Review: Quikrete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Well, this is one of those reviews, like many others, that is a bit of a double-edged sword. A couple of months ago, while we still had a little sunshine up here in the Pacific Northwest, I set about to coat my garage floor with epoxy.

It’s important to do this job while the sun is shining so that you can have your stuff outside for a few days. Make no mistake, unless your garage is barren, you’re going to have to keep a few things outdoors while your flooring cures.

So, I got all set up. Tool bench outside. Bikes and other sporting equipment outside. Everyone is well aware that there will be no cars parked indoors till Tuesday. I went to the hardware store to pick up a couple of cases of Quikrete’s Epoxy Garage Floor Coating based on relatively strong reviews from friends, both online and real.

And, having used epoxy quite a few times in the past, I was pretty familiar with how things should work. I’ve always found that the devil is in the details with epoxy work, and that one of the most important things you can do is proper prep work before hand. In this case, that meant giving the garage floor a good cleaning. It almost felt unnatural given how I’ve abused that poor floor in the past.

Anyway, floor swept and even mopped. Oil and grease stains removed and I’ve ready to go. Honestly, following the directions wasn’t terribly difficult. Mixing was a breeze, and application was relatively painless.

Just knowing that patience is the greatest virtue when applying epoxy is the biggest obstacle. It took a few projects to figure that out, but it’s made all the difference for me over the years. Back to the directions – they were a snap. Let’s get to the meat and potatoes here. Why the double-edged sword?

Well, I took my time to properly prepare for the project, and followed Quikrete’s instructions to a tee. And it came out beautifully. So, what’s the rub? The rub is that the product itself is really quite nice, but there isn’t enough of it. I know how to calculate square feet, and I was well within their recommended usage statistics.

In the end, I ended up heading back to the hardware store a couple of days later to buy two more Quikrete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating kits, doubling my initial cost estimates for the project. All in all though, I think the end result came out better by letting the first coat cure and then applying the second. So, the verdict? Great product, just expect to buy more than you think you’ll need.

Using an Epoxy Sealer

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to try to become more active on the blog, and plow through a bunch of post ideas that have been brought up to me, or that have occurred to me. Today, we’ll tackle epoxy sealers, how to pick a good one, and what to be aware of going into any project involving them.

For years, I have done the standard Thompson’s treatment on my various decks and patios in the homes I have lived in. It should come as not surprise, though, given the nature of this blog, that I have been itching to try something a little more robust, a little more… epoxy-like. So, naturally, I began my latest outdoor wood treatment project by seeing if there were any heavy duty epoxy products that I might try for my deck.

Drawback #1: epoxy sealer is not cheap. Accustomed to the bang-for-your-buck deck sealants that I’ve always used in the past, I encountered a bit of sticker shock as I began shopping. But, hey, I love using epoxy products, and have found that they always pay for themselves over time, so this shouldn’t be any different, right?

Well, I got over my aversion to spending additional money pretty quickly, and got down to business. I found a few different products from Bels-Smith, Gluvit, Marine Tex, and System Three. I’ve developed a bit of a bias over the years for System Three, and even though they specify marine use for their sealer, I figured it would probably work just fine on my deck.

In fact, this is one of the reasons that I like their products so much. They seem to engineer everything to stand up to the ocean, and my home is a much friendlier environment, so my projects are always overdone, and I like that.

Anyway, I went with their S-1 Epoxy Sealer, and have been very pleased with the results. Not only is my deck tough as nails now, I was able to mix in a white pigment into the sealer and give my deck a little color. Plus the pigment should give my epoxy a little extra UV protection – always nice when you’re dealing with epoxy as it’s the only weakness you might ever encounter.

Application was a piece of cake as I’ve become pretty darn good at using epoxy products over the years. The only thing I’d recommend, even though they suggest minimal surface prep, would be to give your deck a pretty thorough scrubdown prior to using the sealant. It’ll only make your life easier in the end.