garage floor epoxy sealers

[Shuie]

I need to start some work on one of my cars and I really don't want to trash the floor of the garage in my current house. Can someone recommend a good garage floor epoxy sealer? Are the Rustoleum or Quikrete kits sold at Home depot or Lowes any good? Will this stuff stand up to welding slag, heavy casters, jack stands, dropped tools, etc.? Or, do I need to look in the phonebook for some kind of commercial grade coating service company?

TIA

[Rick Lee]

Check with garagejournal.com. I was looking into this when we were about to buy a house that needed a garage floor. From what I read, the DIY kits don't hold up well over time in hot climates. I've read a lot about hot tires peeling up the sealant. The house we ended up buying looks to have a very professionally done epoxy coating, so I stopped my research once we closed. As with painting cars, the trick is in the prep work. If I were DIY'ing it, I'd look into tiles.

[red-beard]

I used the Rustoleum Kit and it has held up very well for 7 years. I regularly use floor jacks, drop tools and I have welded.

[MattKellett]

Not sure about the Lowes/Home Depot kits, but I used the Griots garage paint and it's been about 8 years now without any damage, pealing or chipping.

Whatever system you end up using, rest assured the product will only last a long time if you've thoroughly prep the floor. Skip or be sloppy in this and you'll have pealing before you know it.

[dipso]

It's been a while since I did a garage floor. But I remember you had to acid wash it first, to open the pores in the concrete.
Pretty simple process. Wash with diluted acid, rinse, let dry overnight, then paint.
Use a 2 part epoxy or don't waste your time.

Mix and you'll have about an hour or so before it hardens. Cut it in first and then roll your way out.
Be fast, so do all your prep before you mix.

If you don't acid wash or use a 2 part epoxy, the heat from your car tires will lift the finish.

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by MattKellett

Whatever system you end up using, rest assured the product will only last a long time if you've thoroughly prep the floor. Skip or be sloppy in this and you'll have pealing before you know it.

+1

As a note, mine was on virgin concrete. House was just built. If you have oil stains etc, you need to prep the concrete.

[cstreit]

As with painting cars, prep is the key to the bond...

[Evans, Marv]

I went with Epoxy Coat. It's a two part epoxy. One kit supposedly covers 500 s.f. That claim seems about right. I found out, after not doing a floor coating before, you can't expect it to turn out like the glossy finishes you see in pictures unless it's prepped with a diamond grinding machine. It will turn out like a painted coating over a concrete floor. That was fine with me. I learned a lot about it after doing mine.