U coat it

Jeff Alton · 01-24-2005, 07:27 PM

Has anyone tried this stuff on their garage floor? www.ucoatit.com

Jeff

Matt_C · Matt_C's Garage

My neighbor did his floor in Ucoat It, last summer. He did the black and white tile looking pattern. I wouldn’t recommend doing the pattern as it took a really long time to mask and paint all the tiles (he wouldn’t recommend it either!).

It looks really good, but he does have a few small spots where the epoxy has lifted off do to car tires. The performance under the tires was a little disappointing. I’m not sure if it was because of the prep or maybe not letting it cure long enough. I was planning on doing the Ucoat It also, but have been looking around for something of quality that’s a little cheaper with no luck.

I’m looking for something durable, but have my doubts about any of the epoxy coatings. The Ucoat It is supposed to handle the steel wheels of a jack or engine stands but who knows. It’s an expensive experiment!

Jeff Alton · 01-24-2005, 09:02 PM

Interesting, lifting is what I am trying to avoid.

Jeff

poorsha · 01-24-2005, 09:14 PM

Jeff. you have too much spare time

Jeff Alton · 01-25-2005, 05:30 AM

Actually, I have too many projects!!!!

Jeff

Mysterytrain · 01-25-2005, 06:13 AM

My mechanic, Doug Arnao at VCI has this stuff on his shop floor and it looks great and has held up well. I don't recall him having problems with tire lifting. I'm thinking of using Ucoat it for my garage floor this spring. I get the feeling that prep is the key to making any system stick to the slab.

911SCfanatic · 911SCfanatic's Garage

I think RaceDeck is the only way to go if you can afford it--that's what I'm saving my pennies for. No floor prep and no lifting. It also seems that you can beat the hell out of it and it still looks good. I think I calculated the cost to be about $1800 for my 3 car garage.

Jeff Alton · 01-25-2005, 07:06 AM

Well I love the look of the Ucoatit stuff. I just really do not want any lifting. It will be going on a slab that has not been driven on so I wonder if that will help. I paid big dollars for the epoxy I have on my current floor and it lifted about 6 months after I did it. I thoroughly cleaned it and etched before painting. Starting to think about the the VCT route.

Jeff

MuffinMan · 01-25-2005, 08:47 AM

I've had u-coat-it on my garage floor since the summer of 2001. I spent a fair amount of time cleaning & prepping it, and the cement was relatively new to begin with. I do not have the gloss coating, and I have not had any problems with it lifting due to hot tires, etc. A friend of mine used it on his floor at the same time as me, but purchased the glossy coating. Unfortunately, he had a lot of lifting problems in many areas of the garage, and he contacted u-coat-it. It was determined that there was a bad batch of the gloss, and he was an unfortunate recipient of one of the "bad" buckets of product. They warrantied everything by sending out replacement product, but he was stuck with the labor of removing the old and applying the new. He hasn't had any issues with the new coating.

My floor has been quite durable over the years, and it's seen its share of brake fluid, brake cleaner, oil, gasoline, WD40, so on and so forth. I love the ability to wipe up any spill with a bit of oil-flo and its as good as new. Everything I've read and heard implies that preparation is key, so spend time there for a good result, regardless of what product you choose.

There clearly are cheaper options on the market, but epoxy is such a bear to remove if it begins to lift that I was weary of making the wrong choice. I'm happy so far, as is my friend...with his second batch.

Jeff Alton · 01-25-2005, 09:59 AM

Rob, how does it hold up with a jackstand on it?? What colour is your floor?

Thanks, Jeff

75blkcarrera · 01-25-2005, 10:36 AM

I built a new shop 3 years ago and allowed the cement to cure for 90 days with no traffic on the floor. Acid etched it and followed their directions for application. I choose the cream color and did not to do the clear. The shop is used by myself and friends.(moderate use) I do clean it often. On problem with liquids or traffic patterns.The Carslile Fairgrounds main building has had the U-Coat-It on the floor for years and shows little wear. When applying the epoxy you must apply at a pretty good pase if the area is large ( the epoxy begins to cure at the end of application). Since I did my shop there have been different makes to choose from. Maybe someone who has knowledge with another brand can shed some of there knowledge.

MuffinMan · 01-25-2005, 12:13 PM

I chose "medium gray". I don't have very many pictures of it, but here are some from my latest project. If you slide a jack across the floor, it usually leaves a black mark. The mark is easily cleaned with oil-flo or any other good cleaner, and has not permanently marred my floor. I have not had any problems with jackstands damaging the paint...at least not yet.

There are some shots of the floor throughout this link.

geof33 · 01-25-2005, 01:40 PM

Prep is probably the biggest reason for the lifting... Also, ANY amount of moisture in the cement will eventually lift the epoxy. I'm considering the Race-tile stuff myself. Can't decide.

Chilling in VT · 01-25-2005, 01:40 PM

75BLKCARRERA- How slippery is your floor without the clear coat? I have been to the buildings at Carlisle when they are wet (it rains every year for the import show) and find them unbelievably slick. I am contemplating doing some sort of epoxy but am concerned with how slick they become with a little moisture. Any thoughts?
Joe

Jeff Alton · 01-25-2005, 08:15 PM

The website says you can paint it right over a wet surface??? Seems strange to me. I wish I could figure out which way to go with this.

Jeff

NoLift911 · 01-26-2005, 08:02 AM

I have done this twice for 2 garages in the last year so I have a little experience in the area of garage flooring.

First it depends if this is a working garage or a parking garage. Working garage (in my case) fluids of all types, acid, oil, brake fluid, cleaners etc. All hit the floor regularly. Welding drivel, chisels, jack stands, heavy objects are used regularly also.

For me this means epoxy and pretty much only epoxy. Check out any commercial garage and you will see the same in just about all cases.

Tiles of any kind are for parking and show garages in my opinion. They will not stand up to jack stand, floor jacks, welding and various fluids.

Epoxy cleans up great with ease and maintains a shine with little or no care.

I did the Ucoatit system for the last garage and it was great. I spent alot of time on prep, acid etch etc. Results were excellent. I think it was around $300 for the kit.

My current garage I used Rustoleum's industrial floor coating. $80 at Home Depot. This stuff is actually better in my opinion. It is a 2 part epoxy which any epoxy you put on your floor and expect it to stay should be two part.

All expoxies are not created equal but with that being said make sure it is 2 part. You don't have to buy super duper commercial grade epoxies that are $$.

90% of getting excellent results is in the prep. 9 times out of 10 if your epoxy has lifted it is do to poor prep, uncured concrete, lime leaching or moisture trapped.

Anyway I did two coats on my floor and the results are nothing short of professional. I spent a day acid etching the floor - this is key. Not hard just tedious. The floor needs to be rough for the epoxy to do it's job.

Also drying time is key. Most need at least a week to cure fully. Foot traffic is fine in about a day. I put a dehumidifier in mine and got humidity levels down to 20% for about a week.

-Jeff

75blkcarrera · 01-26-2005, 02:05 PM

nolift911- I think you are right on. Prep is the key. A friend has used the Rustoleum product after he came over to my place and it came out good. Why did you put on two coats? Thanks

75blkcarrera · 01-26-2005, 02:35 PM

Chilling- When I built the shop the concrete contractor in his final troweling applied a thin layer of fiberglass. This was put in to keep the surface from "popping". (small quarter size pieces of surface come off after time) The little strands that come through the surface will break off with foot traffic. When I applied epoxy it imbedded these small FG pieces so the floor has a slight texture. In the kit you purchase there is a jar of Aluminum Oxide grit(same as blasting grit) that can be applied to the wet epoxy in areas that may be slippery. Ramps, stairs, etc. Remember I did not put on the clear epoxy for the final optional step. Hope this helps.

75blkcarrera · 01-26-2005, 02:48 PM

catca- The entire mixture is a warer base epoxy. The wet floor assists the epoxy to leach into the floor. The instructions have you to acid wash the floor(get it at the pool store), rinse, remove excess water, mix the epoxy and roll on, allow to dry. ( I did 24HR.) Mix 2nd. batch and apply over the first days work. Allow to dry. Go to the U-Coat-It web sight and they will send you all the info you needd to make your decission.

NoLift911 · 01-26-2005, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 75blkcarrera
nolift911- I think you are right on. Prep is the key. A friend has used the Rustoleum product after he came over to my place and it came out good. Why did you put on two coats? Thanks

Mainly just for coverage. One coat is good, two coats was better. With the amount of acid etch I did it soaked into the concrete pretty good. Two coats gave it that professional, finished look with uniforma coverage.

You can easily get away with one coat I jsut thought two coats was a better way to go for looks, for me.

-Jeff