U-Coat it or NOT

[KevDawg]

Hi guys!
I'm new to the forum and looking for some advice.

My new home is due to be finished in 3 weeks and I'd like to put something on the garage floor before any vehicles have a chance to stain or mess up the slab.

I was thinking of using the U-Coat it epoxy coating.
I haven't seen much use of this product in browsing around the site.
Does anyone have any experience with this product good or bad?

I'm in Calgary, Canada so I'm not sure if the climate makes a difference on what products I should be considering.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rob Beckers]

I've used U-Coat-It for a 3-car garage, did the job two years ago. Their product is fairly low solids (don't have the exact number), so after all the solvent (water mostly in this case) has evaporated it dries to a very, very thin coating. I slapped it on fairly thick, and even so, it dries to a very thin layer. There's no need for any anti-slip unless you have perfectly smooth concrete; any imperfection no matter how small will telegraph through. It is also expensive for the coating thickness that you get. After two years it's wearing off pretty well in areas that see car traffic. Now, to their defense, I put it down on very bad concrete (pitted, cracked), though I prepped the h%ll out of it (so there was no grease, it was etched properly etc.).

I will not use it again. Since then I've found out that water based epoxies are really just glorified floor paints that aren't meant for any serious (ab)use. At the very least I would go for a solvent based epoxy: I've had good results in another garage with the Rustoleum Professional line of epoxy (do put anti-slip on that, it gets extremely slick when wet!). Since you are in Canada; another option are the Devoe epoxies. Pre-Prime 167, Devran 224HS, and Devthane 379UVA are solvent based, and should be available where you are, look for an ICI paint store (and get cozy with the manager for a discount ). Others on this forum have reported their use of those products, so a little reading will get you up to speed. I'm going with Devoe's 100% solids epoxy for a new floor that I'm working on right now. See my other thread.

-RoB-