Looking to cover about 800 sq. ft. of garage floor on my new house. Race deck is too expensive. I'm thinking about going with Rustoleum's epoxy finish (with the added flake) that I can get at Lowes for $200. Anybody have experience with this (or other suggestions)? Dont wanna spend a fortune but want something durable and looks good...

 

What part of the country do you live in? I've never seen any floorpaint that lasted more then a couple of years up in the NE. The guy who did my floor suggested clear Thompson's waterseal every other year. When it wears out you don't see the ugly missing sections. It seems to have protected my garage floor from our wonderful winter salt for about 7 years now.

 

Orlando, FL (fortunately)

 

Two of my neighbors used the rustoleum with flake. One used the gray and the other the tan. I like the looks of the tan better after it has been on for about 3 years. We live in Michigan so it gets a lot of bad weather, salt, dirt etc. and theirs still looks good. I am doing mine at the end of the month. I have not noticed any flaking or wear on theirs. They both said the trick is doing a good job of making sure the floor is power washed and there is a product available to clean any marks off the concrete first.
Jim

 

Thats my plan...Wash/Muriatic acid/wash again and apply epoxy...

 

Not the cheapest but it does looks very nice and I've had ZERO problems with the CERAMIC TILE on my floor

Just another idea.

 

I used that stuff on my floor and it is horrible. I followed all the directions to the letter and even rented a serious pressure washer to remove everything. The paint has peeled up all over the garage. I am very unhappy with it.

 

That is the coolest floor I've seen yet!
Awesome

 

From what I understand, a key process to making the epoxy last is applying muriatic acid to etch the concrete. I know in NY thats common but a few people down here in Florida were unfamiliar with that and its not (apparently) always indicated. Did you do that on your floor before applying the epoxy?

 

essential.

 

Here is flooring by mid american. it is cheaper then race deck. I love it. it has small holes in it, as dirt will go into them, than rather into your car... then I just vacumn it once and a while...

 

This is the route I'm going:

http://www.bltllc.com/coin_pattern.htm

I think it's the best option for the money and ultra durable... I ordered some samples -- it's pretty frikkin' cool! Actually, they have a new "diamond" pattern and "levant" pattern that appear to be the same price as the coin, so I'll probably go with one of those...

 

A different solution would be to prep just as you would for the epoxy coat (muri acid / pressure wash), but then find some paint used for cement in-ground pools. Being in Florida, it shouldn't be too difficult to find, and it's available in a much wider range of colors too. Good luck with whatever you go with.

 

I went with the coin pattern, good stuff.

 

I used the Rustoleum and still looks like the day I put it down almost 2 years ago. Think the key is clean, clean clean..... I power washed, scrubbed 3 times with a rotary brush using full strength Simple Green, used the citric acid in the kit then scrubbed one last time and rinsed 3 times. No peeling or hot tire pick up and it gets really hot here in Oklahoma. Just took a lot of time and energy.

 

Less than a $1.00 a sq ft. VCT

 

Just don't attempt to jack up your car on this. It will 'indent', showing exactly where the floor jack wheels were.

 

Where did you purchase your black and white tile? It really looks great...just what I have been looking for!

 

I just finished my 3-car garage (600 sq-ft) with the Rust-Oleum Epoxy paint and it turned out pretty good.


The key is to get the concrete as clean as possible before you use the included citric acid cleaner. I bought a gallon of Simple Green concentrate and poured it right on the floor and scrubbed as hard as I could. Rinsed the floor three times to get the stuff off. Then I used some Mineral Spirits to get rid of the last of the stains. I had a big crack in the floor so I used some concrete patch to fill that and then sanded the patch material flush to the surface.

The Rust-Oleum instructions said not to use muratic acid on the floor, just the included citric acid. I mixed a bag in 2 gallons of water and poured it on the floor and scrubbed as hard as I could again. I wound up rinsing thee times again as you have to get any dust off the floor before you paint. Once all the water dried, the floor was as bright as new

I bought one of the 2-gallon kits at Home Depot ($99 for 2 1-gallon cans and hardener. Although the specs say a gallon covers 250 sq-ft, I actually covered the entire floor with the 2 gallons and I rolled it on as a fairly heavy coat. My floor is pretty smooth so that helped the overall coverage.

I didn't use the flakes from the kit. You just sprinkle them on the wet paint surface so I figured that after awhile the flakes would chip off leaving a mess. The kit says you can add some anti-slip material but it reduces the life of the coating. I didn't do that either but I have a number of commercial rubber-backed carpet runners so I can walk around without slipping on a wet floor.

 

I used U Coat It, and it has lasted about 6 years so far. No peeling or flaking, its expensive , compared to Rust Oleum. Also if you use it , and put a clear coat down, put plenty of grit in the coat. Good luck, Jim.