Anyone ever used the Rustoleum Epoxy Floor Coating or similar product?

I have a metal shop building thats concrete floor seems to be very damp during cold and wet weather...and leaves white chaulky residue if you leave like a floor rug in one place too long

So...Im thinking about applying the floor epoxy to seal the moisture out and make it look nice too...Plan to do this next summer and apply the coating after cleaning and renting a floor sander to prep the surface?

Just curious if anyone has used this stuff with a similar concrete moisture issue? Good or bad results?

Thanks you guys are awesome....

Steve

The white chalky stuff is "efflorescence" - basically the salts in the concrete being washed out by moisture coming through it. So you are getting moisture up through the concrete slab, which acts like a sponge.

I'm guessing that there was no visquene (sp?) vapor barrier (plastic) put under the slab. The epoxy floor coating should adequately seal it up, but any mfgr. from the Lowes, Home Depot, Ace, Arrow, Menards, etc. will work - so long as you follow their proper prep instructions.

BTW - sanding the floor shouldn't be necessary, as it's more critical to patch any cracks per their instructions for prep.

You could probably still geterdun before the Fall/Winter weather hits up there!

I did my floor with the basic Home Depot Rustoleum Epoxy kit anout 7-8 years ago. It came with the citrus concentrate cleaner that worked well for my application. There are stronger and better ways to get adhesion though.
The floor was slick as snot for the first several years if it got wet, even with the paint chips. A sand filler would have given a better traction, but it would not have cleaned up as well. The floor needs to be absolutely dry before you can apply the coating. I did mine in the fall when we had very dry cool days.

You may need a more specific industrial strength coating to give you the sealant and durability that your looking for though. I've put the floor through alot of car build projects, and it is in need of a redo now, and my floor would only moderately sweat with condensation before the coating. But it did stick well.
It still condensates with the coating on the really humid days.

Kevin

1st of all - the Rustoleum Product is crap, especially the 1-part stuff. Most of the stuff sold at Home Improvement Big Boxes is junk. The best products are Pro-products. Do the job right the 1st time and don't look back

2nd, the floor needs to be cleaned with a de-greaser, then rinsed, then rinsed again, then rinsed again

3rd, if you have efflorescence, that needs to be removed via Acid etching, which you need to do anyway to open up the pores of the concrete. Again rinse again multiple times. If you have Any degreaser or acid residue, that can cause an adhesion problem

If the floor has a hard-troweled finish-is very smooth or there is any existing finish on the concrete, you need to rent a shot-blaster to rough up the concrete. Sanding won't do snot on concrete

I used to sell Concrete Coatings. Read the labels - if it will kill you, it will work well on your floor. If it is environmentally friendly, it ain't going to last.

Check out garagejournal.com there is a whole section on flooring

Proper preparation is the key.

Check out http://www.epoxy-coat.com - highly recommended.

Stay far away from U-Coat-it stuff... JMHO.

I first acid-etched the floor. Then I used the Home Depot stuff and now 5 years later it needs to be redone. That is pretty good performance for the price in my book. I can do this 2 more times before I approach the price of the better stuff. YMMV

wit, you got 5 years, but if you did it today I bet you wouldn't get 3. The Home Depot/Lowes philosophy is to squeeze venders for lower prices. The Only way to do that is to cheapen the product.

Also what is made today may not be chemically compatable with the stuff you put down before. Therefore it might not stick to the original. A good example is the Xylene products I sold 12-15 years ago - that stuff was like Iron, but you couldn't put epoxies over it, only xylene, which is near impossible to get now.

I have also sold Professional 2 Part epoxies and 1 part water-based epoxies. The 1 part wears out fast and I don't recommend it

Do any of them hold up to welding?

I used the epoy coat product on my floor. Works very well and much cheaper and better coverage than the u-coat it product. Weld splatter can discolor it. I use a welding blanket to protect it.
David

I used the Rustoleum product 7 years ago. I used the supplied citric acid prep and followed the directions to the T. Now, the only place I have had issues with is under my work bench where it was hard to get under for prep (much like cars, the quality is in the prep).

Sure, there are better products out there....but for my cheap ass seven years + worth of wear and tear and still going = worth the money. It has even held up to some of my burnouts fairly well.

If I had to do it again though, I would go with one of the professional coats.

The slab can be easily tested for moisture vapor transmission. The easy way is to simply put a rubber mat on it or tape clear plastic sheeting down to it for a couple days. If moisture accumulates under the plastic/mat you've got a moisture vapor problem to solve before any coating can go down.

I vote with the others...use the best quality products, do it once, you will not be sorry. This is part of what I do for a living.

..Proper prep as noted & custodial janitorial supply
is the place! ..expensive but, worth it in quality.

I used a commercial grade 2 part epoxy 8 years ago. I have one small chip the size of a match head. I droppped a tranny. The comm grade cost about 50% more and wasn't available with those fancy flakes either. I washed, acid etched and rinsed a new floor per instructions. My neighbor can't park his car on his Depot sludge if the tires are hot from a hiway run. No . If he does the "paint" comes off the floor and sticks to his tires. Priceless

This is worth checking out.

My neighbor saw it in a school and the staff said it is indestructible:

One Day Floors

TC - Are you familiar with this product? I am stopping by there Oklahoma City distributor next week to talk to them about putting the clear over my black and white vinyl tile (VCT) floor in the garage.

No I haven't heard of that system, but the reason it is One Day is because it is Xylene based - Dries very quickly & Flammable - And you definately don't want to breathe that in

It looks to be a Trained Contractor Ap

It should last very well

If the Clear is also Xylene based ( and I think it is) it will Melt your VCT Tiles

....EVERYTHING I have read here is very good advise.....here is what I know, from direct observation of floor sealants on shop, auto and machine, floors...Preperation is essential..AND you should allow double the drying/curing time recommended, and use fans and install in hot dry weather......If the Concrete is not absolutely clean the floor system will not stick, and will come up....If the concrete is not "roughed up" that is the concrete must not have a slick smooth finish......the concrete must be "dry" all the time...meaning if you have water seepage, moisture, condensation, comming up through the concrete floor the floor sealant will not hold up for long...(The contractor did not use a vapor barrier between the aggritate, or finished grade when the concrete floor was pored. moisture is "wicked up" thru the concrete.(a major cause of mold in homes by the way)....The best products are the "professional grade products"., I got mine at "lowes" and It has held up for ..8..Eight years and it,s still in good shape.

Thanks TC. I was afraid of that (VCT melting) that was going to be question number one when I stop by there. I saw they have a trained contractor here in town - I might run the clear over VCT process by him. I will let you know.

I would also suggest that you try to address the moisture problem. If you have moisture transmission through your slab then that water is coming from somewhere - high water table combined with no vapor barrier under the slab most likely. Hard to be real specific not seeing your property, but it might be worth putting a french drain around your foundation and piping that water away from the building entirely. Then your slab can dry out properly and you might be able to get by with a cheaper coating.

I certainly wouldn't put the cheap stuff over the slab as-is. You'll get bubbles in the finish from the vapor drive up thru the slab.

TC,

You are right on the money! I heard from the local contractor and he said it would indeed melt the VCT....

Back to stripping and waxing for me!

We use a product from Sherman Williams at work. We beat the crap out of a floor and the metal chips from the machines get everywhere and ground into the floor. I holds up but is very high $$$$

It is a two part product....and the fumes are pretty strong

I just did half of my shop with Rustolem 2 part epoxy coating from Menards. I did the proper prep and acid etched the floor. I am so happy I plan on doing the rest of the shop. I got better coverage than I expected. Another 2 gal kit should be enough. Time will tell how well it will hold up. It really brightens up the floor and looks great. This product cleans up with Xylene.

If you have moisture coming up from below the floor, nothing you put on will every stay...it will lift. If there is no vapor barrier under the floor, it wont stop.
You can pour over the floor with a vapor barrier and a special concrete that has no aggregate, that will seal the vapor out.

Get some proper heat and ventilation with a dehumidifier in there first...
If you want color, dye the floor with a porous concrete dye

Rich