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.
I have a garage floor that is pitted and chipped. Will this fill in the small holes and leave a level finish.
No it won’t Lee. Chipped and pitted floors still need to be repaired if you want a smooth surface.
I used the rustoleum kit and was very disappointed with the result. The company did send me another kit in hopes that I will achieve the look that it claims to give. Anyways 6 mos later I still haven’t been able to finish what I started and it upsets me to see how my garage looks like. How do I remove the previous coat that I applied before applying a new one? Do you think acid etch will work? I don’t think I want to use the other box that they sent me considering all the pointers that you laid out in your article. HELP
What exactly is wrong with the first coat Jason? Do you not like the way it looks for some reason? Is it peeling up? What condition is the coating in at this present time?
It left a very thin coat you could actually still see the texture of the concrete and instead of a glossy finish that I wanted it was matte.
OK, as long as it’s not peeling then the prep isn’t that difficult. You will need to rough up the surface of the coating with 100 grit sandpaper. A pole sander works well for this. It shouldn’t take more than and hour or so for a 2-car garage. You aren’t trying to remove the coating, just rough it up to get bite for the new coating. Once you do that, sweep or vacuum up the dust and then wipe the surface down with denatured alcohol on a rag. After that you are ready to go. You can read more about prepping cured epoxy here.
Hello everyone, I’m shopping around and I would like to go with a dark brown for my floor. Has anyone had problems doing a dark color, does the brown show more dirt or pickup dust?
Hello Mike. Dark colors for epoxy are not that common. The primary reason is that it does show the dust, dirt, and minor scratches on the surface that you would otherwise not notice with the lighter colors. It also reduces the light reflection at the surface.
Thanks Shea, I will go with the mocha.
PROBLEM: Floor is still sticky to the touch after 5 days.
Scenario: Cleaned concrete with T.S.P. Let dry for 3 days. Then painted concrete with grey Beauti-Tone Hardcoat Epoxy Garage Floor Kit. Let that dry for 5 days. Then applied Rust-Oleum Epoxy Sheild Premium Clear Floor coating kit and then sprinkled the colored chips on top along with the anti slip granules. It has been 5 days drying and the floor is still sticky. It is not drying and I do not know why.
Hello Shane, we’re sorry to hear about your problem. When epoxy stays tacky and will not cure, it’s usually an issue of improper mixing of the Part-A resin and Part-B hardener or from application in colder than recommended temperatures. Rarely is it ever an issue with a bad batch. When you mixed the two parts together did you pay attention to the induction times listed by temperature? That can cause a curing problem as well. Unfortunately, you will most likely need to scrape the gooey mess off and prep the base coat for a new coat of clear. You may want to give Rust-Oleum Customer Service a call and explain your issue to see if they will help you out.
I’m a bit concerned with your concrete prep as well. You state that you cleaned the concrete with TSP and then applied the grey epoxy. Did you properly etch it with the citric acid etch provided and recommended by Beauti-Tone? If not, you may have issues with the grey base color peeling due to poor concrete prep.
My garage is full of stuff. Can I do half the floor and and move the stuff to the painted half after it dries and then do the other half?
Yes you can Jack. If you have contraction joints in the garage floor then they make for a good border. If you don’t, the second coat will leave a line where it overlaps the first half.
I used this product on my new garage floor, it was three months old, in less than a year it started pealing up near the walls,zero traffic area , now six years later my floor looks bad. It’s pealing up everywhere. I will never use this product again and I will not recommend this product to anyone.
I did my garage floor with rustoleum epoxy paint and I am wondering if I need to seal it? I bought a gallon of clear-seal by Seal Krete to do the job. Do I really need it
Hello John. If you used the 2-Part Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield garage floor coating you do not need to “seal it” since 2-Part epoxy is a sealer in and of itself. If you are looking to improve the looks and performance of the coating with a clear coat, then the clear-seal by Seal Krete is the wrong product to use. It’s an acrylic coating which does not perform well in a garage environment. Rust-Oleum Professional makes a clear 2-Part epoxy which works well with their epoxy. You can find an example of it here.
Thanks. I’ll leave it alone, as it looks great right now. Again, Thank you
I bought the Gray Epoxy Shield Basement Floor Coating. When it dried it was white. I followed the directions to a T.
Hello Tim. It sounds like you have blushing from applying it in too humid of an environment. Temperature and humidity are important limitations that you need to pay attention to before applying epoxy. The hardener reacts with moisture in the air turning the surface of the epoxy white. Sometimes you can remove it with some mild soap and a stiff brush. If not, you may need to remove the white coating by sanding and then apply another coat when the conditions allow it.
Hello, I will be using the rust oleum product to cover my garage floor, since it is only for interior use…what are your suggestion for the 1′ concrete strip between the asphalt driveway and the garage door. This area will be patched with quickrete concrete patcher due to spalling.
A good option John is to use the EpoxyShield acrylic concrete paint on the strip you are referring to. You should be able to color match it nicely. Since it’s acrylic paint and not epoxy, it will not yellow when exposed to the sun. Since you will only drive over that strip and not park on it, you shouldn’t have any issues with hot tire pickup either. Plus, if it starts to look its age, it’s real easy to paint over it again.
I have heated floors and was going to use the epoxy paint kit.
Will this be a good option?
Or am I wasting my time and money?
Epoxy will work fine with heated floors Bob. It will not affect the coating in the least.
I’d like to paint my basement floor, which is currently raw concrete (unsealed but fairly smooth). I’m considering the rustoleum epoxyshield basement and garage flooring kits (the basement kit is a satin finish vs. the gloss for the garage kit). The basement kit does not include the etch, which I found puzzling. I asked the painter what he’d be doing, and he said he would not be etching the floor. Shouldn’t the floor be etched? If the painter isn’t going to properly prepare the floor, we will prior to the epoxy being applied. Is there any benefit to the garage version vs. basement version, other than type of finish?
The basement version is a lower solids epoxy Wendy. While it would not hold up as well in a garage environment (cars and such), you are only walking on it for a basement so it should do fine. The basement version also allows for a much larger color selection since it allows for color tints. However, if you like one of the colors of the garage product as well as the glossier finish, there is no harm in using it. Have you done a moisture test to verify you can apply a coating? Basements are below grade and are known for collecting moisture.
The basement epoxy kit recommends cleaning the concrete well but does not mention acid etching. With a fairly smooth finish, we highly recommend that you do an etch as well. You can purchase the Rust-Oleum citric acid etch separately.
Is there a epoxy floor system that will actually stand up to tire marks and will stand up to the test of time if installed correctly?
Thank you.
Yes there is David. We suggest you read this article about choosing epoxy flooring systems. An epoxy primer, high solids epoxy color base, and a high performance polyurethane or polyurea top coat is a system that will last 10 to 15 years or more without issue.
I applied the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield (tan or beige color) about a year ago and it is holding up very well. I do however have one spot about the size of a coffee saucer which has peeled. Is there a touch up kit available?
Unfortunately EpoxyShield doesn’t offer touch up kits Curt.
I have a painted garage floor, I do not think it was a 2 part epoxy, just Home Depot-bought garage floor paint. The paint has lifted where the tires park. I would like to re-paint the whole floor. How do I prep it?
Hello Aris. We recommend scraping or pressure washing the floor well to remove any loose paint. After that, rough up the remaining paint with 150 grit sandpaper. If you use a pole sander, you should be able to prep the a 2-car garage in less than an hour. Once you do that, just clean up the dust and you are ready to go.
I am redoing my garage floor after having great it down for several yesrs…it just wore where tires were coming in and out over seadons6.
Other than washing it and using prep in ox, do I need to sand or anything or can we just paint over it?
You would need to prep the old coating by roughing it up with 100 grit sandpaper Judi if you plan on coating over it. We have an article about that here.
Hi Shea,
I just bought a 20 year-old home with a two car garage/floor. I thought I’d paint the floor using Rust-Oleum’s Epoxy Shield. I spent a good amount of time prepping. I cleaned oil spots with Simple Green degreaser, followed by a generous helping of TSP/detergent, then etched with muratic acid. The floor looks really great with many of the oil spots mostly all gone and the surface is quite porous and rough. I was wondering if I should use a primer prior to coating with the Epoxy Shield to increase adhesion? If so, what should I use? Other suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch.
Primer is not needed for the low solids epoxy kits Raul. You would be best off just applying two coats.
Would you have to sand the first coat before applying the second coat?
Additional coats can be applied to obtain a chemical bond if applied within the guidelines. The recoat window for this ranges from 12 hours to 72 hours for most of these kits depending on manufacturer. If you wait longer than that then yes, you will need to rough up the coat by sanding before applying another coat.
We used this exact product and now have the exact same result with it peeling off. How can I fix it? Do I need to take the whole thing off (and how), or can I “spot fix” it. Mostly the spots that are damaged are under the tires.
Like we stated in the article Faith, this type of epoxy coating is going to get hot tire lift. It’s just a matter of when. Grinding or acid etching the areas where the tires sit will provide better penetration of the epoxy into the concrete. It will help reduce the effect of hot tire lift, but it’s not a guarantee it won’t happen. The only real way stop it is to remove the epoxy via grinding the concrete and apply a good high solids epoxy, preferably with a primer.
Is this something I could use in my living room?
Yes, technically you could Doug. However, this type of epoxy flooring looks a bit out of place inside a home.
We have prepared our garage that had numerous cracks and a lot of pitting. We repaired this, and even used a grinder. I did wash it down and I still see a lot of moisture in spots. I have read the instruction for rustolium and it states Do Not paint the floor if moisture is present. How do I remedy this?
Hi Dawn. Running a fan over the floor can expedite the drying process. How long have you waited for the floor to dry? Also what type of product did you use on the floor? Some require that you wait 28 days for the product to fully cure before coating.
Is there a Rustoleum Semi gloss epoxy finish (or any other brand) that i can put on top of the glossy finish. I think the glossy finish is too shiny in my basement. I have already bought the Rustoleum kaki semi gloss mixtire, sprinkled the flakes, and then 24 hours covered it with the Rustoleum epoxy clear coat. I want to get the shine down by putting on an epoxy semi gloss or satin clear coat.
Rust-Oleum doesn’t offer a satin or matte clear that we are aware of Leonard. However, there are various brands of polyurethane available in satin and matte finishes. Polyurethane goes on thin, but it actually is much more abrasion resistant than epoxy and makes for an excellent top coat. Here is an article we did that explains the benefits of various top coats. Do not confuse polyurethane for concrete with the polyurethane for wood floors that you can find at home improvement centers. Sherwin Williams may have a satin finish polyurethane if you have one in your area. Other than that, you may have to order it online. This here is an example.
I have used the rustoleum epoxy shield for my garage but I was not happy with the chip coverage. Can I add a clear epoxy coat and add additional chips to the areas that were light? Or will this not look right? Thank you!
You could do that Chris, but it will look a bit off. What happens is that you will have the majority of the color flakes locked in under the clear with little bits (the ones you added) sitting on top. It creates a different look to the texture of the floor that may catch your eye.
I purchased several kits to do a concrete floor laundry room. It came out great as I had hoped.
I have pressure washed and was preparing to use the etch on my concrete stairs and landing when I read that the kit is for covered garages only. Can you tell me if my plan to use it outside is alright?
No, you do not want to use these kits outside Debra. That goes for any epoxy coating. Epoxy is not resistant to U.V. light and will turn yellow (amber) when used outdoors. It will also be slippery in inclement weather. Your best bet is a concrete paint. 1-Part epoxy paint is the most durable. These paints are latex acrylic with a little bit of epoxy added to increase durability. They are designed for application to concrete. Also, acrylic paint does not amber (think of outside house paint). Though not as tough as an epoxy coating, it holds up fairly well under foot traffic. We would recommend using a non-slip additive for the stairs as well. If you don’t mind gray, Rust Bullet is one exception of an extremely durable coating that will not amber and will last for years.
Thank you. I suspected as much but you cleared up the reason why NOT to use it outside. I will return one of the unused kit and purchase 1-Part epoxy paint. I still have a box of sand additive that I had planned to use on the steps
Thanks again, Shea
I am looking for a non slip flooring. How slick is the finished product with the sealed top coat?
Hello Amanda. Epoxy coatings are not considered non-slip. However, you can add an anti-slip aggregate to create a non-slip surface.
I have prepared my garage floor for coating using the diamabrush that I rented from Home Depot and have a question about some areas on the floor that seem to have a shine, I went over and over these areas and it is scratched up but some areas are a bit darker in color and when you catch the light just right seem to have a sheen? Also have purchased the Rust-Oleum professional Epoxy kit which from what I understand is the solvent based epoxy, wondering what percentage of solids are in the epoxy, and wondering if I should try and get a commercial epoxy to do a better job.
Hello Jim. Not all concrete is going to have the same color tone throughout the slab. Do a water drop test. If the concrete immediately turns dark and starts to absorb the water you are good to go. If it just sits there without being absorbed then you have more grinding to do. The solvent based Rust-Oleum Professional EpoxyShield is a decent coating. It is approximately 83% solids. You can find their data sheet here. A high solids commercial based epoxy will perform even better with a dry film thickness almost twice as thick, but it will cost a bit more. Which ever you choose, adding a clear coat is going to increase the durability and looks of the coating.
Hi I liked your article. Can you recommend a quality product for epoxy floors? I’d like the commercial quality. Thanks.
Hello Todd. Check with any one of our sponsors on the right side our website. Legacy Industrial, EpoxyMaster, Garage Flooring LLC, ArmorPoxy, and Garage Coating.com. They all carry good quality, high solids commercial product.