Hi Trey. That’s great to hear. The clear coat definitely helps, but your experience tends to be more of the exception. Not everyone has problems with these types of coating materials within the first 4 – 5 years, however, based on the quality of the material, experience, and numerous (as well as very common) complaints of hot tire lift and worn coatings after a few years says otherwise.

I disagree with this statement at least partially. I used the rust-oleum two part kit and then put the clear coat on at my old house and never had a single issue. It looked good as new when I moved about 5 or so years later.

Hi Jeremy. 100% solids epoxy should not be mixed in batches of more than 1.5 total gallons at a time. Epoxy is exothermic and starts building heat as soon the two components begin to get mixed. A larger batch builds up heat faster and reduces pot life. In addition, once a 1.5 gallon batch is mixed it is immediately poured out onto the floor. If left in the bucket, it will get very hot and begin smoking within 5 minutes or so. At that point it is no good. I suggest you read our article here that covers general instructions for applying a garage floor coating. Also, pay close attention to the instructions that come from the vendor. They supersede any other general instructions.

I purchased a 100% solids 2 part epoxy from a vendor.

If I plan to put this down by myself, would you recommend doing anything differently? I was originally going to mix in smaller batches, but since its just me, I’m wondering if its better (or worse) to just mix the entire 2 gallons A and 1 gallon B together for 3 minutes and just pour on the floor as I go?

Hello Jeremy. That is correct, the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield kits are not going to go 5 – 10 years. You will most likely suffer some form of hot tire lift within a year or so and then experience wearing out of the epoxy before 5 years. The Rust-Oleum Professional kit may go 5 years plus depending on how you use the floor. Both only provide a semi gloss finish. This article here talks more about them.

If you want something that is going to push 10 years or more, then you will need a commercial quality epoxy flooring system. These are available as kits from a variety of vendors. This one by Epoxy-Coat and this one by Roll On Rock are some examples. Our sponsors have other examples as well. A typical kit will include an epoxy primer and a high solids (90% +) epoxy color coat. A high performance clear coat is recommend. Temperatures are an issue though when dealing with epoxy. Rust-Oleum should not be applied if temps drop below 60 degrees. When it does, the curing process stops and may not restart if and when it warms above that. Some commercial quality epoxy might have a limit of 55 degrees, but that’s as low as it gets. If temps are going to be an issue for you, then we suggest looking at a single-part polyurea coating. These are actually easier to apply and can be applied in temps down to 40 degrees depending on the manufacturer.

I’m interested in applying an epoxy coating on my garage floor, but would like something that can last 5-10 years. I have a 1.5 car detached garage. It seems there have been mixed reviews about the rust-oleum kits. Do you have any recommended alternatives? Whatever your recommendation – do

I have grinded my floor as a preparation step.

Thanks so much!