RustOleum Garage Epoxy Kit (review)

[jb666]

Well, I've spent the better part of the last 10 days in my garage doing the floor over...

Before I did any type of a "review" I wanted to FINISH. The floor was a mess.. 30 year old slab, cracked, holes that ended up being 12" deep once I dug them out.. Just a mess.

I wasn't too optimistic of the results, but what did I have to lose? $100 on the materials? Big deal.. If it didn't come out good I'd just throw a carpet down in there  

Anyways, I am VERY pleased with the results. It's an excellent quality Epoxy. It goes on heavy, seals and looks awesome when it's done.

I added a bit of a "custom touch" to it. I bought 3 small containers of metal flake.   Needless to say this floor is SPARKLING now. I love it!!

This was when I didn't realize what I was getting into.. I ended up going through over 100 lbs of cement just to fill in the cracks/holes...

Here it is a few weeks ago.. I had a large garage mat covering the mess...





Here's 3 days of sanding, scrubbing, choking and acid washing 5X.. I was satisfied enough to start the coating, at this point... Plus I knew I had only about a week until my car came back and this requires 3 days before you can drive on it...



This is the "first coat". I say this in quotes because I thought I was done, but the Epoxy went so far I ended up going over the whole floor twice..





And here's a quick video where I tried to demonstrate the look of the metal flakes in with the "Speckle" that came with the kit. A nice combo, IMO, and not something you see every day. My garage is VERY WELL LIT, so you can imagine how this pops...



I wanted something durable that I could trim the floor out with, so I ended up picking up some 1X6"X8' Trex, in Grey. As you know , it never rots, never requires paint, and looks great. I then Siliconed the entire parameter to make sure it's 100% water tight and sealed.. The garage is insulated from head to toe and has NEVER let water in, I just wanted to make sure the if something happened inside (blown radiator hose, etc..) that the water would just run out. And yes... My tool box is sitting on padded "furniture moving" pads.



All in all, anyone considering it, I highly recommend this kit. For $100 you get a 2.5 car garage kit that includes EVERYTHING you need. You really can't go wrong  

And , I'm sure someone will wonder.. On my walls, serving as a vapor barrier is 100% Cordura. The material has a DWR finish and a Urethane coating (1 Mil) making it waterproof. It's not breathable and allows NO air to get in or out. I had planned on sheet rocking over this, but I've grown to like is.. If you hit this material with your car doors, it's soft.. Not to mention EXTREMELY easy to work around when running new electrical/water lines... Peel it back, do the work, staple it back up... Best of all, it's anti-bacterial and will never get moldy...

[Silver R/T]

garage looks nice

[captnsim]

Great review Jeff. Thanks for sharing.

[Silver R/T]

That's definitely on my to-do list in the future

[jb666]

Thanks.

You definitely won't regret using this product. A buddy of mine said he applied it last year and a spot came up, but admitted he didn't prep it as thoroughly as he should have... I told him to think of it like a car.. You wouldn't paint over Silicone/wax..

[Silver R/T]

ya, I watched episode on "this old house" how they epoxied garage floor. They prepped one day and let it dry and painted in couple of days, turned out great

[jb666]

ya, I watched episode on "this old house" how they epoxied garage floor. They prepped one day and let it dry and painted in couple of days, turned out great

That's what I did.. After acid washing the surface for the 5th time, I took the leaf blower to it... I then let it all sit (with the dehumidifier, heater and overhead fan running) for 2 days. I then mopped the floor to make sure ALL dust was gone.. And before the first coat I hit it really thoroughly with the blower...

In between Epoxy coats I didn't even walk on it for 2 days (even though it says 12 hours later you can). Mine was still a bit tacky.

[68X426]

Excellent!

Now you have all winter to work on projects without the floor bothering you. Just your workmanship looking back at you with pride

[jb666]

Excellent!

Now you have all winter to work on projects without the floor bothering you. Just your workmanship looking back at you with pride

Yes! And that's why I wanted to jump on this now. I wanted it done, finished and secure for the winter.. If you look at the end of my video you'll see camera #1... I have 4 cameras on my garage (one in) that allows me to see everything.. What made me really want to do this was staring at the empty garage on my monitor and seeing the floor all messed up...

Anyways, I'm not a contractor. If I can do this, anyone can... You'll walk away happy knowing you saved a bundle and ended up with a great looking floor.

[resq302]

I got two boxes of this stuff for my 2 car garage.  What was the reason you used an acid wash for?

[jb666]

I got two boxes of this stuff for my 2 car garage.  What was the reason you used an acid wash for?

It's the final step before applying the Epoxy. You have to "etch" the cement floor to allow the epoxy to set correctly. I used the Acid wash (supplied in the kit) and a wire brush/broom, hosing it off every 4' or so. The floor dried PERFECTLY clean. I was pleased.

Think of an acid wash like washing your car down with Dawn (dishwashing detergent) before waxing it.. Dawn strips EVERYTHING from the finish of your paint.

[tan top]

  that looks good  ... 

[jb666]

that looks good  ... 

Thank you. That makes my back feel a bit better 

[jb666]

It's been a couple of hours since I did the last section (and another coat in some areas) and it's blended perfectly.. You can't even tell which areas I just did. I , of course, didn't walk on it.. I'll grab a few more pictures later when it's all dry (though the door).

[moparguy01]

im going to be doing that in the spring. im not looking forward to it though since i have about a 980 sq ft garage. its not gonna be fun to put it down, or more specifically, clear it out.

[jb666]

im going to be doing that in the spring. im not looking forward to it though since i have about a 980 sq ft garage. its not gonna be fun to put it down, or more specifically, clear it out.

Yeah!! Mine's only 400 SQ FT. I couldn't imagine doing much bigger...

[jb666]

I just went down to check on it.. It's drying beautifully.

Here's a close up of the finish where you can see the extra effect..

[FLG]

Hey Jeff...do you want to come here and do mine? We can park the 73 in your garage for a couple of days while mine is drying. 

[jb666]

Hey Jeff...do you want to come here and do mine? We can park the 73 in your garage for a couple of days while mine is drying. 

Sure, nice quick trip!!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Came out great Jeff

I wonder how that stuff works over a previously painted floor?

PS--more of that "textile" stuff huh?

[FlatbackFanatic]

I used the same stuff in Tan, a year and a half ago. Its holding up great, even with the winter snow and salt. Good job on yours.