DIY epoxy garage / shop floor coatings

My new garage is almost done and I want the brand new concrete floor coated before either of the following occurs: a)winter arrives or b) I have to change oil/tranny fluid/hydro fluid/etc and do an Exon Valdez all over the floor.

No, I’m not going to hire it done. Got bids already, lowest is about $3 billion and would require a new mortgage. Oh, and as a plus, the earliest anyone can do it is December/January so that’s a no it’s a DIY or bust.

For background, the garage is 24×30. I do a lot of mechanical stuff, outboards, small engines, ag equipment, aircraft engines (non-turbine only now due to neighborhood Karen’s constant b!tching about test-runs) , etc. Lots of fluid spills and inevitable.

Interested in hearing from those of you who have done it yourself. What product did you use and how is it holding up?

I did the Rustoleum stuff on my parent’s last 2 garages. I would not have done that product, but that’s what dad wanted to do/pay for. My impressions are that it’s okay for the cost and if you don’t mind redoing parts of it every few years. I won’t be going with this for my garage.

Have heard good things about Epoxy-Coat products. Anyone done this brand and how many mils did you do? Major concern with this one is how slippery is it when done?

Other DIY products/systems you recommend?

I gotta get on this quick-like. Thanks guys as usual for all the advice.

Grouse

I do epoxy floor coatings weekly on the side. Its about as simple as it can get the products are endless.

Maybe not what you are looking for long term, but I use the Rust-Oleum concrete paint on my garage floor. I re-paint it about every 2 years. The areas that wear out the quickest are obviously where you drive/park with your vehicles. I have owned this house since 2012 (new) and it has done a good job of protection. Its very easy to do. All I do is mop/clean the floor, allow it to completely dry, and then paint it on with a roller. A gallon of it is relatively cheap too, maybe 25 bucks. Think of it like a wood deck; it will need to be re-stained occasionally for protection.

The photo is from May 2020.

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gimruis wrote:

Maybe not what you are looking for long term, but I use the Rust-Oleum concrete paint on my garage floor. I re-paint it about every 2 years. The areas that wear out the quickest are obviously where you drive/park with your vehicles. I have owned this house since 2012 (new) and it has done a good job of protection. Its very easy to do. All I do is mop/clean the floor, allow it to completely dry, and then paint it on with a roller. A gallon of it is relatively cheap too, maybe 25 bucks. Think of it like a wood deck; it will need to be re-stained occasionally for protection.

The photo is from May 2020.

Why not do it the right way 1 time instead of always redoing it? I don’t get that

Bearcat89 wrote:

Why not do it the right way 1 time instead of always redoing it? I don’t get that

I don’t disagree with that. And quite honestly the next house I purchase I will be doing just that.

In the meantime this is what I have done and it has worked pretty well. I wasn’t intending to live in this house long term when I bought it so that’s partly why I didn’t do the long term solution.

I see alot of people use the cheap stuff and have to redo it more often then not. Or if a oil or water sit on it, it’ll peel instead of block. I grind up quite a few garage and basements trying to get that stuff up. But the good products are not cheap but they are great products backed with great warranties. The cheap ones look good for 1 month and then the headache begins

I have done the rust oleum in my garage a few times.
But to clarify the floor was a mess. The floor settled and turned into a bowl. The salt destroyed the integrity of the concrete.
Epoxy coating was cheaper than new concrete.
First try I think there was too much flaky concrete that came loose and I didn’t get a sufficient etching.
Lasted 3 winters.
The second coat I removed more loose concrete and etched it much better.
It is holding up ok, but I think I will recoat next year to cover up the hateful traction flakes that come in the kit.
I would avoid those at all cost if you work in your garage.
It’s really hard to find small parts that fall on the floor with all the multi colored specks and it makes sweeping harder.

I don’t understand the advantage to epoxied floors. Looks? Longevity? When I built my shop I never even considered, but maybe I’m the one missing out.

Anybody??

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand the advantage to epoxied floors. Looks? Longevity? When I built my shop I never even considered, but maybe I’m the one missing out.

Anybody??

I’m with you

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand the advantage to epoxied floors. Looks? Longevity? When I built my shop I never even considered, but maybe I’m the one missing out.

Anybody??

Oil and stain resistant. Did a floor not long ago, the guy shortly later changed oil in his truck spilled over a gallon on the epoxy and soaked it up with absorbing material and you couldn’t see a spot it was spilled. Not the cheap rustolem stuff won’t do anything. Besides be a headache.
A good sealer will do the same as epoxy

I hired mine out and cant complain one bit. Its not the cheapest (3.50 sq ft) but its guaranteed for life and wont ever have to worry about it. Like others have said, id rather spend the money 1x then redo it every 2 years

I can refer you to a distributor of mine that would give ya a diy lesson and sell ya all the professional products needed.

They may rent the buffing equipment too.

There is a Minnesota made product that good, I can not remember the name but the more solids the more $

I think sherwin Williams sells a good product. A buddy use to do it often. They would grind the floor and then do it. Are you going to let the concrete cure before doing it?

I did it once with Sherwin Williams products, at a shop I was working at. It was not cheap, it held up well, although I have not seen it lately. The key was to clean it well, etch it properly, and then lay down there two part expoxy coating. Be sure to ventilate well, that stuff was nasty. Caught a buzz a few times and needed to take a break.

Anonymous wrote:

bsorbing material and you couldn’t see a spot it was spilled. Not the cheap rustolem stuff won’t do anything. Besides be a headache.

Just a good seal, I would peel any good floor in a week or two. I am hard as hell on stuff.

Charles wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mnice wrote:</div>
bsorbing material and you couldn’t see a spot it was spilled. Not the cheap rustolem stuff won’t do anything. Besides be a headache.

Just a good seal, I would peel any good floor in a week or two. I am hard as hell on stuff.

Like I said above. A good sealer will do the same as epoxy

Anonymous wrote:

I don’t understand the advantage to epoxied floors. Looks? Longevity? When I built my shop I never even considered, but maybe I’m the one missing out.

Anybody??

Cuz it looks great and cleans up even better.

It’s like fiberglass versus aluminum boats. Once you have it you never go back.

Okay, thanks for the replies, guys.

I’ve been there / done that with the Rustoleum product and as mentioned I won’t be going that direction. It’s not, IMO, heavy duty enoug for my needs and I don’t want to get into a situation where it has to be redone every other year. BTW, I found the Rustoleum fine for basement floors. Works great and they don’t take the beating that a garage floor does.

Coletrain27 wrote:

mnice wrote:
I don’t understand the advantage to epoxied floors. Looks? Longevity? When I built my shop I never even considered it, but maybe I’m the one missing out.

Anybody??

I’m with you

For me, it’s all about keeping spilled oils and fuels from soaking in and staining the floor. Cleanup time is a fraction of what it would be without a coated floor. Also sweeping the floor is easier and cleaner than with rough bare concrete.

David Blais wrote:

Are you going to let the concrete cure before doing it?

The floor was poured in early June. Is that considered “cured”?

I did the moisture test as recommended by Epoxy Coat, 1 square foot under plastic for 1 day and there was no condensation. That’s all they recommended on new concrete, they said there was no “minimum” it all depends on concrete and conditions.

Still wondering has anyone tired Epoxy-Coat brand?

I used the Rustoleum poly-amine product last summer. Low odor. Buy twice as much – as advertised coverage is a bit thin. It’s all about the prep – I took 2 weekends of scraping, power washing and oil stain removal products to get the surface clean. Once you get the surface clean, it requires an etch, which is provided (citric acid, so low odor). Work in manageable ~12X12 areas. The system uses a two part mix bag and that will cover a ~12X12 area adequately. Do not forget or leave out the paint chips after rolling out the product as the finished/cured surface will be slippery. I also added the clear a top-coat with the silica grit and sprinkled sand over it before dry. It is tough! Other than very minor scratches it looks great, no peeling.
Tip – if you coat during the heating portion of the day (like I did on the on the first half of my garage), bubbles will appear as the slab is heating up and off – gassing. I had hundreds of bubbles that formed and dried – I had to slice them off with a razor blade before applying the top coat. The second half was applied in very late afternoon/early evening – no bubbles.

~ $650 for supplies

“For me, it’s all about keeping spilled oils and fuels from soaking in and staining the floor. Cleanup time is a fraction of what it would be without a coated floor. Also sweeping the floor is easier and cleaner than with rough bare concrete.”

I forgot to tell you, I am so good I never spill any oil, brake fluid, tranny fluid in my shop

Anonymous wrote:

I forgot to tell you, I am so good I never spill any oil, brake fluid, tranny fluid in my shop

I’m basically the Exon Valdez of the workshop. Where I go, an oil slick is going to follow, it’s just a matter of time.

I was just congratulating myself on changing oil on my tractor up at the hunting farm without spilling a drop. My dad even commented on the momentous occasion, the cardboard was still clean.

It wasn’t 2 minutes later, and I went to dispose of the old oil filter and it slipped out of my hand, bounced off the top of the front tire, and did 7 or 8 oil-spewing flips on its way to doing a perfect belly flop into the pan of used oil. The splash and resulting used oil mushroom cloud soaked about a 2 square mile area. I swear that the resulting spill was like 12 quarts of oil even though the tractor only holds 6 quarts of oil.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mnice wrote:</div>
I forgot to tell you, I am so good I never spill any oil, brake fluid, tranny fluid in my shop

I’m basically the Exon Valdez of the workshop. Where I go, an oil slick is going to follow, it’s just a matter of time.

I was just congratulating myself on changing oil on my tractor up at the hunting farm without spilling a drop. My dad even commented on the momentous occasion, the cardboard was still clean.

It wasn’t 2 minutes later, and I went to dispose of the old oil filter and it slipped out of my hand, bounced off the top of the front tire, and did 7 or 8 oil-spewing flips on its way to doing a perfect belly flop into the pan of used oil. The splash and resulting used oil mushroom cloud soaked about a 2 square mile area. I swear that the resulting spill was like 12 quarts of oil even though the tractor only holds 6 quarts of oil.

That Grouse was hilarious as usual!!

I’ve used Sherwin Williams Tile Clad HS on two garage floors and one basement floor. It’s very durable. I’d recommend it. After 17 years, the first garage floor was still looking good when I sold the house. I applied it to a virgin garage floor that had never been driven on but the floor was several months old. It was a model home. The basement floor looked new after 17 years although it did not get much use.

The second garage floor had been driven on for a six months included the winter with snow and ice before I coated it. That floor had some small spots where the concrete spalled. I think the problem was perhaps contamination to the concrete before I applied the Tile Clad.

I acid etched all floors and then let them dry for several days before coating them. I’ve read that mechanical abrasion prep is better than acid etch.

The Tile Clad is a two-part epoxy. It’s a bit tricky to work with because you have to mix it together in a 1:1 ratio and then let it sit for about 30 minutes before coating it. And once it’s mixed, there’s a pot life before it starts to crosslink and become unusable. So it takes a bit more planning. For best results, put on two thick coats.

Anonymous wrote:

“For me, it’s all about keeping spilled oils and fuels from soaking in and staining the floor. Cleanup time is a fraction of what it would be without a coated floor. Also sweeping the floor is easier and cleaner than with rough bare concrete.”

If your new finished concrete garage slab is ” rough” you have picked the wrong concrete contractor. Should be as smooth as butter.

I used epoxy coat, Grouse and have had no complaints. I used the non skid additive and like it.
Like any project the prep work is key but with a fresh slab it should be easy.
I chose the “better” option
I’ve spilled gas, oil, all kinds of stuff and it cleans right up.

So what do you guys use to get oil/stains out of a regular old concrete garage floor?

stout93 wrote:

So what do you guys use to get oil/stains out of a regular old concrete garage floor?

There are different products that you can use for this. Just do a Google search.

As for epoxy products I recommend is rokrez and spartan products.

I started a small epoxy floor company years ago and used Durall products. They’re a local company, and spent a lot of time with me getting the right stuff for the particular job I was doing. At the time I was using it, they said that Northwest Airlines was using their stuff in their hangars. After 7 years most of my jobs still looked very good. http://concrete-floor-coatings.com/

I’ve done a large handful of ido members garages now, I have been using the the rustoleum product with no issues as all. Only issue is box to box the color doesn’t match 100 percent. And you can’t mix it all at 1 time for 3 car and larger garages.

The main goal is deep clean, fillers, grinding, acid and pressure washing. Lots of prep