Rust Bullet for Concrete

This paint works great on my garage floor. It's a water vapor-curing polyurethane, not epoxy. It's smooth, is easy to sweep and has a pleasing gray sheen. Rust Bullet was developed originally to attach to rust chemically for application to very large projects like bridges and ships. Someone must have spilled some on a concrete floor and found it was impossible to remove. It has superior adhesion and a much higher heat capacity. Hot tires will not lift the film off the concrete. Also, you don't have to etch or grind to concrete like you have with epoxy. The urethane hardens by combining with water in the air. For that reason, you cannot apply if it's raining or if the humidity and temperature are too high. I rolled the paint onto my garage floor in approximately 7-1/2 foot squares using the expansion joints as borders. You must apply at least two coats and you cannot let the first coat fully cure before applying the second coat because the urethane cures to such a hard smooth surface that the second coat won't adhere and you need to sand it to rough it up a bit. So the technique is to apply the first coat and wait about two hours, then apply the second coat. If you can walk on the slightly tacky first coat in socks without picking up any paint, it's ready to apply the second coat. Application: I used a 9" roller with a 3/8" nap, but applied way too much product at first. Roll it on very thin. The product does not "level" itself. If it's rough when you apply, it will cure rough. Do not cross roll left and right on the final stroke. On the final pass before moving to the next square, stroke the entire area in one direction. To do this, pick up the roller, drop it at the top of your work square and pull the roller gently and slowly to you. Pick up the roller, move three quarters of a roller to the right, drop it at the top and pull it back to yourself. Do not push the roller away or you will see a different sheen. There is aluminum powder in the formula and if you mess up your technique, you will definitely see a pattern difference. The manufacturers call the technique "backrolling." Don't overfill the roller so you don't apply too much. By the time I got to the front of the garage my technique was down and the job came out smooth and even. The back of the garage, where I started, is stippled and quite rough. Fortunately, it's not easily seen as the areas by the big door, so I'm putting up with it for now. I'm planning on sand it smooth and applying a third coat someday. Spraying the material would lay the ideal surface down, but be aware you need to wear a respirator and open the doors for ventilation even if you roll it. Spraying it would put even more into the air. A really good high volume/low pressure gun or the proper airless would probably work, but the stuff needs special thinner to clean up, so I opted for a roller I could simply throw away. You need to stir often as the powdered aluminum starts to sink to the bottom. Give yourself plenty of time. I started too late in the afternoon and with my careful rolling taking much longer than I anticipated and adding the 90-120 minute wait time between coats, I didn't finish until about 2 AM. I applied the Rust Bullet to virgin concrete in a new home. The concrete had cured about a year and was very clean -- not oily or even driven on much. I ran a strip of 2" masking tape around the base of the walls. It was high enough that no paint got on the wall. After researching many floor options -- including interlocking squares, floating plastic, peel and stick vinyl, 12" vinyl commercial floor tile and others -- Rust Bullet was the least expensive and easiest to apply. It also allows for the expansion joints. I filled the joints after the Rust Bullet cured with Sika Corporation 106711 Self Leveling Sealant, 29-Ounce, Gray , after stuffing some 1/4" backer rod ( 1/4" Closed Cell Backer Rod - 100 ft Roll ) into the crack so the Sika would not run down into the crack. The Sika is very adhesive and expandable so the joints can move but debris does not fall into the joints. I overfilled the joints, let it dry, then shaved it level to the finished floor with a scraper holding a single edge razor blade. I can now sweep the floor very easily using a commercial dust mop. The floor is beautiful and gets great comments.

Excellent product. I am using it to coat my basement floor. I did a lot of prep work before choosing this coating--grinding or chemically removing all of the various coatings, cleaning, applying a penetrating sealer, cleaning, and more cleaning. I had also installed a perimeter sump pump drainage system covering the entire basement perimeter. I checked the concrete floor for dampness in several places. There was none so I proceeded with the Rust Bullet coating. This is an industrial coating that is not for the faint of heart. I made sure all pilot lights were off and set up cross ventilation with open windows and fans. I also donned gloves, eye protection, and a respirator (very smelly stuff). I thoroughly mixed the product (and this takes a while); used a disposable brush to cut in an area; poured the product on the floor and rolled it on with a disposable roller for rough surfaces. If the floor was not sticky when I touched it with a glove, I applied the second coat. I also planned to leave my house while the air circulated--it is very smelly. I purchased quarts because I had read how hard it was to reseal a can. So I did a section for each quart and applied the 2nd coat over this section. Then I moved on. This actually worked fairly well since I could not completely empty the basement without extraordinary effort. After a 10 day drying time, I moved stuff into the newly coated section and continued on. The portions I have done seem to have really "stuck" to the concrete, unlike other floor finishes I attempted in the past. There also seems to be a high degree of scratch resistance. I like the silvery gray color as the final flooring in the workshop and storage areas. If my review changes in any way, I will update.

I have a 550 Sq ft garage and, due to a significant amount of pitting in the concrete, it took 2 gallons to do one coat. I prefilled some of the pitting with epoxy, but a fair amount was left unfilled. I had to order another gallon to do the 2nd coat. The photo is one coat, not yet fully dried. It went on nice & smooth and looks good so far.

I went with Rust Bullet because it didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on an epoxy floor but also did not want to apply a cheap concrete paint that was going to fail in a matter of months. I just finished applying three coats to my 560 square foot garage. Went through 3 gallons and a quart. Although it says on the instructions that you don't need to I did power wash, degrease, and acid etch the concrete. It is old and was very dirty. I also used an angled grinder to remove some old paint and improve the profile of the concrete in certain areas. This stuff has a pretty strong smell. If you don't wear an appropriate mask you will feel it. It hasn't fully cured yet but can tell this stuff is strong! Usually when I'm painting around the house it is easy to clean up spills. If you spill this where you don't want it goof luck cleaning it up. Got some on my hands (recommend gloves) and even though I cleaned them immediately this isn't coming off anytime soon. I'm very hopeful it will do the same in my garage floor. There are some downsides of this though that might make someone consider their Duragrade product vs Rust bullet Concrete. This stuff is not super easy to work with. If you are not careful or an experienced painter you will get roller marks everywhere. Unlike regular paint where you don't really have to think about it, with this you should go slow and don't over apply. Nice thin coats with lots of back rolling. Roller marks are mostly gone with the third coat. My concrete was very porous and needed more coats. Now despite me being very careful and keeping a wet edge I can still see darker area where the roller overlapped from the previously painted areas. I don't have time to apply a 4th coat so I'm just going to have to live with the floor not being 100% perfect. Overall I'm happy with the product. So much better that cheap concrete paint and so much more inexpensive than epoxy. I'll update this review if things don't go as well as I anticipate they will. Update #1: Now that it has been fully cured I parked the cars in the garage. No issues so far with hot tire pick up. This stuff is strong! I dropped a single drop of paint on my driveway just to see how strong it was. After 3 days I am unable to remove the drop by scratching at it. It is hard as a rock! Usually with regular paint you can scuff it and tear it up with your nail. With this stuff I'd probably tear off my nail before I can tear off a piece of Rust bullet. I added some pics to show the issue of overlap marks. It doesn't show as well in the pictures but it is very obvious in person. Again, not a huge deal for me but this stuff is not as easy to use as they may say it is. So if you want your job to look 100% perfect I would consider spraying this on or may e using their Duragrade paint, supposedly it goes on much better. I'll give another update if I have any issues but so far this stuff looks like it's going to protect my garage floor very well.

I applied this material to +/- 750 sq. ft. of new concrete garage and workshop flooring. I used a total of 7 gallons that yielded 3 coats on the 600 sq. ft. garage and 4 on the 150 sq. ft. workshop, with Tread Tex added for a non-skid surface. I followed all directions for prep and application precisely. I first tried adding the Tread Tex to the second coat paint cans but it was very difficult to control in that application technique. I changed to the “broadcast onto to tacky first coat” technique using a handheld fertilizer spreader. Again, very difficult to control but somewhat easier so I stayed with this method. As others have stated, this is a VERY high VOC material. A 3M P100 filter on your respirator and a box fan are mandatory. Fortunately, my application is in a new house we weren’t living in yet. The odor dissipates in about 24 hours, but you really wouldn’t want to breath it for a day. The moisture cured material dried very quickly in the high humidity here in SE North Carolina. I was able to apply subsequent coats within two hours. I did have to sand between coats on part of the floor because I was not happy with the result after only two coats. I used a pole sander with 120 grit paper. It was not too difficult and I actually think sanding before the final coat cut down on roller marks. But, sanding between coats is obviously to be avoided if possible. Also as others have stated, this material dries hard as steel and spills must be cleaned immediately with acetone. I bought budget rollers and roller covers, and just discarded them after each coat. Bottom line: If this material holds up it will be functionally acceptable. If you want a roller mark free finish you’ll need far better roller technique than I have (not that my technique is great) or go with something else. It doesn’t look bad, just that the combination of hard to control Tread Tex and this material yields a somewhat uneven finish with a lot of roller marks.

Summary for Colder weather (25-35degF), low humidity (35%), 510sf garage. I used 4 gallons exactly for 3 coats and my concrete was moderately porous. 1st coat - 1.65gal; 2nd coat -1.35gal; final (w/ anti slip) - 1gal. Coats took 6hrs to dry with near freezing temps and low moisture. Recommend 3 coats to minimize roller marks. I etched the concrete, patched with Sika concrete repair then rustoleum epoxy, then washed with dish detergent / rinsed with plenty of water. It's dry here so i gave out 7 days to dry and applied propane heat to the garage to keep above freezing. I bought 4.25gal and used 4... I used a 350sf/gal planning factor. I tried to keep the floor and subsequent paint buckets warm but it was 35 and 24degF last night when I applied the first and second coats... no issue with curing for the final, just took about 6 hrs to be tack-free. USE THE "W" METHOD AND BACKROLL LIGHTLY IN ONE DIRECTION FOR THE ENTIRE SURFACE. I hate caps but that was important or you will get horrible roller marks. << my 3rd coat covered them up but you can still make them out in the sheen/light. This does a remarkable job covering stains but it's very thin and does not fill or level imperfections (see photo of crack that i thought was completely smooth...) oh, and don't try to recoat when tacky... just wait; it will stick to your shoes and possibly peel up precious mils of poly. If you need application times for 510sf, 1st coat - 2hrs (cutting in takes time); 2nd coat 1.25hrs; Final - 1hr. I'll update this in a few days, months, and year or more. I'm impressed and can recommend this over epoxy for DIY application. I'll give two thumbs up to Rust Bullet, albeit a bit premature concerning a longevity review.

It recommended at least 2 coats I applied 3 coats to the floor following the directions cleaning the floor and for drying time between coats. After about 2 months the floor chips and scratches very easily. I was mopping the floor and noticed that it started getting water bulges under the paint so I poked holes in it so I can get the water out. It's like it didn't bond to the floor I guess it could have been installation error on my part somehow.not durable at all. The only good thing is it is resistant to chemicals I got some on my hands when I was installing it and couldn't wash it off for nothing it had to wear off my skin. If only it did that for the floor as well.

This is the 2nd house I have put this product in. It is long wearing and stays good even when pink stripper was dropped on it. Great for concrete garage floors. Can apply in cold weather or hot. Good coverage. Wear a respirator, the fumes are strong.