Painting Shop Floor?

[Jim Fox]

In my new shop, I am painting all the block walls with KillZ 2. I was thinking of painting the floor in some form or fashion. Plus it's blatently obvious now that the walls are painted that something needs to be done with the floor.

So has anyone used any of the rustoleum products on their floor? I see they have a couple new products out. One is a Professional Floor Coating, besides the Garage and Basement one they already have. Plus their is a new Concrete Paint they have.

Thoughts?

[Doug Shepard]

I looked at the Rustoleum but ended up going with a Sherwin-Williams epoxy because I wanted a white or ivory color to brighten things up.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37683
Maybe they make a white now, but when I was looking all they had was a gray and a beige. It's been down a year+ now and so far holding up very well.

[Michael Lutz]

I used the rustoeleum gray basement epoxy. I think it looks good. I skimped a little in my prepping of the floor, so I have some areas where the epoxy had issues with adhesion.

Mike

[Larry Conely]

I had several cement floors to finish at our cottage, some with exterior exposure. I used two different colors of cement floor paint and then two coats of clear finish. While the paint was still wet, I applied the confetti. It is available in quite a few different color schemes at paint stores. So far it is holding up well. I plan to do my shop floor like this. Someday.

[Eric Larsen]

I'm going with these guys:

www.musclegloss.com -- I'll post pics when I'm done

[Clay Crocker]

I used Rustoleum EpoxyShield Professional on my shop floor. It has been down for a year and I have been very happy with the results; it is very tough stuff. The professional is a two part solvent based epoxy, I think the regular EpoxyShield is water based. The key to any floor coating is proper surface preparation; cleaning, etching, neutralizing, cleaning again, and let dry completly before you put the coatind down.

Clay

[Charles Wiggins]

I used the rustoeleum gray basement epoxy. I think it looks good. I skimped a little in my prepping of the floor, so I have some areas where the epoxy had issues with adhesion.

Mike

I used the same product with the same results. I have just a few patches that have flaked a bit, because I should have cleaned more carefully:(, but overall the Rustoleum epoxy is great:). I've drug metal cabinets across it with negligible wear :D.

[Matt Meiser]

Jim if you are planning to paint your floor I would get on it pretty quick. When I was doing my shop I talked to a couple companies that did epoxy finishes and none of them would do it in January, even with a good furnace installed due to the cold temps. They wanted me to wait until late spring or summer. Since that was the only chance for my shop to be completely empty, 4 years later it is still bare concrete.

[Rich Dorffer]

In my new shop, I am painting all the block walls with KillZ 2. I was thinking of painting the floor in some form or fashion. Plus it's blatently obvious now that the walls are painted that something needs to be done with the floor.

So has anyone used any of the rustoleum products on their floor? I see they have a couple new products out. One is a Professional Floor Coating, besides the Garage and Basement one they already have. Plus their is a new Concrete Paint they have.

Thoughts?

I assume you mean a concrete floor. I would highly recommend Sherwin Williams ArmorSeal products, I did my shop floor (mechanical garage, lots of abuse) with their grey two-part epoxy (no flakes, they make it less practical in my opinion, especially finding small items you drop). I did a considerable amount of research on floor coatings before doing it.

I used Sherwin Williams ArmorSeal 1000 HS products as I believe it is more durable than many epoxies (I have had no chipping, peeling, etc.) and it is a two-part epoxy. Also, it was 1/2 the cost of all the highly marketed epoxies. I went with the haze grey (no chips or decorative nonsense). I added Shark Grip at 1/2 the suggested rate and I have no slip issues (and the grip doesn't feel like sand paper, it isn't that abrasive and works really well). If I was to do it again, I might use 1/4 the suggested amount of Shark Grip but that might be on the minimum side. As they say, prep is the key, I did all my own prep work and it was easily 90% of the total time I invested. I plan to do my house garage next year after seeing my results in my shop and living with it for over one year.

I would not recommend the concrete floor epoxies that you see at the big box stores like Rustoleum, no one likes a peeling concrete floor and this is not an area to short change. Again, prep is the key.

Regards,

Rich

[Denny Rice]

[QUOTE=Jim Fox;682843]In my new shop, I am painting all the block walls with KillZ 2. I was thinking of painting the floor in some form or fashion. Plus it's blatently obvious now that the walls are painted that something needs to be done with the floor.

So has anyone used any of the rustoleum products on their floor? I see they have a couple new products out. One is a Professional Floor Coating, besides the Garage and Basement one they already have. Plus their is a new Concrete Paint they have.

Jim,

I have redone my shop this summer and one of the things I did was to take and paint my floors with the rustoleum product. It looks great and is holding up great. I painted my basement floor with this product over 3 yrs ago and it is also holding up very good. Before starting get your technique down so you don't paint yourself in a corner and make sure you have enough product (it took two gallons to cover my shop) and it also helps to have a helper (the wife helped me both times). I got the job on my knees of cutting in around the walls with a 3" brush and she got the easy job of roller on the extension. Like I said you will need a helper, you will paint about a 6x6 section and then spread chips, paint another 6x6 section and spread more chips (if you wait too long the chips will not stick to epoxy base.) Hope this helps.

[Ken Shoemaker]

Read Mr. Crocker's post. I would have written it if he didn't. The garage floor didn't work worth a crap because of the tires and the weight of the car. But in my shop I love it. The floor sweeps MUCH easier and stay the shop stays cleaner.

Shop - good / Garage - BAD!!!

Good luck!! Ken

[Bernhard Lampert]

I used Rostoleum Proffesional (2 part epoxy, cost for 1 gal $99, cames in 2 cans). Resulst are very good.
My shop was new construction, but part of it has been used for storage during house construction.
Floor was thoroughly cleaned ( water and a stiff brush, followed by hydrochloric acid (dilute aka muriatic acid), rinsed thoroughly with water). Floor needs to clean, dry and air temp should be above 60 and below 85, otherwise the epoxy cure time is slow or it will set up in the bucket at high temps. Each 10 degrees in temperature increase will shorten work time by about half. I used Behr epoxy primer first to seal, otherwise your final coat may not cover and the sealer is a hell of a lot less expensive.
One gal covered about 200 sqft, not the advertised rate of 350 sgft. Epoxy is slick, so I added a product from Sherwin Williams ('Sharks teeth'); it will provide good traction, but still leaves the a smooth floor. I hate the flakes, I prefer a light grey floor; it is easier on the eye and you'll find small parts that dropped to the floor much easier.
I cut the corners with a cheap brush and used a 18" roller with a long pole for the floor. Be shure to use a roller that is solvent resistant (the epoxy containes organics (xylenes, toluene) as solvents that will eat up a cheap roller.Just poor small amounts of the epoxy on the floor and roll it out. Small imperfections in the floor will also get fill and disappear. Do not overwork the floor, it will get bumpy.
You'll need a respirator with a carbon cartridge, rubber gloves (regular nitrile or lates will dissolve), a clean 5 gal bucket for mixing (do not mix in the product can, it does not work!), a mixing paddle on a drill. Toluene can be used to clean up a spill.. at least somewhat. Rollers and brushes cannot be cleaned. Also ones, the stuff is mixed the clock starts ticking, so just mix enough to be finished within 45 min depending on temperature. I also added a bit of toluene to the mix to improve workability, it improves flow.
And the most important thing, which I almost forgot: You must test your floor to see if it is dry! Place a piece of paper (newspaper is okay) cover is with clear plastic and tape it down on the floor for about 5 days. After 5 days remove it, if you feel any dampness or see condensation, you cannot use epoxy; it will lift off.

My floor is about 2 years old now, I skidded haevy machinery on it (metal working lathe, 3400lbs) spilled solvents, dropped hammers or pieces of steel and I only see a couple of scratches.

Good luck!
Bernhard

[Gary Keedwell]

I used Rustoleum EpoxyShield Professional on my shop floor. It has been down for a year and I have been very happy with the results; it is very tough stuff. The professional is a two part solvent based epoxy, I think the regular EpoxyShield is water based. The key to any floor coating is proper surface preparation; cleaning, etching, neutralizing, cleaning again, and let dry completly before you put the coatind down.

Clay
Clay...Your absolutely right about preparation. I did mine like you said. Clean-rinse...clean-rinse..etch-etch...seal... My buddy did a hack clean job and his started peeling almost immediately. Mine is on 4 th year and doin great. (knock on wood)
Gary

[J.R. Rutter]

This may seem like a crazy question, but has anyone just put down some KILZ onto concrete? Does it eventually wear through rather than flake off?

I've done epoxy in a family business and it IS great with proper prep. But right now, I'm just leasing shop space for my business and don't have time to shift things around more than over a long weekend. Got to keep churning out the sawdust! It would help tremendously to have a lighter colored floor and would look better in the short term, which is what I'm interested in, in this case.

[Brandon Shew]

I used Rustoleum EpoxyShield Professional on my shop floor. It has been down for a year and I have been very happy with the results; it is very tough stuff. The professional is a two part solvent based epoxy, I think the regular EpoxyShield is water based. The key to any floor coating is proper surface preparation; cleaning, etching, neutralizing, cleaning again, and let dry completly before you put the coating down.

Clay

I did the same thing a year ago. I spent lots of time on the prep and I had great results.

[glenn bradley]

If you are lucky enough to have the opportunity to treat your floor, by all means do so. A buddy of mine refused to let anything get moved into the garage at his new house till he laid down epoxy-paint.

If you're going to go through the effort, do it right. Take your time with the prep. This will pay off in spades over the years. My buddy works on motorcycles and drags frames, his drill press and all sorts of other nasty things back and forth all the time. This stuff is really tough.

[Steve Mellott]

In my basement shop (no car traffic, oil or grease), I used Behr porch and floor enamel. Prior to painting the floor, I washed it thoroughly with a mop and scrub brush. The paint has been down for 1 year and so far, everything has worked fine.

[Robert Goodwin]

I my mistake went with a water based, and ended up spending 1 month scraping it back off, even though it was a brand new floor and I prepped by the books. I used the rustolium industrial and it is as if it fused with the concrete.

[Robert Townsend-Manning]

I'm not sure what the cost of the floor treatments you are considering. I used "RaceDeck" flooring. It completely covers the floor and can be just about any color or pattern you can imagine. An 18x24 shop area cost about $1200. It is good to about 5000 psi. It is easy on the feet and knees. The Powermatic 2000 rolls around like it is on ice (when necessary). It cleans up easy. I installed mine in two hours. Goggle RaceDeck, they have plenty of pictures.

[Kyle Kraft]

Jim,

Speaking from a disastrous floor painting experience, I only have three words....Vapor Emissions Test.

Contact a real paint store and they will perform one on your floor for a slight nominal fee. If you have too much vapor passing through your floor, the paint will never adhere properly.

I put a vapor barrier under my concrete floor, waited the recommended period of time, etched the floor...all the textbook & manufacturers recommendations, and three years afterwards the paint continues to peel up.:mad:

[Bill Fellmy]

I used the Rustoleum product in my 2 1/2 car garage 4 years ago and today it looks as good as new. As others have commented, preparation is a key and sweeping is much easier than bare concrete. When our house was new, I spent an entire autumn day moving everything out of the garage, doing the acid treatment, using a power spray rinse, then letting fans dry the floor for maybe 3 hours before painting with the tan color and sprinkling on the color chips. Total cost...$99.

Unlike others, I have not had a problem with car tire damage but then I hardly ever park a car in my workshop...er, garage. Make sure you let the epoxy cure for at least 7 days before driving on it though.