Complete DIY Garage Epoxy Floor Coating Installation | Testing Most Popular Kits

I will walk you through the complete installation process of the Rustoleum Garage Floor Epoxy Shield kit and also the Rock Solid kit. I will compare and contrast both products and also show some testing to see if one can handle more abuse than the other. This video will give you the information you need to confidently select the right product and get the results you are looking for to update your garage.

Chapter
0:00 Intro
1:13 Moisture Testing Your Concrete
1:54 Removing Everything, Scraping, and Cleaning Concrete Floor
2:33 How To Degrease and Clean a Concrete Floor
4:31 How To Acid Etch a Concrete Floor
6:45 How Long Does It Take To Epoxy Coat Your Garage
8:17 Patching Concrete Cracks and Chips
10:00 How To Use Rust-Oleum Concrete Patch and Repair Kit
11:11 How To Grind A Concrete Floor Smooth
13:00 How Long Does The Floor Need To Dry
14:14 How Long Does A Rust-Oleum Epoxy Concrete Floor Coating Last
16:07 Applying Rust-Oleum Epoxy Shield Floor Coating
19:30 Applying Rust-Oleum Rock Solid Epoxy Floor Coating
21:31 Is Rust-Oleum Rock Solid Actually Better Than Epoxy Shield
22:55 Testing Rust-Oleum Epoxy Floor - Sliding Appliances
23:35 Testing Rust-Oleum Epoxy Floor - Hot Truck Tires
25:00 What Can You Do To Improve Garage Epoxy Floor Life

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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[aarongarmon]

I’ve done a full grind on the floor, and going the Rock Solid route. I watched the other video with the pro level stuff and the cost and number of steps and VOC off gassing are all turn offs.
Thank you for both videos. It’s confirmed what I have learned so far and helped me decide how to finish this project.

[TheExcellentLaborer]

Both of the products look great in my opinion. I’m more amazed that you only had one crack in your garage floor! Awesome video, Scott!

[Yankindc]

We had a professional do an epoxy-flake with transparent topcoat in our 2-car garage. One guy did the whole thing in one day. He etched with a rotary grinder. After dust-removal, he did a fast-curing epoxy (components mixed in the back of a truck)--then he *saturated* this coating with vinyl flakes. After a few hours of curing, he scraped off the excess flakes. Last step was a clear top-coat over the epoxy/flakes. It turned out really nice. I replicated the process with the RockSolid polycuramine system from a BigBox store. But I used twice as much material as suggested and ordered extra vinyl flakes in bulk to saturate the wet polycuramine. After curing 1 day, I scraped off the extra flakes with an old drywall knife on a stick, then covered with a a clear polycuramine topcoat (with anti-slip material added). These products aren't cheap, but they work great if used correctly--same result as the professional. If you use the BigBox products as suggested on the box, with sparse numbers of flakes, those floors can get extremely slippery when wet.

[ferdboehmer]

Your videos always give me the confidence to try new DIY projects. Thanks.

[pastorbrianediger]

I'm co-owner of Colorado Liquid Floors. We grind and use polyurea for the base with polyaspartic for the top. We have a 25yr warranty.

[cm.]

I used the original epoxy shield kit many years ago and it held up great on a 14-year-old garage floor. I skipped the included acid crystals and used muriatic acid from HD. The crystals just didn't seem strong enough based on what others said at the time. This was back in 02 and we sold the house almost 8 years ago and the floor still looked just as it did when we originally installed it. No hot tire pick up and no chipping. The inconsistency that you see is a lack of product in that area.

[mikelee]

Excellent informative video. Most coating failures are due to lack of proper preparation. On older unpainted garage floors it is important to thoroughly clean them, removing dirt, grease, oil, break fluid, etc, use muriatic acid to etch the floor which allows the floor coating to penetrate into the concrete for a proper bond, make sure the floor is completely dry before application and finally allow the product to properly cure before parking on or using the space. Previously painted floors should be prepped professionally via grinding or shot blasting to allow proper adhesion of the new coating. Unfortunately most home owners and so called handymen skip this vital process thus resulting in chipping and peeling, wasting time and money. Do it right the first time.

[michaelyates]

Great video, I especially liked the time frame. Most people don't understand how long these DIY projects really take to do it right.

[mustange]

Got my floors done professionally 423 sqft for about 2400$ with polyaspartic. I started to look into how to DIY it and came down to a few conclusions. One was that the equipment rentals, materials, and prep would get me close to the professional cost but there would be savings. Two, the lack of experience with polyaspartic can definitely end up with poor results. Shot blasting floors is better then grinding them so a shot blaster would have cost me nearly $1000 to rent out for the project. Paying a professional was worth their experience and the difference in cost was maybe $500-$700 more then a possible bad DIY.

[iali]

Amazing video. I wish all the DYI videos for everything were this details. THANK YOU!!

[trickpa]

I used the Rust-Oleum on my floor back in 2015 and it is still there today. Rough winters with brine & salt and sand. I am just now getting a few places coming up.

[LeeBv]

Having my garage floor done professionally this summer. Have a friend who had it done in 2019 by the same contractor and it still looks great.

[G.I.JeffsWorkbench]

Thanks for taking the time to produce this video on a very practical topic. You are a wonderful educator. Great presentation style without attitude & distracting music. Bravo!

[dgilroy]

Did a DIY Rust-oleum floor and it lasted about 3 years before it started flaking up under normal use. Then a got a pro company "Guardian Floor" to replace it. More expensive but worth it. I guess it depends on how much you want to spend. Great video.

[charlesmitchell]

I am in the 1 - 3 years currently and my floor is perfect. But I also sanded my floor with a floor polisher and a diamond sanding disk. Also I used the Rock Solid on my floor.

[HomeRapidRepair]

Garage floor coating is always an awesome transformation 😊🛠️

[martyb]

Great video! The best way to test hot tire pickup is to let the hot tire sit on the epoxy long enough for the tire to cool before moving it. I understand it rained. Nice work on the installation.

[davenamba]

Great comparison. I’v used the epoxy shield on several homes before the rock solid came on the market. Unfortunately after a couple years, I noticed tire marks, stains, and some flaking. I used the rock solid on my brother’s home a few years ago with much better results!

[jackwoo]

Great video Scott. I like your meticulous effort in the details of prepping which is the key to any projects. Your survey about the durability was another plus to the video. Keep up the great work!

[ourkid]

Great video! Many of us have epoxy coated garage floors that have long since deteriorated. I think a great video would be dealing with a previously coated floor that needs to be re-done.