EPOXYShield

BW · 12-23-01, 11:46

I was looking back through my Car and Driver magazines, and found a review on some garage-floor paint in the May 2001 issue. If you don't mind, here it is:

A neat garage begins with a clean floor, and keeping that floor clean is infinitely easier if it’s painted. Problem is that hot tires tend to lift off most paint that has been applied to concrete, and the industrial-grade two-part epoxy finishes that can withstand heat cost hundreds of dollars per gallon.

EPOXYShield paint promises to solve these problems. Because it is water-based, this two-part formulation doesn’t emit noxious odors while drying and makes for easy clean-up. The kit comes with a detergent to be used first to scrub the floor clean of grease and oil. Acid etching is neither required nor recommended. After a 24-hour wait for the floor to dry, the paint can be applied using a brush for the edges of the floor and a roller for the main area.

The paint went on smoothly and without difficulty, producing and even, glossy surface, although we needed two kits to cover a bay that is 30-by-20 feet. Then you must keep tires off the fresh surface for three days, so we performed the job just before leaving for a week’s vacation.

After six months, the paint has help up beautifully, except for one area where we failed to thoroughly clean some oil drippings from the concrete prior to painting. The floor jack hasn’t even broken through its surface. The kit costs $53, and it’s easily the best inexpensive garage-floor paint we’ve seen (Rust-Oleum, 800-323-3584; www.rustoleum.com).

So has anyone tried it, and recommend it? Or is it still best to have the floor professionally painted? Your input would be appreciated.

Thanks!

BradE · 12-24-01, 10:27

BW,

I tried it, and I was not happy with it. I cleaned the floor exactally like they said in their instructions, and the floor failed. First off, it's not a high gloss at all. There is not much gloss to it at all, I would say it's low gloss at best. After about 3 months it started lifting under the tires.

I would say go with a pro job if you can afford it, otherwise you could try EXPOYShield, if you do I hope you have better luck than I did.

Gene Arch · 12-24-01, 11:23

I tried it in my previous home. I followed the directions to the letter and it peeled in about 45 days. You get what you pay for. In this home I had it professionally done and I couldn;t be happier. This pic is from a few months ago (before the back wall was finished) and you can see the floor is really nice.

JohnN · 12-24-01, 11:32

I bought the EpoxyShield, but never used it. You have to go 7 days without putting a vehicle on it (!) - which meant I'd have to park my car on the street, in NYC (or in other words, "donate" it).

Gene - that's a great looking job! Mind if I asked how much it ran, how many days you couldn't drive on it, and how many square feet? I think my next step is a pro job.

BW · 12-24-01, 11:51

Thanks for the replies! I guess its best to have it professionally done. Anybody think of tiling the garage floor?

Gene Arch · 12-25-01, 12:24

Quote:

Originally posted by JohnN
I bought the EpoxyShield, but never used it. You have to go 7 days without putting a vehicle on it (!) - which meant I'd have to park my car on the street, in NYC (or in other words, "donate" it).

Gene - that's a great looking job! Mind if I asked how much it ran, how many days you couldn't drive on it, and how many square feet? I think my next step is a pro job.

Small garage so it ran $1.350.00. It took them 5 days to cpmplete the job and I couldn't drive on it for 7 after it was done. it was a bit of a bummer but I planned it before my new car arrived so it wasn't that bad. You could walk on it after 3 days though.