Epoxy floor coatings for garages?

I would like to have the epoxy based floor covering under where I park my cars. Home depot has the Rustoleum brand epoxy kit, its $99. Says it will cover 400 sq. ft. Has anyone put this down in their garage or shed? Does it hold up well? I have heard of people sprinkling sand on the epoxy before the curing is complete for a nonslip surface, Is there an acid etch solution for the concrete before rolling the epoxy? If I do this it wont be until spring of course but I want to hear from the guys here that have done it.

I do not know where you live but if you can locate a Hirshfield's paint store they have the best floor covering I have found. They will explain the prep using cleaning and etching agents. I hate to sell the folks at Home Depot and Menards short, but face the fact that those folks that sell you the paint may have no real experience other that salesmanship. My suggestion is to get your epoxy from a paint store. Coverage runs closer to 275 square feet per gallon instead of 400. 325 if your floor is less than a few years old. If you have more question I would be glad to help.

If you want another option visit a concrete company. TK has some great easy to use products.

I did mine about ten years ago and it holds up well. I can't remember if it was the rustoleum brand, but it was a two stage deal with a primer coat. My floor was a little powdery. This made a big difference. I could pressure wash it and mop it to keep it clean enough to slide under a car and not get your good clothes dirty.

Yeh, light tan. Rustoleum...about 10 years ago. Had to use muriatic acid to etch the concrete as it was pretty new. I opted not to use anything grip stuff in it. It does get slick when wet. I walk careful but it doesn't get wet often. Sweeps real well and the concrete expansion cracks I filled with foam filler rod and polyurethane caulk. A bit pricey but it is still right where I put it. If I had to do it again, I'd do exactly the same thing, with the same products.

I hate that crap. GM put it on our plant floor, and I fell on my butt too many times. And it will look dirty 5 minutes after you clean it.

I used rustoleum 2 part epoxy on my floor,power washed,etched it,followed directions and it was good for 1 year,it seems that salt from cars dripping off in a heated garage tends to make it peel off the floor,several friends have had the same problem here in the snow/salt belt.

In moderate climates it holds up fair in a non-working garage, not for jack in a real "shop" and it is in fact slippery when wet.

Removed two of them this fall with a diamond grinder, and replaced with real epoxy materials. Most of those cheaper kits are made by the same company (look at the packaging, they are all the same box with different name on them.They are kind of cheating with the term (epoxy)

Real epoxy cost big dollars, and looks like a halway of a palace--it looks like it has water all over the floor, and you can see yourself in the finish. It is a two part aplication--12 hrs between coats. Not for the homeowner by any means even if you have a hard woking crew. Way to expensive to waste materials.

They usualy are sold in kits, often the flakes must be purchased from a seperate company. The flakes for a 2 1/2 garage was 70-100 pounds of flakes. It could not look more perfect, and I think a quoted price for a 2 1/2 floor was $2,700.00.

Both parties are tickled beyond their best expectations. It would have been lots cheaper to not have to remove the old product first.

Google epoxy flooring, and see what I'm refering to. There are lots to choose from, I can tell you the one that seemed cheapest, by stepping the middle man, and lots of dollars.

I applied epoxy on my 10 yr old garage floor in Oct. of '06. I have loved it. I live in Wisconsin and the tires drag in lots of salt, sand, etc. The floor is easy to clean, better than bare concrete. I stirred the no-slip sand into the mixture and spread it on the floor. The floor is not slippery when wet. The epoxy keeps water from getting to the concrete so the floor dries faster. Every April I grab a push broom and garden hose and flush the winter crap right out the door. I didn't put it on thick enough in one spot so it looks a little bad, but that's my fault. Don't skimp with it...I used 2 batches of it for my double garage as 1 batch is not enough. An older vehicle left some rust areas, and that is hard to get rid of completely.
No, I don't sell the stuff.
LA in WI

i put down the Rustoleum 2 part epoxy almost 9 years ago over a fresh slab in my shop...wound up with 3 coats because after 2 it was real slick and slab had a rough broom finish before...third coat had kitty litter mixed in it...i have yet to burn,break thru,or in any other way get to the concrete...i do welding,cutting,small engine repair,and occasionally have my dozer in shop...i'd do it all over again today.

Like was mentioned below, there is commercial/industrial/institutional grade materials out there (link below - 1 mfr of epoxy based coatings) + they produce other high quality materials, some are specified by NYS in their masters specifications as I recall. Materials like these are for high traffic, abrasion resistance and durable performance, the homeowner materials at the big box stores and similar do not perform like these. Same H/O grade requires existing concrete and or new/ recently cured to be etched, I've done a few, as per mfr instructions and have noticed that it does not take all that long for the winter time grit from sand and salt on the road to compromise the finish.

On the other hand, I was involved with a large state project, 11 years or so ago, whereas most of the 25 buildings received a commercial grade epoxy floor, with an anti slip aggregate applied. Some of the buildings were inmate housing, the cells were precast concrete, it received a lot of construction traffic, so the dust /dirt had to be cleaned, and all surfaces were prepared by first by the use of glass beading, to really etch the surface for the subsequent coatings, to achieve their designed bond strength. This material does cure quite hard, and the anti slip aggregate, a sand like or synthetic equal of same was broadcast applied and either the size or density adjusted to the state directors rep's liking for anti-slip properties. Housing buildings, connecting corridors, admin buildings etc. there was was a lot of square footage, (in the thousands). This material does cost, but is superior from what I have seen. There was one subcontractor, working for a prime contractor, specializing in this work, though it was not rocket science, nonetheless it was a specialty kind of work seemingly done best in by experienced hands.
Euclid Chemical Company

I appreciate the comments, I would like to do this due to the ground in mud and mess where my cars are parked. (real bad) A friend of mine has a pressure washing business and I will likely have him wash it first. I would like to mix sand in with the epoxy mix when I do it.

I used just a plain gray epoxy on my shop floor....two years ago and it is holding up great. Don't use acid or solvent prep on the concrete whatever you do. The acid gets down in the pores of the concrete and will cause the epoxy to lift later. I used a floor scrubber with just soap and water and a couple of good rinses, and is working fine....no lift spots!

I got my Rustoleum kits from Graingers 5 years
ago and am very happy. I put in in over new
concrete that I let sit for 6 weeks.