Rustoleum Epoxy Shield coating results

[shamoo]

Hello all, I wanted to post pictures of the epoxy coat I put down this past Labor Day weekend. I had a full 3 days, which allowed time for coating/drying/etc.

I originally wanted to get something in a dark grey and something more "professional" looking. Many of the nice ones are pretty thick. My neighbor hired someone $100 to coat his floor (he provided materials) and I think it didn't really turn out nice. I wanted to get the Rustoleum Professional Grade Epoxy Shield, but unfortunately it was only available online at Home Depot.com. I didn't want to wait for it to arrive, plus I didn't want to risk running out. I live across the street from Home Depot, so I settled on the consumer grade Rustoleum Epoxy Coat in gloss grey.

Since I wanted it thick and rich looking, I got two extra packets of decorative flake, and two extra pouches anti-skid additive. I picked up the 2.5 car garage kit and it was just enough for my 2 car + corner cubby area + 14" concrete sides.

Before:

Saturday - Acid etching/cleaning using the included package in the box. Luckily the home is new and the concrete doesn't have much in terms of staining/marks. Rinsed it off, scrubed, and squeegeed it off twice.

https://sphotos-a.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/58832_10200439975742056_1913929132_n.jpg

Saturday afternoon.

Sunday - Coating of the Epoxy Shield with some extra flakes and anti-skid additive. This picture is after ~8 hours of drying.

https://sphotos-b.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1150380_10200446115175538_1483997370_n.jpg

Monday - Rustoleum Premium Clear. Plus I put another pouch of anti-skid that came with it too.

Here are some closeups. Looks rich/thick, which is what I was going for. I only cleared the floor surface, not the sides.

I was happy that I did it myself. Saved some money, and learned a lot. This was the 2nd time I did it (1st time being my cousin's place) and I did a TON better this time. I knew I wasn't a professional, so there are some slight issues, but the extra flakes "covered" it up haha. Plus the clearcoat should provide a ton of extra protection. I had a hard time putting flakes on the sides as they kept falling off, so it looks a little spotty, but it's not bad.

Now comes the waiting game. Have some heavy tool carts/cabinets that I moved to my front door area. They said ~2 days before heavy stuff can be on it, and ~4 days before cars. I'll probably just wait until Friday to be safe (~4.5 days).

 

[Rainking]

Looks good. Hope it stays that way. I would have used 100% solids or high solids like the pro version for durability. Even if prepped right, from what I have seen, water base epoxy just doesn't hold up in the long run. Either way, good job on the DYI. Keep us posted.

 

[dandan111]

It looks real nice shamoo. That water based stuff is notorious for hot tire pick up and I hope you don't have that problem. Wish they would stop selling it to be honest. It does look nice though.

 

[soj]

It looks real nice shamoo. That water based stuff is notorious for hot tire pick up and I hope you don't have that problem. Wish they would stop selling it to be honest. It does look nice though.

I suppose you could "baby" the floor by parking outside for a little while, to let the tires cool off, esp. in summer.

It looks great, hope it holds up for ya.

 

[shamoo]

Well, hopefully with the clearcoat it will provide a tiny bit more protection. I live in Southern California (moved from my original location that still shows up) so it never really gets that hot or that cold.

A few more pics for you guys:

It was getting a little dark, so I apologize if they're not too clear. Only used my phone again.

When the garage door is closed, this is what you see from the inside. The discoloration on the "grout" isn't anything I did. It's fine, just shows up funny in pictures.

Here's the border between the epoxy and the outside. That "grout" material is squishy.

Here's the border on the top where I stopped applying it as it went into the little cubbyhole in the corner. I didn't clearcoat this area (or the sides). You can also see my shoddy flake work here. Everything I tried to put on the sides, just fell off. If I threw it on hard, there would just be a stupid chunk of flake in one spot.

Larger view of cubbyhole area here on the upper right. It goes all the way around the back of the garage about 8 feet. Good place to store stuff that you don't want seen. I have carpet, two jacks, jackstands, a shop vac, and a compressor back there.

View from farther away. See that little "wet" spot? Apparently a little clearcoat got under the blue painters tape. That's never coming off.

Luckily I have a breezeway outside my front door. I was able to roll all my cabinetry and workbenches/tables there. Without this, I dunno what I would have done. I even had my motorcycle shoved in there for 2 days.

 

[JakeKohl]

That looks good. I think the amount of non-skid and flakes may help it survive the hot-tire pickup issues. I've got a friend that has had something similar down for a decade and it still looks reasonably good.

 

[Zmw]

Looks great. I used Rustoleum professional and a urethane clear to coat on top, so far its been perfect. same color and chips on my floor. Your chip broadcast is much better then mine!

 

[bigbadktm]

I have to say you did a better job than some of the professionals I have seen. Water based epoxy garage floors are the devil! lol. The trick to doing the walls is to prime them until the wall stops sucking in the epoxy and it stays tacky longer. Well, that and practicing your fastball.

And the "grout" is joint seal. Same stuff that they put around the coping for pools. Its flexible and moves with the joint, while keeping the water out. Sika flex 2c-sl, deck o seal, easy seal, perfect seal...all do the same thing. I prefer to use the sika however.