[urq] OT -- but not really Garage Floor epoxy recommendations

[Renneisen, Eric 475]

Bob wrote:
> The best one out there that Ive seen and used is muscle gloss.

That's what I used on my 900+ sq.ft. garagemahal.  I chose it because it
was 100% solids (no VOCs to worry about) and everything came in the kit
(high-quality rollers, anti-slip chips, etc).  It's held up pretty well
so far (couple years).  It can be scuffed by dragging something like a
6-speed tranny across it, but that's just an appearance problem.  I did
test the chemical resistance when my proportioning valve dumped a bunch
of fresh Super Blue and I didn't notice for several days.  The '58 Merc
SL has a perpetual oil leak, too--I just wipe it up whenever I take the
car out.

> Fairly easy to lay down (if you have help)

I did it myself, and it wasn't too bad, but I'd also recommend a helper.
Since it's 100% solids, it heats up and starts to set pretty quickly.  I
destroyed a couple of the high-quality woven rollers in the process.  I
think that's expected because they gave me several in the kit.

The main thing for epoxy is surface prep.  My slab was new (fully cured
for a few months), so I just had to rough it up a bit with acid etching
and a pressure washer.  With an existing floor, the main concern is
moisture.  If you don't have a moisture barrier under the slab, you may
never get anything to stick.
Mine had a couple of settling cracks that I filled in, but there must be
some water migrating in from the side.  The epoxy has let go along the
crack in places.  Lucky for me it's in an area that doesn't bother me.
Getting all the old coating off and getting old oil out is important,
too.  There are procedures, but I've got no BTDT.

> Ive tried (on different garages) the rustoleum crap, and a 
> couple others but the muscle gloss is far better.

I know the retail Rustoleum kits aren't great, but they also have a 100%
solids industrial product (6500 system):
http://www.rustoleum.com/Product.asp?frm_product_id=169&SBL=2&ddis=34
It looks to be significantly less expensive than the Muscle Gloss, if
you can get your hands on it.  If you look at their coverage per gallon,
keep in mind it's specified for an industrial application at somewhere
around 16 mils.  Muscle Gloss specifies around half that (6-8 mils?).
Since they're both 100% solids, coverage should be roughly equal at the
same thickness.  For home use, 6 mils seems to be plenty thick.

When I was researching, I got some good info on this site:
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/garage4u.html
It's not a very nice web design, but seems like good info on that page
and their other links.

I'll be helping Saltino do his new floor soon, probably with the Rusto
6500 stuff, so we'll see how that compares.  I really love mine.  No
worries about spilling anything, improved light reflectivity, and it
just looks cool.  It is a bit slippery when wet, even with the texture
chips (w/o the chips it would be like ice!).  If that's a big concern
for you, be prepared to use a bunch of the chips, or broadcast some
sugar sand and back-roll it in.  I probably went a bit light on the
vinyl chips.

HTH,
Eric Renneisen
'86 urq
'93 S4
Chattanooga, TN


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