Floor Patch Products: What do you like best

[halfdime]

OK. There are a lot of threads out there on patching bolt holes from seats and foot sized holes and I am starting out on the first build.

The plan is to weld the larger spots with replacement metal, wire brush, use rust converter and an epoxy product.

What are the favorite converter and epoxy products that do not break the bank?

Converter
Home Depot - Concrete & Metal Etch and Prep - 1 gall $17.00
Home Depot - Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer - 1 gall $9.98


Expoxy
Anyone use PC-11 Marine Grade Epoxy?
$71.00 for 8# good for nearly 11sqft of coverage at 0.125 thick.
PC-7 is non marine grade, and about the same price.

JB Weld is 10oz for $21.00, which is pretty pricey.


After the metal floor, I am considering coating the primer with Redguard then laying down the 3/4" plywood. It would seal anything up and create a vapor barrier. Thoughts?

[StatTarget]

Suggesting the crazy option...

One penny per hole...silicon caulk on each penny...smash it down and move on.

[bp1791-unleashed]

Originally Posted by StatTarget

Suggesting the crazy option...

One penny per hole...silicon caulk on each penny...smash it down and move on.

I've seen the suggestion to use a penny before, but I thought I had seen many people recommend against silicon products due to lack of adhesion over time.

I'm curious if that'll be a problem.

At first it seems crazy to use a penny that way, but then you think about the cost of other products, and it really is a cheap way to do it.

Is there any chance of galvanic reactions with the penny vs the metal floor?

[StatTarget]

the silicon (or other) caulk should provide a thin layer between the dissimilar metals.

one could epoxy the pennies down. but honestly, silicon + gravity + preasure from the floor above should be fine.

[waxman]

I painted the floor after rust remediation then the small holes got steel rivets. larger bolt holes got pennies with two part epoxy. then dap extreme stretch elastomeric caulking on everything then another coat of paint. probably overkill but its sealed up good

[musigenesis]

Originally Posted by bp1791-unleashed

Is there any chance of galvanic reactions with the penny vs the metal floor?

Rusting requires exposure to water and oxygen no matter what, so as long as everything is sealed up with epoxy and/or paint there won't be any corrosion. If water does get in, it's going to cause rust anyways - the galvanic reaction would just make it worse. But not for very long, since modern pennies are like 98% zinc with a thin copper outer layer.