Top Secret Paint and Coatings

We purchased Top Secret for our restaurant. I chose this product believing it was a commercial hard coating.

The clear coat is coming up and there is a chemical reaction between the coating and our non stick restaurant shoes, taking the rubber right off our shoes. This product has cost us in shoes, and I am now purchasing a new coating after only 3 months. We are having to shut the restaurant down for repairs, costing us income for 3 days. The product also stinks so bad it took us 2 weeks before we could even open.

Do not buy this product.

I feel defrauded.

This is a long summary of events, but needed to show fault of product and business.  

On July 1, 2013, I made a phone call to Top Secret Floor Coatings to obtain information about their product. There were two floor products that would work for my garage floor, but wanted to make sure I selected the correct one. After talking with Matt, I decided to drive to Arlington, WA to get the product I needed, due to my work schedule and the amount of time I had to accomplish this job.  When I arrived, Matt was not there.  I was told by Mike that Matt had left my information and that he would take care of me.  I asked Mike a few questions, told him which product I needed and purchased the flooring product, which was the TS-840 Fast Dry Floor Kit.  I also told Mike that I needed the satin finish.  As I was loading the product in my vehicle, I asked Mike to verify I was getting the satin finish, and he responded yes this is the satin finish.  The satin finish was conveyed at least three times!  There is a code on the top of the lid that indicates satin/gloss, but did not know this at the time.  There is nothing on the label of the can that indicates the sheen.   Maybe they should have some stickers made and place them on the cans!

Over the next week, I prepared my floor per the directions I obtained off the Top Secret coatings web site.  This was not an internet purchase, and there were no directions or warranty information included with my floor kit.    The primer came in silver paint cans with no can claws or labels.   I even called and talked to Matt several times asking him questions about the product and preparations.  The first question I asked was sanding the floor and the best grit to use.  I wanted to make sure that I did everything I could so the outcome of the product came out great.  I also asked about putting down two coats of the primer instead of one.  Matt advised me that this is a one coat application, and two coats is not recommended.  This was conveyed three times.  On the phone prior to purchase, when the purchase took place, and prior to application.

There were two of us working on this process.  I followed Matt’s directions on rolling the shortest distance, and made sure that the flakes were down within the five minutes per the directions.  This product dried so fast, that I could not get from the back of the garage to the front before it dried. (~25’)  Time from front to back was under three minutes.  I even had a hard time getting the flakes to stick, and had to have the other worker on top of me putting down the chips as I painted to get them to stick.  When I finished, you could see every place I started and stopped with the roller.  The floor looked like a child painted it, and I've seen children paint better than this.

I called Matt and advised him of what happen.  He asked me to take pictures of the garage floor and email them to him.  He also said that the tech rep would be in that day and they would look at the pictures and come up with a plan to fix the mess.  Matt called me back and told me that it looked like I dried rolled the floor.  I told Matt that the floor was not dried rolled.  In fact the amount of paint I had left over, which was about a quart, would be about right for the square footage of my garage.  I told Matt that I have done a lot of professional painting and that this floor was not dry rolled.  I also told him that this primer dried to fast and that the temperature and conditions were perfect for having plenty of time to roll.  Matt did state in his letter that I purchased a fast dry product.  Not true!  The product states that this is a fast dry product that can be put down in a day.  There is nothing in the directions that state, this product dries in minutes!  Matt told me that a second coat would be required and that he would sell me the primer at half price.  I asked him to reconsider charging me for the additional product because I was told that only one coat would be required, and there is nothing on the web site that states two coats might be required under certain situations.   Matt said there was nothing he could do, and arranged for me to pick the product up at an off site location.  Had no choice but to pay for the additional primer to get the job done.  

When I picked up the primer, I asked about slowing down the drying time of the TS-4985 primer, and they suggested using a slowing agent to allow more time for application.  I called Matt and asked him about what I should use.  He told me that the tech rep said not to add anything to this product since this was the second coat, and that I should have plenty of time for application.  I applied the second coat of primer and it was like watching ground hog day over and over.  I had about 42 more seconds to get the product down and the chips as well.  In fact the chips were extremely hard to cover evenly with the time you had from one pass to the next.  I was very careful not to overlap or dry roll.  This was impossible to prevent.  The product dried so fast and not enough time to adequately spread the chips evenly.  It didn't look as bad as the first coat, but the additional chips helped cover up some of the roller marks.  You could still see every roller mark, but worked faster to avoid overlapping and dry rolling.  I even started about two feet from where I ended and rolled to where I finished which worked very well to feather in the roller marks due to the dry time.  As for the overlapping, there was nothing I could do to prevent the roller from touching where you had just rolled and cover the floor evenly.   I have done a lot of  professional painting and you cannot avoid roller marks if the paint/primer you are using dries this fast, this is why you use two coats to give you more time on the second coat due to paint absorption.  

Per the manufactures instructions, the TS-66 Supreme Urethane clear coat was rolled as well.  This product was not as difficult to apply, but did leave a few overlapping marks.  The instructions say to avoid heavy build up, but I have found the slightest overlapping will show up after product dries. The urethane was very glossy after application, but wasn't sure if the glossy appearance goes away after drying.

The following monday, I called Matt and advised him about the second coat and how glossy the urethane was.  He said in a few days the sheen will be satin.  I told him I didn't think this would happen but we will see.  I then asked how do you know whether the product was satin or gloss finish because there is nothing on the can to tell you which sheen it is.  He said the top of the can has a number on it which tells them what the sheen is in the can.  When I retrieved the number off the can, we determined that the product was a gloss finish (1515/7963). I also asked him if they had reconsidered charging me for the additional primer and he said that there was nothing he could do. I told Matt that I would think about the mistake they made on the gloss finish and call him back.

 I called back to talk about the next plan of action.  Matt said they would give me the satin product at their cost but would not cover the labor.  I told Matt it would be at least two weeks or more before I could redo the floor.  Because of the two weeks, he said I would have to rebuff the entire floor for the urethane to adhere.  Knowing how they handle their warranty or rather their corporate policy, taking the chance on damaging the paint chips or the urethane not adhering, was not an option I felt  comfortable with.   Their canned response to warranty issues is you didn't follow the directions.   I requested a refund for the product  since the product I purchased was the wrong sheen and would require to much additional time to redo.  I also told Matt that they should come up with a better idea on marking the cans, like making decals that say SATIN or GLOSS.  He then said "or we could have given you the correct product. "  There’s a concept!  During our last conversation, we both decided that it was best that he have the owner Peter Harrett call me back to resolve this issue.

Mr. Harrett never called back, which was a very poor business decision!    Several days later a box showed up from  Top Secret Coatings, which is probably the urethane, and a day later a letter from Matt explaining their Corporate policy.    They do not stand behind their product!   Instead, they find ways to show that you failed to follow the directions which voids the warranty.   They determined I dried rolled the product, when in fact there might be another reason this product went down the way it did, but their arrogance has stood in the way.  Yes, they did sell me additional product at a reduced price to fix the primer problem.  I had to spend two additional days to fix the primer issue, but it was not my mistake they gave me a gloss instead of the satin finish that I requested several times.  Their corporate policy states it is my responsibility to make sure I received the correct product.  How is this possible if they didn't mark the product correctly!  In order to redo the satin coating,  it would require an additional two days of my time.  If for some reason the product didn't adhere for any reason, they will say they can't honor the warranty because I didn't follow the directions that they didn't  provide when I purchased from day one.  As a consumer I did what was expected of me and more, including purchasing additional primer at my cost.   They failed to give me the correct product I asked for,  and there was no way of knowing the urethane was gloss not satin other than a verbal acknowledgment.  I gave up two additional days of labor to fix a problem they said I caused. They must share their responsibility as a business for their mistake and refund the purchase price paid.  They failed to sell me the product I requested.  Beware of this product!  It is a fast drying product that should be sprayed not rolled.  If a product dries this fast without adequate working time, then maybe they need to state this in the directions.  All the directions state is that you have five minutes to place paint chips or they may not stick. Having done a lot of professional painting, there would be no way a novice painter could roll this product with good results.  If you are not a professional, do not use this product!

We purchased 2 gal of deck paint (at over $100/gal incl. shipping) in Nov of '11.

Because we put an addition on to our deck, we purchased 2 more gal in March of '13. This was a standard color...but the colors do not match. Now we have to repaint the entire "old" section and do not have enough to do so. I have called and emailed regarding the situation.

Both have been ignored. When I called, I got a non-professional recording saying I could leave a message, but they were in the process of moving their business so didn't know when they could return phone calls. What a horrible way to do business!! My husband and I are definitely wishing we'd just spent $35/gal at Home Depot on paint we have to redo every 3 years, than to deal with a business like this.

My luck, if I ordered another gallon of this TS paint, it would be yet a 3rd shade of Dk Brown. Buy your paint somewhere else!!

I purchased Top Secret TS-66 epoxy and TS-664 primer. The epoxy color was based upon the company's online representation.

We were using a new HP PC and new flat screen monitor. The color we ordered and that which we received were completely different. Our application was far from our home, our hunting camp in the middle of MI's U.P., and the material arrived shortly before we went up there. The schedule for the effort to empty the camp, clear the floor, and apply the epoxy was coordinated among several people.

Long story short: it was too late to return the epoxy and experience what could have been several shipments/returns to get the color correct. The LEAST the company could have done afterward is give us a significant discount.

Instead they refused to a thing. I advise you not to use Top Secret products.

I called Top Secret Coatings and discussed in detail that i wanted a top grade concrete non skid coating that would cover minor cracks and be durable enough to withstand heavy traffic. The salesman recommended their epoxy TS-95.

They sold me a thin water based latex that took 3 coats to keep the concrete from bleeding through an never even fille minor hairline cracks .

After I bought the product I checked online and found many of the same complaints about this company doing the same thing to others. They charged me 10 times what my father in law paid at Home Depot for a better product.

I have a large building and i painted over 5k square feet. It started falling off after i spent big bucks on the coatings. Peter Harrett, the active manager there asked me if i tested the moisture before painting it?

I didn't but a paint should still work shouldn't it?

Then he asked what i cleaned the floor with. My crew swept it. He said i should have washed it and used one of the cleaners he recommended. Now i am very upset, two things i didn't do.

Did i just lose my money not installing this product right? I am very upset. Peter is suppose to call me back. I picked up the paint two weeks ago. It was a nice plant, nice office waiting area and it all the people i meet seemed like good people. I just feel like i shouldn't tried to install this with our crew, either way it's a lot of money to lose.

This 10 year maintenance free service is bull. Every thing from the start was bad.

The paint pealed and chipped I was told it was moisture. I had a professional do the job. and did all the tests they asked but they still refuse to admit its the paint that is the problem. They were sent pictures and they still denied it was a paint problem.

At first they answered my email but not any more. I refuse to do any more tests they say I need to do as I am disabled and must pay for them.

Do not do business with this co. Your just spending big money for worthless paint.

We applied an epoxy protective coating to the floor of an art studio and spent considerable phone time with the company getting all the instructions and list of products to do this properly. Before the contractor ordered the products, he too spoke to the tech department to make sure he knew everything he needed to know about the product.

About twenty days after application, the color started coming off. We called and were now told that there was a "hardener" that should also have been applied. No one in multiple conversations ever mentioned anything about a hardener (which on website is labeled optional for use if heavy objects might be on the surface e.g. cars).

We had to redo the job and when we asked for the products (not the labor) to be comped, they refused--denying any responsibility whatsoever.

PLEASE be warned that this company will not stand by its products and has extremely rude customer service (they hung up on me when I suggested they should consider refunding the replacement products I was forced to purchase). Once they have your money, they consider the business relationship over.

Spent nearly 3000.00 dollars with them nothing but problems all the way miss ship, wrong product shipped, won't return phone calls, hung up on me,had product failure one of the gallons of paint set up before I could even get it applied . and of course its my fault,I have been invovled in the building trades for 35 years used epoxy, enamel, latex, automotive paints,you name it don't expect support or warranty from these guys once they have your money.

Because of these problems our bussines was but on hold for 3 weeks Peter Harret who is one of the owners will take no responsiblity , Kevin Beno American Rent All LLC THompson CT.

Posted Nov. 24 2009