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.
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.
Thanks for the quick reply. I am over 12-24 hours so I guess I need to sand. I have solvent clear coat ready to go but over 24 hours since application so will have to sand. Thanks for advice. Not sure where to get denatured alcohol. Is that same as rubbing alcohol I can get in grocery store? I guess any brand will do.
Brian, use 100 grit sandpaper. The goal is to degloss the finish, not remove any of it. You will loose some flakes but not much. Sweep and then vacuum if you can afterwards. If you can’t find denatured alcohol you can use mineral spirits instead. Just pour a little onto a clean rag or old towel and then wipe the floor down. You don’t want the towel soaking wet with it. The mineral spirits on the towel will pick up any remaining dust and clean the surface. The floor will be ready to go before you can prepare the clear coat.
Great. Thanks. Found denatured alcohol at a Sherwin williams store this morning. Will follow your same instructions as mineral spirits. Thanks!
Would I gain a lot by doing a second coat of clear coat? If so, what is the recommended process?
The thicker your coating is, the more wear protection you get. Here is an article about why you should clear coat.
I enlisted the help of couple friends for applying rustoleum epoxy paint, colored chips & anti skid sand to the 30×40 floor, the clear coat I did myself later and 4 years it still looks & cleans up great except were welding slag & the carbide from my sons snowmobile skies damaged it, I strongly recommend top coating with clear because I ran short and one edge did not recieve the clear it damages easier
I plan to use the Rustoleum Professional on my basement floor (minimal traffic), followed by the Rustoleum Clear coat. I also bought 12 extra lbs of flakes for it to go on very thick. I am concerned as to whether I will need 1 or 2 coats. Once I start, I will need to either sprinkle the flakes immediately after the first coat or wait until I have started the second coat. Will it be easy to tell if 2 coats are needed as soon as I start rolling it on? If it is best to use 2 coats, I will just plan on it from the beginning. Will it take the same amount of epoxy for that second coat? I have a 750 sq ft area, so it will be a big price difference between 1 and 2 coats. But I do want it to last and look good.
Hi Karma. You can’t really tell immediately when you are applying the epoxy. It also depends on how porous your concrete is. Extremely porous concrete will absorb more of the epoxy and leave less on the surface. This creates a great bond but it can leave parts of the coating looking less glossy or even a different color tint. Since you have to wait before applying a second coat anyways, I would wait to see how it looks as it starts to cure before you make that decision. You can always return unused kits in most cases. Keep in mind that a liberal amount of color chips applied to the surface in conjunction with the clear coat does wonders for hiding some of these spots as well.
The solvent based epoxy is a better product. A color coat of that combined with the clear coat should provide a very long lasting coating for a basement. Also, any epoxy applied after the first coat (including the clear coat) will cover more square footage since it will not be absorbed. Being in a basement, make sure to wear a respirator since the solvent being released from the epoxy can produce some unhealthy fumes. Hopefully you did a moisture test first before deciding on a coating.
HI Shea – Thanks for your quick response! I did not do a moisture test, so I will do that before moving forward. I can always return what I have if this is not the best option and I need to look for another alternative.
I wish I had found your article before applying the one coat rust-oleum epoxy guard product. At any rate I have a real problem. Purchased from Home Depot the tan color. Applied per direction after careful floor prep. After 7 days areas are still tacky. I have been maintaining temp with space heaters. No humidity issues in the garage. This is in Aiken , sc. Any advice ?
Hi John, sorry to hear about your issue. It looks like you applied the epoxy in too cold of temperatures judging from the colder weather you have been having. The instructions state to “apply only when air, material, and surface temperatures are between 60-85°F”. Heating just the air is not enough. The epoxy immediately takes on the temperature of the surface it is applied to. Our guess is that your slab is cold soaked from the winter and the surface temp is well below 60 degrees. Your only option is to wait it out until it cures. Epoxy needs the temps stated to cure or it will cure very slowly and in some cases not at all.
I applied Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield to my garage purchased from Lowes (Florida). It went on great and dried great. Waited 4-5 days and then went back to Lowes to get a clear sealer. They did not have Rustoleum clear seal and Rep said the Seal Krete Clear-Seal Gloss will work fine. Says on the can it resists moisture, highly durable Urethane-Fortified Acrylic. Directions say it is recommended for Water Base and not recommended for Acid Base Stains or Oil Base Coatings – which I believe Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield is water based. It has dried for over 5+ days. Floor looks great. I used two coats of clear seal with 24 hours in between. It went on and dried great. PROBLEM is when any water gets on the garage floor it make a white’ish mark where the water was. Do you know WHY this is happening? Anything I can do to stop this from happening on the rest of the floor? Thank you.
Hi John. There are a variety of problems that could cause the white marks. Our first guess is that you may have applied it too thick. Acrylic sealers need to go on very thin. Seal-Krete recommends only one coat on smooth surfaces and you applied two. When acrylics go on thick they tend to fracture. Sometimes it won’t be noticeable until water is introduced. Water vapor from moisture can then get trapped in the microscopic fractures and turn white. Another issue when applied too thick is it takes much longer to cure. When water is introduced the acrylic will blush.
That’s not your biggest problem however. Seal-Krete Clear Seal is not to be applied to 2-part epoxy floors. It says so right in the limitations. It will not bond to epoxy and will delaminate. This can be another cause of the white spots as water can get between the epoxy and the acrylic and blush white as well. We are surprised this was recommended to you. Unfortunately this is an example of why you should always check with the manufacturer about product compatibility when mixing brands and not rely on advice from home improvement centers. It’s also a poor choice for a clear coat as it is not nearly as strong or chemical resistant as the epoxy. We are sorry you had to hear it from us. Your best bet is to sand it off down to the epoxy and apply the Rust-Oleum Clear Coat.
I installed your one coating paint on my 35 year old concrete floor in garage that is heated. I went 100% by directions & even gave it 2 extra days to cure. It started peeling off after 5-6 trips in & out. It is now about 6 months old & what a mess it is. It even curls up in areas where there is no traffic. By directions on can this one-coating system should have worked.
Very disappointed & now have a terrible looking mess.
Hi Richard, your story sounds familiar. As we stated in the article, the citrus based etch provided with these kits isn’t always effective when prepping the floor – especially one that is 35 years old that may have a real smooth finish created from all the foot traffic and vehicles. You would have been better served using a muriatic acid etch. When epoxy peels fairly quickly for no reason, it’s a sure sign that the floor was not adequately etched or that there is a moisture issue.
The bigger issue is that if you are not that familiar with these type of coatings you wouldn’t have any idea how to check for this to avoid the problem you had. That’s why these coatings get a bad rap. The manufactures make it sound like it’s as simple as cleaning the concrete with their etch product, roll on the epoxy and you are good to go. One thing we do want to make clear however is that these are not our coatings. We don’t sell product, but we do help people to better understand about the various products available.
You seem to know your epoxy. I’ve got a strange question. I live in Hawaii and can’t get paint shipped here. I want to redo my bathtub with a two part epoxy, but the stores only have one part. I can however buy the garage floor kits you have reviewed. Do you think they will stick to properly prepared porcelain? How about hold up to a hot bath? thanks
Hi Mike. Sorry for the late reply but we missed your post. We would not recommend epoxy for refinishing your porcelain tub for a variety of reasons, one of which is cosmetic. Most of these tubs are refinished with acrylic urethane enamel.
I used the two part rust oleum epoxy on my basement floor. I followed the directions exactly but I am unhappy with the results. The house is five years old and I vacuumed it and mopped it a couple of days before. Two days after I completed it, I walked over it and it is crunchy. I did four square feet at a time per instructions. Should I now put a sealer on it? If so, what should I use? Now it sounds like I am walking on crackers.
Hi Marvin. The last thing you need to do right now is apply a top coat. It sounds like the epoxy did not stick and is delaminating. That would explain the crunchy sound. What do you mean about vacuuming and mopping it? Did you acid etch the floor first? Since it’s in a basement did you check for moisture issues or a previous clear sealer before applying the epoxy?
i have a floor that some pitting from salt and would like to just paint it. i spilled some regular rust-oleum on it and it took years before it finally went away what you suggest to put on the floor?
Hello Rod. If you clean all the salt residue out of the concrete and prep it properly, you can use the Rust-Oleum product. It should last you years again then.
Hi, I applied the one-coat Rustoleum Epoxy garage floor covering before reading your reviews above, especially the discussion of the drying thickness. Is it OK to put a second coat on over the first? Will this increase the durability?
Thanks,
Toby
Hello Toby. Yes, you can apply a second color coat or a coat of clear over the existing coat. It will definitely improve durability. Since it has already cured, you need to rough up the surface with 150 grit sandpaper in order for the new coat to adhere properly. The idea is to rough up and degloss the surface, you aren’t trying to remove any epoxy. Once you rough it up, vacuum and then wipe it down with a large rag and some denatured alcohol. This removes the rest of the dust and debris. Once you do that you are ready to apply a second coat.
Good Luck!
Hi Shea, thanks for the quick response. I just finished the first coat about 2 hours ago. Can I put a second coat on now (or a couple of hours from now) with out having to go through the sanding effort, or at this point should I wait for it to cure the 12 hours then sand and apply the second coat (or clear coat). Thanks again!!
Toby
Oh, excellent then Toby. Just wait the minimum 10 to 12 hours and then you can recoat without sanding. This creates a nice chemical bond which is even better than if you sanded it. When you can stick your thumb on the surface and it feels tacky but doesn’t leave a thumb print, it’s ready for the second coat. If you wait longer than 24 hours then you will need to sand.
Hi Shea,
kind of a related question! I just finished a first coat 12 hours ago in my basement and used the anti-skid additive but right now the floor is tacky and leaves prints. I’m not satisfied with the “sand paper” look so should I just put a clear coat without the additive on top in the next hours to get that glossy look?
Hi Jerome. Yes, putting down a clear coat will definitely give you that glossy look.
I have a front porch (not covered by a roof) with ceramic tiles (non slippery)
some of the tiles are almost worn out , but not cracked.
can I use a garage floor coating (epoxy) to make this waterproof.?
I want this covered with eon tiles 12×12″ (PVC material)
please reply….Jack
Hello Jack. You cannot apply epoxy to ceramic tile. However, you can apply a ceramic tile sealer that will help to waterproof the tile.
My Rustolem coated concrete garage floor is now 11 yaers old and has held up very well in Pa. weather conditions, road salt etc. It is beginning to wear off in the tire tracks. Can I just repaint over with a concrete enamel paint ? I would prefer not to get into stripping etc.
Hi Keith. Yes, you can paint over the bare spots with concrete latex paint. Just keep in mind that it will not match well and it will not hold up nearly as well as the epoxy did. It’s obvious that you prepped your floor well if it has held up so long. The floor does not need to be stripped if you want to add another coat. We just did an article on recoating an older epoxy floor that you may want to read.
I hired someone to epoxy my floors with Rustoleum 2-part epoxy product. The house is 10 months old. He power washed the floor but did not etch. After two weeks, in one of the garages where I pull my car in/out, it has peeled. How do I repair this?
Hi Marc, sorry to hear about your problem. Unfortunately power washing concrete does not prep it properly for epoxy. Paint maybe, epoxy no. One common mistake that people make is assuming new concrete does not need prep. The only way to correct the problem is to remove the epoxy via grinding. The epoxy will just continue peeling up if you don’t. The good news is that the grinding will also prep the concrete for the application of a new coat.
After 30 years, my original concrete floor in the garage has become unsightly. Part of the problem is an annual recurrence of efflorescence in several areas, as evidenced by small patches of white, powdery stuff. The concrete is not cracked anywhere.
Can I use an epoxy finish on my garage floor or will it just lift off? What can I do with this situation in order to improve the appearance of the floor.
Hello Walter. The ability to apply epoxy or not depends on the amount of moisture vapor that your floor transmits. You will need to do a calcium chloride test to determine this. Read this article which explains what that test is. It also includes a link of where you can purchase them. There are special moisture blocking epoxy primers available that can handle higher than normal MVT rates. You need to determine the MVT rate first however to make sure it falls within the range of these primers. If it does, then you will need to prep the floor by grinding, apply the primer, and then the rest of the epoxy system.
I am thinking about painting my Garage. I keep it washed out every spring. I have two cars in the garage. One left dark spots where the tires was on one side. It is fairly clean as to grease and spots. I plan to do it myself. Now i am confused as to which to use?
Valspar Garage floor Coating Semi Gloss Latex Base or Rust-Oleum Professional Kit interior Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit Grey Water base paint??. Both says no peel. good for Hot tires . both say about the same?? Can anyone comment on which would last the longest??
Hello Lorraine. The Valspar coating you mention is latex based which means it is concrete paint. It is the easiest to apply but it will peel eventually. Especially from hot tires. The Rust-Oleum kits are epoxy based. These are more durable than latex paint and do much better at resisting hot tire pick up. They however require that you pay close attention to the concrete prep. The Rust-Oleum Professional coating is solvent based and will last longer than the water based Rust-Oleum product.
do they make a repair kit for Rustoleum Professal Garage Floor Coating… Have a few spots i’d like to fix… and was wondering if there is a repair kit…
Hi Dave. Because of the relatively low cost of their garage floor kits, they don’t offer a touch-up or repair kit.
I have a 8 year old garage floor that I coated with Quickcrete epoxy and the floor still looks good with the exception of the clear coat. The clear coat has yellowed slightly and I’m not sure what to do other than completely redo the floor. Can I sand the clear coat off and redo it?
Hi Robert. Yes, you can remove the clear coat and apply another. You just need to be careful not to remove much of the color coat. Keep in mind that if the clear coat has yellowed, then there is a good chance the color coat has as well. If you have a beige colored floor it’s not as noticeable as the grey.
I just built my garage with a 6 bag concrete mix and a vapor barrier installed between the fill and the concrete, I am wanting to put the epoxy coating on my new floor before anything gets into the concrete please advise what will be needed and how I need to prepare the floor correctly. I want the coating to be in a Harley type orange coating and put black and metallic silver chips mainly black, and I would want to put a clear coat on a few days later. please advise so I can get it correctly the first time .
thanks for your help
wanting to do asap. the concrete will be two weeks old Wednesday may 13, 2015
Hello Bob. You need to wait a minimum of 30 days after a new pour before applying an epoxy coating, preferably longer if you can. The concrete needs to be acid etched or grinded in preparation for the epoxy. You will need to custom order the Harley Orange color along with the paint chips from a reputable vendor or manufacturer online. We recommend that you start with EpoxyMaster and Legacy Industrial. Keep in mind that when adding a clear coat, it needs to be applied within 24 hours of the color coat and chips. If you wait 3 days you will have to rough up the color coat before applying the clear coat.
I just put in the rustoleum advanced acrylic technology instead of the epoxy kit.
It looks real nice but not too shiny.i was wondering what clear can I use to make it a tad shinier without having issues with peeling down the road.
Hi Rob. What you installed is a single coat acrylic floor paint and not epoxy. It’s designed as a one and done product. There is not a clear coat available that will adhere well to paint. Behr makes a product that they claim can be used on painted floors, but we have yet to talk to anyone that has had good experience with it yet and that is with just foot traffic, not vehicles.
Hi Shea, I have just completed etching, applying two coats of the 9100 series Rustoleuem Epoxy and finally the 2 part Easy Clear Product. We waited 12 hours to apply the second 9100 coat and 48 hours to apply the Easy Clear product. Now i have noticed two to three areas about 2 square feet each that were missed by the Easy Clear.
Is it possible to use the EpoxyShield Clear Coat (from Home Depot) https://www.homedepot.ca/product/epoxy-shield-clear-kit/982546 on these spots or should i just leave it alone? If i can use this, do i need to etch the surface again? Thanks for your help.
Hi Doug. You can apply the EpoxyShield clear to the floor, however, we recommend going with the EasyClear if you can. The reason is that the EasyClear is a water based product and the EpoxyShield is a solvent based product. Standard water based clear epoxy typically has a very slight tint to it that is not noticeable. Solvent based clears are more crystal clear. As a result, the EpoxyShield clear may stand out from the EasyClear.
What you need to do is degloss and rough up the surface a little bit. Acid will not do anything except dull the finish as it needs the lime in concrete to work. Use 150 grit sandpaper on a pole sander, sanding block, or orbital sander. The idea is to scuff up the epoxy, not remove it. It will be quick work for the size of the areas you need to fix. Once it’s roughed up, vacuum and then wipe down with denatured alcohol on a rag and you are ready to go. Just take care not to overlap too much.
Hi Shea,
I just finished applying the rustoleum epoxyshield to our garage floor. The project turned out very nicely except for one small area that remains tacky and hasn’t dried completely after 3 days. My best guess is that I didn’t allow quite enough time after mixing because the section that isn’t drying is the first section I rolled after mixing. Will this eventually dry and is there anything I can do to help or redo at this point?
Thanks,
Matt
Hi Matt. As long as you allowed some time for induction after mixing, the area in question should eventually cure and harden up. There isn’t anything you can do to help it along except wait. If it eventually does not cure properly then the only thing you can do is remove it from the floor and reapply.
I had the same problem. The areas right after i opened the newly mixed can are still tacky. @Shea, will this hinder the product’s strength and longevity, or just take extra long to dry? The other areas of my garage look amazing and are already dried. =)
Hi Jon. It may take a longer amount of time to cure. As long as the product cures and hardens up it should perform as expected.
Hi Shea,
I applied the Quikrete kit to my garage floor about 5 years ago. The coating has held up quite well in most areas. However, where my Wife parks her car there are many quarter and dime sized spots where the epoxy has lifted off. Do I have to grind the entire floor to re-coat? Or can I sand the floor as you previously mentioned and re-coat?
Hi Mike. Glad to hear it’s held up that long. As long as the epoxy is not lifting and is adhered real well, grinding is not necessary. Just sand as was mentioned. Sand the spots real well where the car tires sit and make sure to get up any loose epoxy there.
Hi Shea,
Thanks for the reply. None of the epoxy around the lifted spots is flaking at all. So, it looks like I’m good to go!
Hi Shea:
I recently painted my 3 bay garage floor with Behr’s two part epoxy garage floor paint that I bought from my local Home Depot. Before applying the epoxy I prepared the floor by etching with Behr’s concrete etcher and filled the cracks with an epoxy crack filler. I used 3 container of Behr’s product, essentially 1 for each bay. It’s been 2 weeks since I painted the garage floor and the epoxy paint on two of the bays is still tacky. The other bay dried fine. I checked the containers and the 2 containers that are tacky are older and have the same bar code, whereas the one that dried well has a later date bar code. Is there an expiration date on this product? And is there anything I can do to correct the problem other that to strip and redo?
Hi Rick. Sorry to hear about your coating issues. There isn’t really anything you can do at this point but wait it out a little longer. If it remains tacky you will need to remove it first. You would have to check with Behr about the expiration date, but anything over 1 year in the epoxy world is considered too old in most cases.
A couple of things could have caused the problem. The most common is from not waiting the proper amount of time after mixing for induction. If it was applied right after mixing, then the epoxy can remain tacky for a long period and may not cure at all. The second is content settling. This is why we always recommend stirring the contents of both Part-A and Part-B separately at first before mixing them together in case the contents may have separated and stick to the bottom of the cans.
Regardless, we recommend calling Behr customer service and see what they can do for you.
Hi Shea, the home improvement store suggested that I use a primer with the epoxy paint kit. Do you have any recommendations on how long I should wait between applying the primer and the epoxy paint? Your site is extremely helpful. I am glad I found it before starting my project.
Hello Steve. Are you applying an actual 2-Part epoxy that requires mixing the Part-A colored resin and Part-B hardener or is just a 1-Part epoxy paint that comes in a single can? The 2-Part kits are an actual water based low solids epoxy that does not require a primer. The 1-Part epoxy paint kits just have an epoxy additive and may require a primer in most cases. If you are using the 1-Part epoxy paint, the primer needs to dry at least 8 to 10 hours before applying the epoxy paint.
I am using the Rust-Oleum Epoxy Shield. It doesn’t reference using a primer, but I wanted to give myself the best chance at success. I thought by doing this, and using a clear coat, I would increase the durability and reduce the likely hood of it peeling.
OK Steve, we’re glad you checked with us first. This is a classic example of the home improvement people thinking they are giving good advice when they really could could have caused you a big problem. We don’t mean to sound condescending towards them, but they really don’t know epoxy coatings.
The Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield is a 2-Part epoxy garage floor coating. It does not require an epoxy primer because it’s a low solids water based product that penetrates well into a properly prepared concrete surface – similar to an actual quality epoxy primer. The home improvement centers do not sell an actual epoxy primer, they sell latex concrete paint primers for applying colored latex concrete paint or 1-part epoxy paint. Your epoxy coating would have started peeling up just days to weeks after you applied it if you would have used the primer they recommended.
Applying the EpoxyShield clear coat after applying the color coat will give you a more durable coating. It will only peel if your floor is not prepared correctly.