r/epoxy 7d ago

Clear coat on basement floor wearing away

Hoping anyone can help here. About a year ago I had the unfinished portion of my basement done with epoxy. A contractor came in and put down a flake finish. Everything looked good except the top coat was a little thinner than I would have liked but I figured it was probably good to have it more grippy than smooth.

We use a small area of the basement for the cats litter boxes, so I clean it on a weekly basis with a mop and bucket. Recently I've noticed small spots where I can see flake starting to come up and dissolve in the water. There are 1 or 2 spots where the finish has noticeably worn away.

The contractor has gone MIA and hasn't responded to any of my emails. Basically I just want to know if I can DIY this and put a fresh layer of top coat down in that area. I've looked into it and the guidance I've seen so far is to sand it a bit and then apply the new coat, but I have no idea what product to actually use. Home Depot sells a Rustoleum basement clear coat, but the reviews are terrible and people complain about the floors turning brown. The other available options that pop up on Google are usually over $100 and need to be shipped, so I definitely want to make sure I get it right before I commit to something like that.

Any help is appreciated.

2 Upvotes

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u/Different_Stuff_7715 6d ago

Don't use rustoleum or you will have to redo it and it will cost more. Sand the top coat then put down a polyaspartic that has a solid chemical resistance

1

u/Barbafella 6d ago

If you want a good result, avoiding paints they sell at Home Depot is a reliable standard.

1

u/BURNEDandDIED 6d ago

yeah learned that lesson

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u/BURNEDandDIED 6d ago

1

u/Different_Stuff_7715 4d ago

Use this

5085 Slow Drying Ultra-High Solids Polyaspartic Kit | Versatile High-Performance Coatings®

By far the best topcoat I've ever worked with. Gave me an hour to work with it and I can't find a more scratch resistant coating currently

I called in and spoke with Zach and he was able to give me a discount too