water based version either.