I’m getting ready to use rustoleum on the garage/shop floor. Somebody mentioned they had mixed sand with it to provide more slip resistance. Any details would be appreciated.
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Replies
Having spent a couple of years working for a company that had a machine shop with a sanded epoxy floor, I can't recommend it. Anytime you try to scoot something heavy across the floor (e.g., a workbench), assuming you can move it at all, you're going to grind off the ends of the legs. A sanded floor is difficult to clean, and wreaks havoc on brooms, vacuum cleaner extremities, etc. Don't even think about kneeling down on the floor to get at something.
On the store shelves alongside the epoxy garage floor coatings, there are containers of plastic bits that you can sprinkle onto the coating for slip resistance. (And the coating kits usually contain a packet, too.) These are a much better choice than sand.
-Steve
Sand makes it impossible to sweep the floor clean and causes all of the other problems described by the first response.
To be honest, unless the floor has serious problems with cement dust coming off of it, I wouldn't apply an epoxy, it will potentially lead to several future problems and serves no function other than improving the appearance of the floor.
John White
Edited 5/9/2008 11:13 am ET by JohnWW
I agree wholeheartedly that a cement floor needs no epoxy, but I have to wonder if you had tee many martoonis "To be honest, unless the floor has serious with cement dust coming off of it,"!!"There are men in all ages who mean to govern well, but they mean to govern. They promise to be good masters, but they mean to be masters."
-- Daniel Webster
Thanks, that one slipped by my proofreading. I corrected it to "a serious problem". Red wine was the culprit.John W.
John, in my past house I put in the rustoleum product and it was great(I reviewed here). Not slippery at all. It looked great, and it made clean up easy. Finally, My shop was dual purpose. It was a garage (one side) and shop. If you spill anything at all its a breeze to wipe up no stains. If my current house was not temporary I would be putting it down here. There is no need for sand though. If you have it very grainy, your roll around tool boxes will have issues. Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
I don't believe that you need sand - in fact I suspect it would be counterproductive.
I have had Rustoleum epoxy on my shop floor for three years and have NEVER found it to be slippery. The epoxy is a great aid in sweeping as concrete seems to continue "dusting" forever.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
If you're just doing an inside shop I would use just the epoxy, but if it's for a garage I'd put silica in the epoxy. I did my garage with just the epoxy and when it had water or snow on it it got very slippery. I had to redo it and put silica in the epoxy. It makes it a little difficult to sweep but it beats falling and breaking something. I think sand would be too rough, but they sell small can of fine silica right in most paint department to put in paint.
Joe
Yes, this is also a garage. We get a fair amount of snow here.
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