If you ask a person who has used a Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield or Quikrete garage floor epoxy paint kit to give you a review, you will get a different answer almost every time. Many people do not have kind words for these kits. They complain of the epoxy paint peeling up fairly quickly or of the coating itself wearing out in places. There are times however when Rust-Oleum or Quikrete don’t always deserve the bad reviews that they receive.
These kits of course are the ones you can purchase from your local home improvement center or online for $65 to $75. This one here is a good example from Amazon. They are water based, you generally have a choice of tan or gray colors, and they even have decorative paint chips to toss onto the surface. All of these kits will include some form of a citrus acid etch and cleaning solution for the concrete.
So why are so many people unhappy and bringing the reputation of these epoxy paints into question? The answer lies partly in people’s expectations, their lack of knowledge on how epoxy paint works, and the marketing of the paint kits themselves.
So why the problems with Rust-Oleum and Quikrete?
When the decision has been made to upgrade the protection and looks of the garage floor, some don’t want to break the bank or are on a budget which is understandable. When they visit their local home improvement store to see what paint is available, they may be advised on the added benefits of epoxy instead.
They are then pointed to the epoxy paint kits instead of the standard latex acrylic garage floor paint. Once they see the nice shiny picture on the box promising a beautiful epoxied floor that goes on with ease, they spend a little more money expecting the long lasting and durable coating that is advertised on the box.
The other scenario is the online shopper looking for a deal on epoxy floor coating products. They find great deals online for these epoxy garage floor paint kits with all the promises of a beautiful epoxy floor for less than half the price of other epoxy systems. They then make the purchase not really knowing what they are getting.
So, what are they getting? Both the Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield and Quikrete epoxy paint is an actual 2-part water based epoxy coating — one part is a tinted epoxide resin and the second part is a polyamine hardener. Both have approximately a 50% solids content by volume with the remaining being water. The water acts as a carrier agent for the epoxy and allows it to be applied very easily, just like paint and that is why they are marketed as such.
What happens, however, is this water base evaporates as the epoxy cures and what you are left with is just over 50% of what originally went on the concrete. Actual dry film thickness is approximately 3 mils for the Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield product and 2.4 mils for Quikrete.
————- Epoxy Review Update ————-
Due to the amount of questions we have received, we want to update this article to include the Valspar garage flooring kit as well. It falls into the same category as EpoxyShield and Quikrete. The Valspar product is a water based 2-part epoxy paint kit that cures to a dry film thickness of 1.5 mils.
Lowes generally carries this line, but you can find it here from Amazon and usually at a much better price.
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A better quality kit that is more expensive but doesn’t get as many bad reviews would be the Rust-Oleum Professional Series epoxy. The Professional series is solvent based instead of water based. These kits are more durable, they have a higher coverage rate, and they provide for a 4 to 5 mil dry film thickness. Just be aware that solvent based kits produce higher VOC’s upon application.
The best prices for Rust-Oleum Professional Garage Floor Epoxy can usually be found here from Amazon.
Best yet would be a higher quality epoxy that has up to 100% solids with no VOC’s to worry about. It’s more difficult to work with and you have a shorter period in which to do it, but when it cures, very little evaporates and what you have left is 100% of the product on your floor. As an example, epoxy paint is on average 2.5 mils thick when cured and 100% solids epoxy is 9 to 12 mils thick.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the Rust-Oleum and Quikrete epoxy paint is a one coat product with a semi-gloss finish, where as commercial epoxy systems are a minimum of three coats with at least one of those being a glossy clear coat. This is what gives epoxy floors their shine and depth.
So as you can see, there is a big difference between a one coat product such as the Rust-Oleum or Quikrete epoxy and the much thicker and more expensive multi-coat system of commercial epoxy floors. You cannot expect to get the same protection, durability, and shine from these simple one coat kits that you do from a higher quality commercial product.
The big issue though is that many home owners are not aware of these differences in epoxy floors and expect the best from the lesser expensive kits.
This video is a good and honest evaluation of the typical DIY epoxy paint kits you can purchase from home improvement centers
Another problem is poor preparation of the floor when these kits are installed. This is probably the biggest mistake that is made. The pores of the concrete surface need to be exposed in order for epoxy to mechanically bond to it. This is called profiling the concrete. Rust-Oleum and Quikrete both give you a citrus acid cleaning solution to use on the concrete to help expose these pores, but the problem is that it’s not always effective. Many times you need something stronger such as muriatic acid to etch the floor.
A few drops of water on various spots of the floor can test this. If the concrete turns dark and immediately absorbs the water, then the concrete is profiled correctly. If it sits there without absorbing right away, the pores are not exposed and the epoxy will not bond well.
Poor profiling of the concrete is what causes the delamination or peeling of the epoxy paint within a few weeks or months. The pores of the concrete must be exposed and be free of all oils and dust. It takes more work to prep the floor than it does to apply the epoxy paint. Poor floor preparation is the cause of most bad coatings.
Can we recommend Rust-Oleum or Quikrete epoxy paint?
So, are the Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield and Quikrete garage floor epoxy paint kits truly bad? No, not necessarily. If you properly prepare your floor then you should be satisfied with the results as long as you are aware that what you are applying is not the same as a commercial epoxy coating. There are many people who have done just that and give great reviews about their floors.
For additional protection and a longer lasting floor coating, you can purchase an optional second coat of clear epoxy which will enhance the look and prolong the protection of the floor by doubling the thickness. The average life expectancy of these floors is 3 – 5 years before they start to show their age and even longer if you apply a second coat of clear.
Dollar for dollar, Rust-Oleum and Quickrete epoxy paint cannot compete with a commercial quality epoxy coating when you cost average your floor over years of service, but if you are on a budget, then these just might be the product you are looking for. In fact, there are actually more satisfied customers who have purchased these products and would recommend them again, than there are bad reviews. Just be sure that you know what to expect.
We coating our garage floor yesterday with the Rustoleum epoxy. It turned out nice; however, we have areas that need more coverage. Is it too late to apply another coat. We had some blistering too here and there. What are our options?
Hi Janel. Rust-Oleum has a 76 hour recoat window to apply another coat without any further prep. We recommend that you sand out the blistered areas before the second coat is applied.
Hello Shea,
Is the rock solid garage coating a better system than the rustoleum professional epoxyshield? Looks like professional has 4-5mil and rock solid has 3 mil and do I need to put clear coat anyone of these for residential use in a place with snow?
Hi Prem. We would choose the Rust-Oleum Professional over RockSolid for a one coat system. It goes down thicker and has much less complaints regarding cosmetic looks due to coverage issues. We do recommend a clear coat if you live in a region with snow. An anti-slip additive is a good idea as well. Our first recommendation, however, would be a single-part polyurea coating. These are the best coatings available for those looking at the easy to apply DIY products. They have many more benefits over EpoxyShield, RockSolid, and other similar DIY coating products.
Thank you Shea.. Appreciate your work and help
You are welcome Prem.
I just coated my floors yesterday with Rustoleum Epoxy Shield for a 2.5 car garage. The coverage states up to 500 sq ft. After I started coating the floors, I realize I will be short. I had to purchase a 1 car garage kit, the same color and brand, to complete the project. I sprinkled the optional decorative paint chips per the instructions. Well, the additional 1 car kit I bought, the color is a lot darker then than the 2.5 car kit. At this point, I guess my options are to live with the color differences or recoat the floor (2nd layer). My questions is, do I have to remove those decorative paint chips if I decide to recoat the garage floor?
Hi JT. You don’t need to do anything with the color flakes. You would just coat over them and apply new flakes with the new coating. The new coating will completely cover them, but you may still see the irregularities or bumps from them under the coating. Applying a few more color flakes than previously helps to disguise it. Remember that Rust-Oleum has a 72 hour recoat window. If you wait longer than that you will need to degloss the current coating by roughing it up with 120 grit sandpaper first.
Question… we did the Rust-Oleum epoxy garage kit yesterday. It has not finished drying yet but seems to have a rainbow affect. You can tell where we did each section because it seems to be either a shade darker or lighter than the previous section. Will this go away as it dries?
Yes, it should go away as it dries, Katie. If you had any length of time between sections this is normal. If it doesn’t go away after it cures, we recommend contacting Rust-Oleum and tell them what happened.
Are there any patch kits as I prepped my floors for two days and used murattic along with the citric tgst cones with kit and have a spot under 1 tire tgst us peeling 2 months in- what options are out there rather than revolting entire floor and cleat coating again?
Hello Bill. Patching can be tricky depending on what product you used, whether there are multiple coats, clear coats, color flakes and etc. If it was a typical garage floor kit that you can purchase from a home improvement center or similar, then no, they don’t have patch kits. If you purchased a commercial product from a floor coating vendor, then we suggest contacting them. These type of vendors sometimes offer such kits.
20+ years ago I use to use a 2 part epoxy paint from Wilshire paint that was solvent based it would stick to anything clean or not metal wood concrete everything I never seen it peeled or thin the 5 years I worked in that shop
I have a three car garage that is about 650sq ft. I am thinking am going with your recommendation for the Rust-Oleum professional epoxy shield but after calculating it… its not much more for a professional to come out and do it. For 2 coats i would be spending close to $1000 for me to do it and $2000 for a professional to do it. is that sound about right and is it worht the difference. i am willing to spend the extra money if the overall product is worth it.
Hello Carl. We aren’t sure where you are getting your pricing. It would require two 2-gallon kits to cover your floor for one coat at an approximate price of $250. Two coats would be $500-$550. A professionally installed garage floor coating would definitely be more durable, but prices start in the neighborhood of $3.50 – $4 per square foot and go up from there. A garage your size should cost a minimum of $2300 depending on the area you live and the product used. Do not get pricing from general painters or handymen. We suggest you read this article here about how to choose a floor coating contractor.
I painted my garage floor with a 2 part epoxy paint & when it rains or moisture is outside the is very wet. Everything that on top of the floor get very wet,( tools chest,& vehicle).need to know how to fix this problem.
Hello Darrell. It sounds like you have a condensation problem in your garage. It has nothing to do with the floor if everything else is getting wet as well. Relatively warm moist air is coming in contact with relatively cool objects in your garage. The warm moist air cools when it comes in contact with the object and is no longer able to retain the moisture since cool air gets more dense. It releases the moisture onto the object it comes in contact with. This is generally a seasonal issue for different parts of the country. Keeping your garage closed helps. So does running a dehumidifier. Another option is to heat the garage.
Thanks for the reply.
Can I use rock solid over an already epoxy coated garage floor.
Yes you can, Walter. It will require roughing up the current surface with 120 grit sandpaper first.
Would you recommend 2 coats of the rust olem waterbase or one coat of rock solid? $200 for 2 coats vs $ 179 for one of rock solid.
Hello Brad. RockSolid is the better product of the two choices. It does much better against hot tire lift vs the water based EpoxyShield. You may want to price Rust-Oleum Professional EpoxyShield as well. It’s a solvent based epoxy and performs very well for the price. It’s on par with RockSolid in terms of durability.
Our basement floor was painted years ago by the previous owner. Can this product be applied to an already painted floor? If so, are there any extra steps we should take first?
Thank you!!!
Hi Jessica. Yes, you can apply the water-based epoxy kits to a floor that has already been painted providing that the current paint is adhered well and not peeling. We wouldn’t advise doing this for a garage floor, but since the basement only gets foot traffic then you should be fine. The current paint should be cleaned and then roughed up with 120 grit sandpaper. You can use a pole sander to do this. A quicker and less laborious way would be to rent a floor maintainer with a black scrub pad. It will do the same job and be much faster. Just be sure to vacuum up the all the paint dust before applying the epoxy.
How do you clean the floor. My garage was painted with rock solid product and now shows tire marks and looks unsightly.
Hi Susan. We have an article about cleaning garage floor coatings here.
I applied Rust-oleum epoxy shield to my basement floor. While drying the paint has started to bubble, any idea why?
I did prepare the floor with a gripper white primer and sealer beforehand.
Hello Rose. What is the exact name of the EpoxyShield product that you used?
I applied the Rust-Oleum 2 part epoxy system to my 2 car garage 3 years ago. I now have bare concrete pock marks where the middle of the cars sit. We get alot of winter road salt in Iowa that tracks in with our cars. Not sure if degrades epoxy? Do I have to strip down current surface, and repeat the whole process again, or can I recoat?
Hello Brad. You can rough up the current coating with 120 grit sandpaper and then recoat. We would suggest etching the bare concrete with the etching pack that comes with the kit. Keep in mind that you will have the same problem again in 2 or 3 years. If you want something that will last, we suggest grinding the current coating off and apply a much higher quality product. The newer single-part polyurea coatings are of commercial quality and just as easy to apply as the store bought DIY kits.