Beware of U-Coat-It...
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From: St. Louis, MO.
Beware of U-Coat-It... Well guys, I put down my new floor coating last week & I'm not happy with it at all to say the least. I've got several spots where the finish is dull & blotchy even though I followed the directions methodically & prepped the floor as good as can possibly be done. The most frustrating thing is that I've tried since last Thursday to get someone from U-Coat-It to help me with this & can't even get so much as a call back. Appearently there is only one guy in the entire company that can help me & he's never there & must not check his messages either. It specifically says on the instructional video that the "bond coat" is to be a thin & uniform coat, but the places where I put it down thick is actually where I got the best results (the finish coat follows after the bond coat is fully dried). I've checked their web site for trouble shooting tips (apparently I'm not the only one with this type of problem) & all of the possible problems that they list (proper ventalation, appropriate drying time, stain removal etc.), I took care of ahead of time.
If anyone can help me get a hold of someone or even knows of a dealer that might be able to have more pull with the company, please let me know. This kit was over double the price of other typical kits & I spent the extra $$$ not to have problems such as this.
Thanks.
Shay
If anyone can help me get a hold of someone or even knows of a dealer that might be able to have more pull with the company, please let me know. This kit was over double the price of other typical kits & I spent the extra $$$ not to have problems such as this.
Thanks.
Shay
Last edited by 98-mongooSSe; May 12, 2004 at 01:26 PM.
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2001
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From: Little Rock
Sorry to hear or your problems -- you're not the first person that I've heard complain about their lack of customer service. The other stories were enough to make me go with the Rustoleum product instead.
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I do think that applying another coat is all that I need to do in order to get the right look & finish, but without them calling me back (I left my 5th message this morning) I can't do anything really. I actually use my garage for work & their wasting time is costing me money! So much for getting what you pay for!
Shay
Shay
My girlfriend's bro-in-law used that stuff on his garage and it looked great for about 3 months and then started bubbling in areas. The house was brand new and he took all the necessary steps and prep, and did the job immediately after the house finished construction. I asked if he would recommend it for me, and he said hell no. He suggested tiles instead.
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From: Hartsdale, NY
Did you apply this stuff when it was too cold? Some of these chemical paints are really sensative to temperature....particularly those products with two-part components
I put some driveway crack gook on when it was about 50 degrees; it took forever for that stuff to dry. It says on the package not to apply it if it is too cold... now I know why....
I suppose it is expensive to apply another coat - in both time and materials...
I would be careful about putting tiles over the painted surface. Not all tile adhesives will stick to this stuff....you may now be stuck with the painted surface.
I put some driveway crack gook on when it was about 50 degrees; it took forever for that stuff to dry. It says on the package not to apply it if it is too cold... now I know why....
I suppose it is expensive to apply another coat - in both time and materials...
I would be careful about putting tiles over the painted surface. Not all tile adhesives will stick to this stuff....you may now be stuck with the painted surface.
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From: St. Louis, MO.
That was the first thing the guy who answers the phones asked me when I explained my problem, but it was high 70's to low 80's when I put it down which should be about the ideal temperature for proper curing.
If they'll just send me another gallon of the base & quart of hardener, I'll be satisfied, but the time it's taken to get to this point doesn't give me a good feeling about that lifetime garauntee anymore.
Shay
If they'll just send me another gallon of the base & quart of hardener, I'll be satisfied, but the time it's taken to get to this point doesn't give me a good feeling about that lifetime garauntee anymore.
Shay
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From: St. Louis, MO.
Well almost a week & 10+ phone calls later, the guy finally gets in touch with me. After talking through the whole process he admits that I did everything correctly & offers to pay half of another coat which basically will be another $70 out of my pocket. 
(That will be $350 total for a damn two car garage!) He also admitted that saying on their instructional video that the bond coat should be a thin coat was "probably" incorrect that they that should "probably" change that to say that you should use all the materials instead, but according to him I was just supposed to know that already. Or maybe I should have walked back across the wet floor to put down a thicker coat when I was done. I'm sure that would have looked really nice!
Bottom line is DO NOT SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY for a product when their customer serivce is this poor.
Shay
(That will be $350 total for a damn two car garage!) He also admitted that saying on their instructional video that the bond coat should be a thin coat was "probably" incorrect that they that should "probably" change that to say that you should use all the materials instead, but according to him I was just supposed to know that already. Or maybe I should have walked back across the wet floor to put down a thicker coat when I was done. I'm sure that would have looked really nice! Bottom line is DO NOT SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY for a product when their customer serivce is this poor.
Shay
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Verdad Gallardo TECH Veteran
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From: Hartsdale, NY
Really;
My driveway needs another coat of sealer; it cost about $400 in materials and $180 in labor (a wet-back day laboror) to put the first coat on....
The crack goo took about tem days to dry - but i cant; complain since it was realy too cold to apply it....and that was my fault...
I probably could have hired someone to do it for less with better results...oh well, live and learn...
My driveway needs another coat of sealer; it cost about $400 in materials and $180 in labor (a wet-back day laboror) to put the first coat on....
The crack goo took about tem days to dry - but i cant; complain since it was realy too cold to apply it....and that was my fault...
I probably could have hired someone to do it for less with better results...oh well, live and learn...
Launching!
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From: Plano, TX
Originally Posted by Nine Ball
My girlfriend's bro-in-law used that stuff on his garage and it looked great for about 3 months and then started bubbling in areas. The house was brand new and he took all the necessary steps and prep, and did the job immediately after the house finished construction. I asked if he would recommend it for me, and he said hell no. He suggested tiles instead.
On The Tree
Joined: Apr 2004
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From: Illinois
I just finnished doing my garage with rustoleum. I rolled it on and rolled a second coat on one or two minutes after the first. It turned out damm shinney. won't know for a while how durable it is.
There are so many differn't things about concrete that can create a bad finnish. Like did they put calcium cloride in the mix did the builder seal it is there a moisture problem or was it over finnished. Then you have air temps and relative humidity to deal with.
Some times I think maybe I should have just left it plain.
My buddy spent $3800 bucks for a 1/8" thick acrilic coating its the best floor finnish I've seen. Wish I had the money to have done it too. Should have went to college!!!!!
There are so many differn't things about concrete that can create a bad finnish. Like did they put calcium cloride in the mix did the builder seal it is there a moisture problem or was it over finnished. Then you have air temps and relative humidity to deal with.
Some times I think maybe I should have just left it plain.
My buddy spent $3800 bucks for a 1/8" thick acrilic coating its the best floor finnish I've seen. Wish I had the money to have done it too. Should have went to college!!!!!
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From: St. Louis, MO.
I do understand that concrete & the variables with having a do-it-yourself kit can be very wide & diverse, however, in my opinion it is up to the manufacturers of these epoxies to figure out how to make it work.
I paid well over twice the cost for the U-Coat-It kit as what a Rustolem, Griot's or PPG kit would have cost for a reason & when I followed the directions to the tee & it didn't come out as it should then it should be up to the manufacturer to make it right. To me they just took it as an opportunity to get ever more money out of an already dissatisfied customer & that's just not right.
Shay
I paid well over twice the cost for the U-Coat-It kit as what a Rustolem, Griot's or PPG kit would have cost for a reason & when I followed the directions to the tee & it didn't come out as it should then it should be up to the manufacturer to make it right. To me they just took it as an opportunity to get ever more money out of an already dissatisfied customer & that's just not right.
Shay
Originally Posted by Red2000SS
I think all the epoxy coatings recommend you wait a couple of months before you coat fresh concrete - it is still curing and can give off water vapor (maybe causing the bubbling). If he really coated it immediately after the house was finished, this could be his problem. I think he would have the same problem with any epoxy coating.
So, its a new house, but the cement should be fully cured/dry before the move in date.
