When RockSolid introduced its new line of Polycuramine garage floor and interior coatings, we were left scratching our heads at first. After all, what in the heck is Polycuramine? We admit we had never heard of it before. Moreover, what happened to the old RockSolid Polyurea garage floor coating, and why the change? Furthermore, why is Rust-Oleum’s name on RockSolid’s product?
After being asked by more than one reader, we decided it was time to see what the Polycuramine fuss was about. We wanted to know if it’s better than garage floor epoxy as RockSolid claims. In addition, we wanted to know why Rust-Oleum is involved.
Lastly, we wanted to determine if the Polycuramine garage floor coating is better than the older Polyurea coating that it has replaced. As a result, we have done a deep dive into RockSolid to get a better understanding of what this coating is and if we recommend it.
This article was first published in July 2014 and has been updated to reflect the latest information. Please read the latest update near the end. It reveals the most common complaints and issues over the years that you need to be aware of.
What is Polycuramine?
To best describe what Polycuramine is, we need a brief history of RockSolid Floors. This will help explain why Polycuramine was developed and how Rust-Oleum became involved.
RockSolid Floors was established in 2007 as an affiliate of Citadel Floor Finishing Systems. Citadel is a well-established, 40-year-old plus industrial floor finishing manufacturer that specializes in polyaspartic and polyurea technologies.
Realizing that there was a DIY demand for polyurea coatings, RockSolid Floors was born to provide a friendlier DIY version of the commercial quality Citadel polyurea. The RockSolid brand is probably best known for providing the A and B components in ready-to-mix sealed burst pouches that do not require a mixing bucket.
In January 2014, Rust-Oleum acquired Citadel and thus inherited the RockSolid line of floor coating products. As a result, all RockSolid products now come with Rust-Oleum branding. All customer service inquiries for RockSolid go directly to Rust-Oleum as well.
Polycuramine is a newly trademarked product that was developed the previous year by Citadel and found its way into the RockSolid lineup. It’s a proprietary blend that is alleged to combine the best benefits of Polyurea, Polyurethane, and Epoxy.
The following is a quote from a RockSolid sales page:
RockSolid Polycuramine™ is the best of Polyurea, Urethane, and Epoxy chemistries. It combines these three chemistries and their key attributes into ONE indestructible, self-leveling, flexible, fast curing, high gloss coating system.
RockSolid states that its Polycuramine garage floor coating is 20 times stronger than epoxy paint. It has a 96% solids content, a high gloss finish, and is impervious to all chemicals. The coating can be installed in one day, walked on in 8 – 10 hours, and driven on within 24 hours.
It also has the added advantage of an installation temperature range of 40°F – 90°F. In addition, RockSolid has a low VOC content with minimal odor and a limited lifetime warranty as well.
Each Polycuramine Garage Floor Coating kit consists of one burst pouch of colored Polycuramine to cover up to 250 ft². Included are decorative color flakes, the required foam roller, concrete etch solution, and of course instructions. There are six colors to choose from as well – Black, Dark Grey, Grey, Tan, Mocha, and Modern Griege.
You can view their information page and color chart here.
Our evaluation of RockSolid Polycuramine Garage Floor Coating
We feel that this new lineup for RockSolid couldn’t have come at a better time. Though the Polyurea garage coat kit that it replaced was a fairly good product, many of the reviews for it by the average DIY installer were less than great.
There are many benefits to a polyurea garage floor coating, but the pitfalls for the old RockSolid polyurea DIY coating was is in the installation. As a result, there were numerous complaints about delamination and finish issues.
Many if not most of these issues were due in part to the limited application time available. Polyurea cures fairly quickly. If it wasn’t applied in 20 to 30 minutes, it would begin to thicken up and problems ensued. It just wasn’t that DIY-friendly.
For example, it would not have enough time to seep into the pores of dense concrete that was prepped by etching and not by grinding. This led to delamination issues of the coating. Secondly, if you didn’t get the product down fast enough, the finish would not be very glossy and could get bumpy or lose its smooth texture among other issues.
After doing a bit of research, we learned that these problems should be solved with the new RockSolid Polycuramine coating.
First, we called the Rust-Oleum tech line. They stated that the new RockSolid Polycuramine formula has superior wetting characteristics (similar to epoxy). As a result, it allows the coating to penetrate the concrete much better for superior adhesion. This is a big help for concrete that is etched instead of prepped by grinding.
In addition, we learned that you have 45 minutes to one hour to apply the Polycuramine. This should be more than enough time to apply up to 250 ft² of product. The longer pot life should alleviate many of the finish issues that resulted from the short installation window of before.
However, we do have to question some of RockSolid’s marketing methods. They claim that their new Polycuramine formulation is 20 times stronger than epoxy paint. Really? Their older polyurea product claimed it was only 4 times stronger.
Try as we might, we could not find an actual 2-part epoxy floor coating with only a 33% solids content as RockSolid compares it to. After digging a bit deeper, we discovered that what they are comparing it to is paint – 1 part epoxy paint that is (link). That is like comparing apples to oranges.
1-part epoxy paint is not an epoxy coating and the only product available with such a low solids content. We feel that this is misleading if not deceiving. They should be comparing it to a true 2-part epoxy. It’s tactics like this that create ruined expectations of garage floor coatings.
They also claim that the new Polycuramine blend combines the best of Polyurea, Polyurethane, and Epoxy. That isn’t necessarily true either. History has shown time and again for sealers and coatings that by combining the best of everything you will not get the best attributes of each ingredient.
Polyurethane for example is known for being very resistant to chemicals, has high abrasion resistance, and is U.V. stable. Though RockSolid Polycuramine has good chemical resistance, it is not U.V. stable and can yellow if exposed to direct sunlight for lengths of time – just as epoxy does.
It’s also not nearly as resistant to abrasion as most polyurethane or polyurea coatings. For example, the abrasion rate for Polycuramine is 40 mg. That’s about equivalent to a high solids epoxy and better than the inexpensive epoxy garage kits. However, a typical abrasion rating for polyurea is approximately 8 – 12 mg. You can find the RockSolid datasheets here.
This means that a polyurea coating would last much longer or wear many times slower than Polycuramine. We suggest reviewing how to read datasheets for coatings to learn more.
Another concern is that RockSolid Polycuramine is a thin coating. It has a dry film thickness of only 3 mils. That’s about half as thick as a typical polyurea coating. A high solids epoxy is approximately 8 – 10 mils thick for a DIY kit. Our guess is they need the coating to be thinner to get the coverage rate they require to keep the price point competitive.
As a result of the thin mil color coat, we recommend a second coat of clear Polycuramine to provide for an overall thicker coating. This will protect the color coat, and provide a deeper glossy look.
Would we recommend RockSolid Polycuramine?
With all that said, initial responses from consumers have been positive. Reports are that the new RockSolid Polycuramine garage coating formula is easier to apply DIY than the previous polyurea formula.
Few issues about the finish have been raised so far that we are aware of. In fact, it’s one of the most glossy coatings you can apply. Plus, the added benefit of being able to apply it in a wider range of temperature extremes is something you cannot do with epoxy garage floor coatings.
One nice advantage to the Polycuramine garage coat that we failed to mention is that it has a 7-day recoat window. This means that you can wait up to 7 days to apply another coat to the floor without having to prep it first. All that is required is to make sure it is clean.
This can be a great advantage to the average DIY installer who may only have a limited time to work on their floor. Most coating products have a recoat window of 24 hours or less.
Though the new RockSolid Polycuramine Garage Coat is only 3 mils thick, we feel this formulation is superior to that of comparable DIY coatings such as Rust-Oleum’s 2-part EpoxyShield product, Quikrete Epoxy garage floor coatings, or Valspar Epoxy Coatings as an example.
Yes, RockSolid Polycuramine is more expensive than these traditional DIY garage coat kits. However, the warranty is much better. Plus, it fills a void for the consumer who wants a quality DIY product that is easy to apply but may be intimidated by the cost and application of the thicker and more expensive multi-coat garage floor coatings.
RockSolid also has an easy-to-apply metallic garage floor coating which is now gaining some attention. It goes down twice as thick and has a very nice appearance.
This post may contain affiliate links. If you use these links to make a purchase, we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, All Garage Floors earns from qualifying purchases. You can read our full disclaimer here.
Where to purchase RockSolid Polycuramine products
We’ve had to update this section on multiple occasions since we first posted this article in early 2014. Rust-Oleum has since expanded the distribution of RockSolid and it is now available from most home improvement centers and online.
If you don’t have one of these stores near you, we suggest purchasing RockSolid Garage Floor Coatings here at Amazon. We have found that on many occasions it is available at a cheaper price.
In addition, you can find the optional RockSolid Clear Coat here.
Final thoughts
It’s too soon to know if RockSolid Polycuramine is the DIY wave of the future in garage floor coatings. However, it does appear to have much better performance and wear than the traditional DIY epoxy garage floor kits found at your local home improvement centers and auto stores.
Reviews so far have been positive and you can bet we will be keeping a close eye on the developments of this new product.
———- 2023 UPDATE ———-
It’s been over 8 years now since we first evaluated and wrote about the new RockSolid Polycuramine garage floor coating. To date, we have heard very few issues relating to the actual performance of the coating in terms of adhesion, hot tire pickup, and wear.
This is a strong indicator that it performs and lasts longer than the traditional low solids DIY garage floor coating kits such as EpoxyShield.
However, we have found that there is one primary flaw with RockSolid. Simply put, RockSolid does not provide enough coating material for the coverage rates they list. And this creates a couple of irritating issues that people are not happy about. The first is color uniformity and finish.
If you scroll down you will see that we have well over 900 comments for this article. A good percentage of these are questions or complaints regarding cosmetic problems with single-color coat applications.
These people have been reporting patchy areas or sections of the coating that appear less glossy and/or slightly different in color. Some have also complained about small spider cracks showing through.
The source of these issues is due to the coating being too thin in those areas. As with all coatings, if a single coat application on bare concrete is too thin, the appearance of the coating will not be good. The color tone and finish will change and lose gloss. It can even look slightly transparent with the concrete color showing through.
There is a reason why this happens with RockSolid.
As we originally stated, Polycuramine penetrates properly prepared concrete well – as it should. In addition, the density and porosity of a concrete slab can vary. This means that some areas of the concrete will absorb more coating than others. This is normal.
When RockSolid Polycuramine is applied to slabs that are less dense and/or more porous in areas, the limited amount of material (90 oz) provided in one burst pouch mix does not provide enough thickness at the recommended coverage rates to counteract the additional penetration and absorption of the material. As a result, the coating is too thin in those areas after it cures.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in terms of performance. You achieve a very good bond when the concrete absorbs the coating. However, this means you need to purchase and apply a second color coat to achieve the rich color, glossy finish, and durability that it should have. The first coat essentially acts as a primer coat.
The reason spider cracks tend to show through is due to the good penetration qualities of Polycuramine. It allows the thin cracks to absorb more material as it cures. As a result, the cracks show through and look dark. This can be avoided by properly filling spider cracks in the concrete (link) beforehand or by the application of a second coat.
The 250 ft² maximum coverage rate is only possible under ideal conditions consisting of newer concrete that is smooth, consistently dense throughout, and with no cosmetic defects. It can be obtained, however, when being applied as a second coat or over a previously coated floor that will not absorb the Polycuramine.
If you purchase RockSolid, we recommend a maximum coverage rate of no more than 200 ft² when applied to bare concrete. Slightly less is preferable. This should help provide for a thicker application. When it cures, it should be thick enough to provide a consistent color and glossy finish.
If you prep your garage floor concrete via grinding, then you will require a minimum of two color coats – period. The first acts as the primer coat and the second provides the required thickness to obtain the proper color and gloss.
There is something else to be aware of as well. RockSolid Clear Coat states that a single-car kit can be applied over the color coat of a 2.5-car kit – up to 500 ft². This makes the clear coat especially thin. Though consumers like the way the clear coat performs and looks, the number one complaint is that you need to use more than what Rust-Oleum RockSolid recommends.
The second big issue with RockSolid Polycuramine garage floor coatings is that it is more expensive than epoxy, particularly for what you get. And this is why we believe that Rust-Oleum RockSolid recommends the overly generous coverage rates. We are guessing that this was a decision that was made to try and keep the cost down to compete against epoxy kits.
To make things worse, Polycuramine has become even more expensive in the past few years. At the time of this update, you can purchase a much better commercial-quality single-part polyurea floor coating with the same coverage rates for less money.
These polyurea coatings are almost twice as thick as RockSolid. They have a very long pot life for easy application, they are U.V. stable, and have far superior abrasion ratings. Here is an example of a single color coat of AWF Polyurea that costs less for the same coverage.
The one consideration with these commercial quality polyurea coatings is that they are not low VOC coatings as RockSolid is. They should only be applied in a garage or similar environment and not inside a home such as a basement.
Our goal with this update is not to talk you out of purchasing a RockSolid Garage Floor Coating kit. However, what we are trying to do is inform and educate you about the issues you need to be aware of before making that decision.
Do we still think RockSolid is a good-performing DIY garage floor coating? Yes – if you follow our recommendations about coverage rates. However, there are now better performing easy-to-apply commercial-quality polyurea coatings that can be purchased for similar pricing.
Richard Anderson says
Looking to use RockSolid on my new garage floor (floor poured 6 mths ago so well cured) and wondered if it is advisable to coat beyond the roller door seal as this area (1 foot) will be exposed to the hot Australian sun. Noticed the coating is not UV resistant and worried about color change.
Shea says
You can coat past the garage door Richard, however, the coating past the door will amber. It doesn’t matter if it’s hot or not, it’s the U.V. rays that cause it. One option is to color match the RockSolid with a good latex acrylic concrete paint. If you paint the section of concrete past the door with it you won’t have the amber issue. It will not be as shiny as the RockSolid, but it may look better than the bare concrete if that bothers you. Since you generally only drive over that small strip it will hold up fairly well. It’s also easy to touch up when you need to.
Zach says
Shea, after two weeks of grinding, patching cracks and cleaning I was able to apply a first coat of rock solid yesterday early evening. I am using the grey chip kit. Roughly 540sq ft I used 3 boxes as first coat for concrete previously brushed that’s 30+ years old. At 70 degrees and lower humidity it went on very nice and I had well over 30min to apply. I will apply the second coat 3 boxes tomorrow with chips then clear next day. I ran into two issues and I need some direction. First a 5×5 area that dried with some very tiny air bubbles? My thought… I did roll it thick and fast and that created them? The other problem was I had a wet spot from rain early this morning that leaked in from window and left a dull spot 4-5 inches. Can I go ahead and apply a second coat over these without problems? Thanks for your help. I will try to put up some pictures when completed.. the coating worked well otherwise.
Shea says
Good to hear Zach. The dull spot will be fine to go over with another coat. It the spot with air bubbles has a rough texture, then you may want to sand it some first with 80 grit sandpaper. If it’s smooth with trapped air, then just coat right over it. You can submit pictures to our contact page. If the pics turn out well, we will load them up to our gallery. When you send them, just let us know what product you used, how many coats, and etc.
Graham says
Is it possible to do a second coat over the decorative chips?
Thanks.
Graham.
Shea says
Yes you can Graham. You will need to rough up the floor with 100 grit sandpaper first in order to degloss it for the second coat to adhere properly. You will loose some color flakes in the process, but not too much to worry about.
Harry says
Hi mate
I done a solid coating yesterday at my garage. Somehow it didn’t sit properly.what can be done to fix this problem and if you know any professional who do this stuff. I attached the pics which will show you the problem. Can u please tell me why it’s happened and how can we fix it.
Thanks
Shea says
Hello Harry. Are you saying that the coating has not hardened? If that is the issue then it was not mixed correctly. The only solution is to scrape it up, clean the remaining residue with denatured alcohol, acetone, or mineral spirits, and then apply a new coating. We don’t know of any installers in Australia. Your best bet is to ask around or do a search for garage floor coating contractors in your area.
Rlw28ga says
Did 1/3 (one slab) last year, prep work is the key, the etching solution works well once the floor has been properly prepped.
Finished up 2/3 portion of floor this week. Lessons learned, follow instructions for surface prep, it was a big help using a rented floor sander to remove tire marks and some oil spots using 60 grit paper, doing this by hand previously was hard work and very time consuming, rented floor sander for about 1.5 hours and got great results!
I did use multiple fans and a dehumidifier to help the curing process.
Entire garage is now complete and looks great! One comment, they say this is low odor, it is not, you need a very good respirator while applying this and it is nearly impossible to walk into that area for at least a couple of days. Clean up of application tools was impossible, plan on discarding everything including the roller frame and roller extension handle.
Chris says
Etched my floor yesterday since my garage floor was power troweled. The floor still feels smooth. Is this normal? I though it would feel a little rougher so the prodcut could grip to it.
Shea says
Hello Chris. Did you verify that the floor wasn’t treated with a sealer first? If it wasn’t, the floor doesn’t necessarily need to feel real rough after etching. The idea is for the coating to be able to penetrate the surface to form a mechanical bond. If you apply water drops to the surface and the concrete absorbs fairly quick then you are good to go. If not, then it needs to be etched again. The etching solution that RockSolid provides is citrus based and may not be strong enough for a power troweled floor. You may need to do a muriatic acid etch instead.
Craig says
I’m considering RockSolid for my garage but I there is a grey poly that was applied when I purchase the home almost 11 years ago.
2 questions:
First 2ill RockSolid cover my old poly coated garage floor (assuming proper prep)?
Second what would the proper prep?
Thanks
Shea says
Hello Craig. We have an article on how to prep an old coating for a new one here. Before you start, you need to make sure that the old coating is not paint and is an actual coating. Paint is inferior to coatings such as RockSolid and will be the weak link of your flooring if you coat over it. Also, RockSolid goes on thin and will not do a good job of filling (hiding) gaps between bare concrete and the old coating. If you need to remove the old coating, we have an article on how to grind your garage floor.
Robert Beach says
I am building a new house in mid Michigan but cannot close on it until mid November. It is new so the garage floor is new as well. My concern is application temperature. There may be many days in November when the temperature is above 40 – 50 degrees. However, as a rule, temperatures drop into the 30s at night. Am I pretty much out of luck applying this product before winter or any type of epoxy or polyurethane for that matter? I really don’t want to go the entire winter parking in my garage and have to start with a dirty floor next Spring. Please give me your best advice.
Shea says
Hello Robert. We suggest that you call Rust-Oleum customer service about this. The reason we suggest this is that RockSolid actually had a lower temperature restriction when it was first released. There may be a window in there for you to get it down. If you can keep the garage just warm enough over night it can make a big difference as well. We also have a few tips for applying epoxy in colder weather which you can find here. If the temps are not going to work for you, then we would suggest taking a look at Nohr-S garage floor coating by Legacy Industrial. It can be applied in temps down to 35 degrees. It’s actually a higher quality coating, but it will cost more.
Joe Vuocoloo says
We installed Rustoleum’s Epoxy Shield on a basement floor. It did not go on well and we want to upgrade to the Rustoleum RockSolid , Can we apply this over the old finish?
Shea says
Yes you can Joe as long as the EpoxyShield is adhered well. If it’s not, then the RockSolid will peel up with the EpoxyShield. You will need to rough up the surface of the old coating first. We have an article on how to apply a new coating over an old coating here.
John says
Shea:
This is great site and thank you for helping. My first coat of RockSolid Mocha went down well in my three-bay garage (using two 2.5 kits) and cured properly and quickly, but with some “patchy” areas (probably due to inconsistent porosity). Also there were glaring color mismatches from the first two pouches in kit one to the second two in the second kit. I recoated at Rustoleum’s expense at 70 degrees F, premixing all packages per Rustoleum instructions, and now have many sticky areas after three days of ideal weather conditions, too sticky to walk on. I have fans and a dehumidifier running, but seem to be making little progress with the drying and am concerned about the expiration of the 7-day recoat window. Is there a chemical catalyst that would harden the tacky areas? What would you do in this situation? I would appreciate your insights and suggestions.
Shea says
Hello John. Apparently RockSolid is still having the occasional color mismatch issue with batches. It’s good to see they took care of you in that regard. In terms of the epoxy not curing like it should, we suggest you contact Rust-Oleum again. Typically when you get sticky areas of 2-Part coatings that do not want to cure, it’s a sign that there was a mixing issue of sort. The idea behind the burst pouch technology is to eliminate some of the mistakes that are made with mixing. Unfortunately there isn’t anything you can add afterwords to accelerate the cure. The fans actually don’t help much either since the coating cures and does not dry like paint. If it doesn’t harden up within the seven days it will need to be scraped up and cleaned off the surface before a new coat could be applied.
John says
Shea:
FWIW, I’ve restored and repainted cars and, of course, done all sorts of house, furniture, etc., finishes. Of them all, the polycuramine is the most difficult to “get right” from start to finish. A Rustoleum rep suggested that an application of clear polycuramine over the top of what is down now would cause it to harden. If I could somehow apply the product without getting stuck (perhaps through open doors and windows), a section at a time to establish a “beachhead,” maybe I could get it down. Does the application of the clear coat and subsequent hardening sound reasonable to you? I cannot fathom removing what is down and starting over. I’d as soon lay tile over it. Your thoughts?
Thanks again.
Shea says
Polycuramine is a bit different from typical epoxy John and does have some different properties. It was originally created by Citadel. That’s why we recommended contacting Rust-Oleum. If they say the addition of a clear coat of polycuramine will cause the sticky areas to cure the rest of the way, then that is what I would do. You may want to use some spiked shoes for the sticky areas as they should not leave much of a mark. A good extension pole should help as well.
Dan Mueller says
Shea:
I have some very small hairline cracks that are still visible in the concrete after the first application. I was debating on chasing these and filling them in prior to the first application, but they were so small I thought they’d be covered up if I applied a little thicker coat. They are not horrible, but I still notice them them. Any suggestions?
Shea says
Because RockSolid is not a thick coating Dan, this can sometimes happen with hairline cracks. If they really bother you, you can always apply a second coat of RockSolid to get rid of them. However, if they are well defined and you cant see the coating between the edges of the cracks, then you will need to chase the cracks and fill them first before applying another coat.
Chris says
Hi Shea,
firstly let me say thanks for you and everyone for contributing to this blog , such a great resource and it has help me out a lot in preparing my concrete floor and also the choice of product ! keep up the great work !
My wife and i installed the Rocksolid Polycuramine™ Garage Floor Coating Kit and overall we are happy with the finish. In some areas though , there is some darker spots , which looks like we should have covered it off better. So my question is.. can we put another coating down of the same product? bear in mind that the first coating was put down only 3 days ago and we also installed the chips . any help appreciated.
cheers
Chris and Christina
Shea says
Hello Chris and thanks for the Kudos. We appreciate it. You have up to 7 days to apply another coat when using RockSolid. After the 7 days has past you would need to prep the surface by roughing up to degloss it first. You can coat right over the color flakes without issue.
Chris says
Thanks Shea, one further question if i may 🙂
Can you install the chips on the clear coat layer? and if so , do you recommend putting another topcoat after that?
thanks again
Chris & Christina
Shea says
You can do that Chris, but ideally you want to apply the color flakes to the color coat.
Nathan Wittmaack says
Shea,
First, this site has been an incredibly helpful resource as I’ve chosen and worked on my garage floor coating. I am getting ready to put my second coat of Rocksolid Polycuramine garage coating down. The first coating appears to have covered very well (as an aside, it took 7 boxes to do 1200 square feet of well prepared two year old concrete).
One thing that I didn’t fully grasp when I made the investment in the Polycuramine is that it is not UV stable. My intention is to mix in some aluminum oxide with this second coat. But, I recently read another topic on your site that indicates that the “best practice” is to put a polyurethane top-coat over top of the epoxy base. I think this may be particularly good for me as the Polycuramine is not UV stable, and hopefully the Polyurethane topcoat would protect the gray Rocksolid underneath. With that being said, is this a direction I should go? And should I save my aluminum oxide for the polyurethane topcoat?
I’ve come this far as far as investment, so if i will improve the service life of the floor a fair amount by doing the polyurethan AND possibly retain the color longer, I may consider it.
The last question is, though, will the polyurethane work over the polycuramine?
Thanks so much for your help.
Nate
Shea says
Hello Nate. In terms of a chemical bond, it has not yet been determined if other products will bond with polycuramine as they do with standard epoxy. However, if you let it cure first then you can apply just about any coating over it. It will require that you degloss the surface first by roughing it up with 100 grit sandpaper. You could use a pole sander (which may take a few hours for 1200 sq.ft.) or you could use a floor maintainer with a stiff nylon cleaning brush, sometimes known as a Malish brush or Mal Grit brush. The idea is to degloss the coating, not remove it. Once you do that, sweep up the dust and then do a solvent wipe with denatured alcohol. You can then apply your clear immediately afterwards.
A polyurethane coating will extend the life of the floor and provide a good medium to mix in the aluminum oxide. Because it is U.V. stable it will slow down the yellowing process of the polycuramine considerably when exposed to sun, but it won’t fully stop it.
Nate Wittmaack says
Shea,
Thank you for your information. I did stop in at our local Sherwin Williams, and they were helpful. But, the only applicable product (in my understanding it must be an aliphatic (poly)urethane.
The only type they had on the shelf was ArmorSeal Rexthane MCU. It is a single part coating. They had 3 gallons, so I bought them with the thought that if I choose to use them I would have them available. Can you comment on whether this particular coating is “fit for purpose”? He went out of his way to tell me that the Urethanes will show tire tracks. I’m not sure if I’m crazy about that.
I also reached out to Rustoleum, the statement I received back was:
“I’m not able to recommend a aliphatic urethane over the RockSolid product. We can only recommend a 2 part system over the 2 part system. I would recommend making sure the product you are looking into is made for a 2 part system. Also, making sure you can drive on it and checking the strength of the urethane. Your top coat strength is very important, because this is what is going to protect the floor. ”
Based on this statement, I feel like if I want to use the Urethane that I need to wait as you have suggested above. Any additional thoughts on this?
Thanks so much,
Nate
Shea says
That is why we thought it best to let it cure first Nate. The Sherwin Williams Rexthane MCU is not the highest performing of polyurethane coatings either. It would not be our first choice. They have had issues with the coating developing tire stains and that is why they state that. Quality high performance polyurethane and polyurea coatings are not going to be obtained from a brick and mortar location in most cases. They are usually ordered from floor coating vendors online. Here is an example of polyurethane from one of our sponsors and here is an example of a good polyurea.
Nathan Wittmaack says
Shea,
I am only able to get my hands on a scotch brite rotary floor tool. They have pads from white to black. Will any of these work effectively for roughing up the floor?
Nate
Shea says
Use a green pad then Nate. It should do the job of deglossing the finish.
Nathan Wittmaack says
Shea,
I was able to find a malish brush, and was given two brushes. One with red short bristles, the other with longer black bristles. The red came with it and the black was called a poly brush. Which one would you recommend using?
Thanks again
Shea says
Start with the relatively softer one first Nate. I believe that would be the long black bristle. If it doesn’t degloss the surface fairly quick, then move to the red brush.
Jerry Cole says
I made the mistake of walking on the floor 14 hours after application. This left my footprint everywhere I walked. Do you know if the clear coat will cover the prints? If not can I apply a second coat just over the affected area without having to do the whole floor section?
Shea says
Hello Jerry. RockSolid allows up to 7 days to recoat. Assuming you are within that recoat window, we suggest lightly sanding the foot prints only with 100 grit sandpaper to smooth them out some before applying the clear coat. You do not want to try and touch up over the foot prints only with a color coat. Coatings are not like paint. The touched up spots will stand out with a different looking sheen and obvious lap marks.
Eric says
Please Help! I applied the Rustoleum Rock Solid Cherry Bomb to my garage floor and it looks amazing. It bonded well with the floor. No bubbles. The only problem is that we get a lot of hot tire pickup and it scratches Extremely easy even after applying 2 coats of the Rustoleum protective top coat. I checked out the Legacy high performance urethane that you had suggested in a previous response when someone was asking about UV protection… but I was wondering if there was anything else that you may suggest to look into as well? I want to protect this floor before it gets destroyed. We walk through my garage like its a museum right now and no one is allowed in there as we are very anxious about scratching it.
Another question. A wine bottle fell from the hatch of my car and chipped the Rock Solid Cherry Bomb coating right to the cement. I have an extra cherry bomb kit but I would hate the mix it all up just to fix this one area. Can I empty the contents of each side of the mix into separate sealed containers and store them away for touch ups later? If so, what type of container should I get? I’d like just a small amount to fix this gouge and for any touch ups later.
Shea says
Hello Eric. What do you mean exactly by hot tire pickup? We ask because hot tire pickup is when a tire cools and then pulls the entire coating up with it when you move the vehicle. It doesn’t sound like you have that problem. A high performance polyurethane or polyurea makes for a good clear coat for metallic coatings. You would need to rough up the surface first before applying it. 5073 Polyurea by Versatile Building Products is an examples of a good polyurea.
For your repair you can mix the contents as you suggest and then store each in a sealed container. A quality Tupperware style container will work. Just keep in mind that the shelf life of most coatings is only about 1 year. After that it starts to go bad.
Rob says
Can you do a full coverage of flakes with Rocksolid Polycuramine (gray followed by clear)? I really like the look of full coverage flake, but I’m worried the Rocksolid clear won’t be thick enough to cover that much flake. I’m planning to scrape them after I apply the flakes.
Shea says
Actually Rob, the initial base coat may not be thick enough to do a full broadcast. Applied at the recommended coverage rates, Rocksolid is only about 3 mils thick. You really want a minimum of 5 to 6 mils thick to do a full broadcast. If the base coat is not thick enough, all those chips will have a hard time adhering properly since they will not sink down very far into the coating. If you cut the application rate in half you most likely would be fine. Once you scrape the flakes and clean up the excess, the clear should go on just fine. The coverage rate will be less though since the flakes tend to absorb some of the coating.
Rob says
Would you recommend laying one coat down thicker or can I apply two coats? I’m assuming one thicker coat, so that the chips can sink in a bit.
Shea says
Applying a little thicker coat will work fine for that Rob. Two coats don’t help in terms of applying the color flakes since the first coat is too hard for the chips to sink down into.
Duane says
I purchased 2 boxes of your grey colour , awesome product but do you sell touch up paint for this colour . I have a few small areas I would like to touch up but do not want to purchase another box just to throw out 99% of it
Shea says
Hello Duane. We don’t sell product. Unfortunately, most DIY coating kits like these do not sell touch up kits.
Mike says
Hi. Just finished my garage floor with a grey Garage Floor Coating. Wish I’d found this site prior to starting the work as I may have been able to avoid, what seem to be common issues.
My garage is 42sqm. The floor preparation was very easy with the enclosed etching solution.
I used the box with the twin pouches of solution, which turned out to be woefully insufficient. The concrete floor just sucked the solution up. Whilst I understand this helps create a superior bond, the final result was so thin that it looked awfully patchy. No option but to recoat, and to ensure the final result was smooth and uniform, I ended up using three additional pouches..
So, for a product that is ‘supposed’ to be single coat (an expensive single coat at that), its ended up costing me more than twice as much and taking twice as long (meaning it’s gone beyond the weekend it was planned for).
So, for anyone looking to do this coating in the future – plan to use more product than expected, thus costing you more than you may originally plan.
Enjoy..
Shea says
Yes, this is an issue with porous concrete Mike. It seems to work best as advertised with newer slabs that have a fairly smooth surface.
Alex says
I have about 6 kits of Rock Solid garage coating left over from a project. They are not opened and have been stored in a climate controlled environment. They are about 3 years old. Is this stuff a total loss? or would it be suitable for a base coat then topped with new product? I hate to waste it.
Shea says
Hello Alex. The shelf life of 2-part coatings can vary depending on manufacturer and the temperatures it was stored at. The older RockSolid formula that you have is actually a polyurea if that is what you have. I believe RockSolid did not recommend using their product if it was more than 1 year old. Their newer polycuramine formula has a shelf life of 2 years for unopened pouches. You can always test a small sample from a batch to see if it cures up hard in the proper amount of time. It would require mixing each part real well in the pouch first since settling of the contents is an issue with older coatings. Just be careful not to burst the seem between the two. Cut open each end and mix some together in the proper ratio when you test it. Just keep in mind that if you use it as a base coat, the rest of your coating is dependent on how well the old product performs.
Nicole Shelly says
This product rustoleum rock solid copper pot has created a nightmare for me. I am renovating a garage on my farm into a licensed kitchen and customer pick up area. I applied one coat and it didn’t look covered that well. After many phone calls to company, I applied a second coat on day 7. It looked good when it was wet, but parts of it started bubbling. The next day when it dried, nearly the entire surface is blushing, bad. I have no idea what to do next. Rustoleum said they would replace product for a third coat, but I am terrified of using it again.
Shea says
We’re sorry to hear about that Nicole. What was the weather like when you installed the 2nd coat? If it was raining outside or the humidity levels were high it can cause amine blushing in the coating and on severe occasions even bubbles. The moisture in the air reacts with the hardener in the coating causing the issue. If the humidity was high, make sure to apply the 3rd coat when it’s below 80% humidity. If a lot of the floor has blushing, we also recommend light sanding with 100-150 grit sandpaper on a pole sander to rid the surface of the blush or you could get issues with delamination.
Rob says
I’m going to use full coverage flake with Rock Solid (going to put a double layer of the base coat down first). Should I use the Rock Solid Clear for my top coat or is there a better clear coat to use with Polycuramine and full coverage flakes? Thanks for your help!
Shea says
Hello Rob. When you go with a full color flake floor you can use just about any clear coat you want. The reason is that the flakes provide the mechanical bond for the top coat. Our recommendation would be a high performance polyurethane top coat or a polyurea top coat. Both of these are U.V. resistant and will not yellow like polycuramine can. They are also more scratch resistant. You can read here about how to choose a top coat. Be sure to scrape the color flakes real well before sweeping and vacuuming up the excess. You will need a minimum of two coats if you choose polyurethane since it goes down thin. The flakes are going to absorb a lot of the first coat when you apply it due to all the nooks and crannies that get filled in.
Rob says
Thanks for your reply! You guys are a great resource! I’ve decided to go with a good polyurethane top coat. Is there anything specific I should look for in a polyurethane? I want to get this right the first time! Any opinions on this product? http://www.epoxysuperstore.com/urethane-clear-colored-floor-coatings.php
Thanks again!
Rob
Shea says
Yes, that is a quality polyurethane coating Rob. Remember that you will need a minimum of 2 coats for a full flake floor.
Ron says
Hi All, I have a big problem and I would greatly appreciate any suggestions to fix or at least minimize the problem. I had a handyman use Rock Hard on my garage floor. Unfortunately, he did not level the floor first. Wasn’t an easy installation, but, the did get the job done and the floor looked good. I was satisfied until winter came and it snowed. The melt from the cars resulted in pools of water on the flood, you could say flooded parts of the floor. Being an impervious surface, the water just sat there. I contacted Rustoleum and asked for any leveling coatings that would adher to their material, but, they didn’t have any suggestions. Every time it snows, I have to wet vac thefloor to get rid of the water, a real pain. Any solutions, other than redoing the complete floor, would be appreciated?
Shea says
Hello Ron. The problem you have is not uncommon. Also, trying to level a garage floor with the proper product is generally not in the realm of a handyman. Another consideration when trying to level a floor is to ask yourself where will the water go? Unless you have a floor drain, leveling doesn’t make the water go away, it just moves it from the low spots to somewhere else. What most people do when dealing with snow melt and other wet nasties that your car drags into the garage is to use a containment mat. These do a great job of collecting all the snow and runoff from the car while keeping the garage floor dry. You can learn more about containment mats here.
Susan says
Hi there,
Thinking of using the Rocksolid interior coating marble kit for a 1500 sf unfinished basement. While I prefer the look of the metallic, the ‘marble’ additive to the universal base lets you get twice as much coverage. What I’m worried about is how thin it is, I don’t want it to get easily scratched and soak in some sections more than others, etc. I am wondering if I got a good quality epoxy primer (like that from Foundation Armor?) and applied that first, if I could get a more even coating from the Rocksolid kit. And then maybe even apply another coat of FA Epoxy or Rocksolid Clear coat as a topcoat, for added protection. I need to balance cost, ease of application, utilitarianism, and looks. My husband wonders if we should just paint. Thoughts? Appreciate your website. Very informative!
Shea says
Hello Susan. There are a few things to consider. Polycuramine is a proprietary blend of coating that has not been formally tested to see how well it bonds chemically with other products. Most standard epoxy coatings will bond chemically with other brands of epoxy, polyurethane, or polyurea, for example. Our guess is that it would, but Rust-Oleum does not recommend it and no one that we know of has been willing to take the risk yet to see for themselves. As a result, any product that you apply before polycuramine (such as an epoxy primer) will need to cure a minimum of 24 to 48 hours and then get roughed up with 100 grit sandpaper in order for the polycuramine to achieve a mechanical bond. The same holds true if you want to apply a different product on top of polycuramine.
Our suggestion is to apply two coats of polycuramine with the first coat being the universal base without the additive. Since polycuramine penetrates well into concrete, this will act as your primer coat. Don’t be surprised if it looks blotchy as this is normal for primer coats. Your second coat would then be applied with the marble additive and achieve a uniform thickness and color. Since this is a basement and not a garage, the thickness of the coating is not as paramount since it will be foot traffic only. Some people have complained about how scratches show fairly easily with the RockSolid clear coat. It you want something that is more resistant to scratches, we would recommend one coat of high performance polyurethane (not the stuff from home improvement centers that is used on wood), but you would need to rough up the polycuramine first if you were to do this.
Also, since this is for a basement make sure you conduct a moisture test to insure you will not have any issues with moisture vapor transmissions.
Susan says
Thank you for your reply! By the time I do a primer coat, Rocksolid kit and a possible clear coat it will get expensive and time consuming–particularly if I don’t stay in the Rocksolid line and need to rent equipment to rough up the surface. My basement houses our lawn mower and workshop and such (we have no garage) but we also want it to look nice for a play space and have a glossy finish to reflect light. I don’t like the look or feel of the chip epoxies but don’t have a perfect surface either (so acid staining, for example, is out). In fact, we have parts that are super dense and parts that are more porous. I know two coats at a minimum will be required with Rocksolid. I like the metallic kit but the coverage is dismal. Maybe a base coat in a tan color and a second coat in the marble will look ok and provide enough coverage and even sheen without top coating. Decisions, decisions. Thanks for your advice!
Shea says
Yes, that will work just fine Susan. RockSolid has a very high gloss rating. One thing I want to point out is that you don’t need equipment for roughing up a coating for another coat. All it requires is a pole sander (it’s like a broom stick with a sanding block on the end) and 100 grit sandpaper. The idea is to just degloss the surface and rough up a bit to create bite. It would take a few hours or so for a floor that large though.