Garage Floor Coatings 101: Understanding the Different Types and Their Applications


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If you’re planning to invest money into your garage floor, you need to understand the types of coatings on the market. Not all garage coatings are created equal, and each type possesses its own set of benefits.

Types of Garage Floor Coatings

Epoxy, polyurea, and polyaspartic are all popular choices for protecting concrete from common wear and tear and adding aesthetic value. Your selection ultimately depends on your desired level of durability, your timeline, and the floor’s appearance.

Epoxy Floor Coating

Epoxy, the most widely known type of floor coating, is a multilayer resinous coating. It is a synthetic polymer applied on top of existing concrete. Epoxy becomes a rigid surface when it cures, helping to prevent scratches, cracking, and chipping in your concrete. While epoxy is favored for its durability, it also comes in a wide range of customizable finishes and adds great aesthetic value to your space.

Polyurea Floor Coating

Polyurea floor coatings are praised for their superior durability and fast drying time. Polyurea is a specific type of polymer called an elastomer, which makes it a more flexible compound than epoxy. The increased flexibility makes it even more resilient to abrasion and impact. However, its speedy cure time makes it difficult to work with because the installers must move very quickly. Polyurea is great for high-traffic areas, as it resists chemicals, scratches, and general abrasion.

Polyaspartic Floor Coating

Polyurea and polyaspartic are closely related. Polyaspartic also has fast drying times and remarkable durability. However, polyaspartic is a version of polyurea modified to overcome specific challenges, like UV exposure. Polyaspartic coatings do not yellow over time in the sunlight like their counterparts. Many professionals favor polyaspartic flooring solutions due to their high-performing attributes, but it’s a more expensive option.

Epoxy vs. Polyurea vs. Polyaspartic

Durability

All three options significantly increase the protection of your floors. They all provide scratch and chemical resistance, and they seal the concrete from moisture damage. Due to their more flexible nature, though, polyurea and polyaspartic solutions outperform epoxy regarding lifespan and abrasion prevention.

UV-Resistance

Polyaspartic is uniquely formulated to be UV-resistant. If the coating is consistently exposed to sunlight, polyaspartic is the only option that isn’t going to yellow over time with sun exposure.

Timeline

If you need to minimize the time away from using your garage, polyurea, and polyaspartic are the way to go. They cure in just one day. If you have a week to spare, epoxy cures in 5 to 7 days. Weather also impacts the type of coating you can install. Epoxy should only be applied at warmer temperatures, whereas polyurea and polyaspartic coatings can be applied at any time of the year.

Cost

Epoxy is the most budget-friendly option, as polyurea and polyaspartic flooring solutions are a bit pricier. Of the three options, polyaspartic is the highest quality coating, so it tends to cost the most per square foot. However, polyaspartic coatings may save you money over time because they typically last the longest.

How to Know Which Floor Is Right for Your Garage

You’ll need to consider how much UV exposure your garage floor will face and how much money you’re willing to spend to protect your floor from yellowing over time. Polyaspartic is the only solution that won’t deteriorate in the sunlight.

Additionally, the type of floor coating depends on when and how fast you want your project completed. Polyurea and polyaspartic can be installed at lower air temperatures, whereas epoxy requires warm weather to install. Polyurea and polyaspartic have very fast curing times, under 24 hours. Epoxy needs about 5 days to dry before driving a car on it.

To what extent is your garage subjected to wear and tear? If you only lightly use your garage, epoxy might be just fine! However, if you have a lot of heavy machinery, abrasive materials, and heavy traffic, you may want to consider more durable solutions, like polyurea and polyaspartic.

Get Expert Help from Coating Designs

If you have questions about which garage coating is right for you, call Coating Designs at (888) 837-6998. We’ll give our professional advice and provide a free estimate with no obligation!

More About Coating Designs, Your Go-To Coating Team

Our team of professionals at Coating Designs provides top-notch garage floor coating services in Orlando and the surrounding areas. We offer 100% solid epoxy and polyaspartic urethane flooring solutions. We’ll collaborate with you to find the most suitable, cost-effective solution for your project’s specifications. Because of our commitment to our customers, we offer a 25-year warranty for standard flooring, so you can rest assured that your floors are protected.

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What are concrete coatings?

Our epoxy floor coatings are a concrete resurfacing option that is installed over existing concrete floors for both interior and exterior concrete. All of our coatings are installed by hand (we do not use any stamps), thus giving our clients a true, one-of-a-kind floor. We install a wide range of flooring systems such as: 100% solid epoxy, concrete stain, acrylic cement, and rubber based products.

Clients have the ability to customize any coating with our various color options and design techniques. Concrete Coatings are used not only in residential, but industrial and recreational settings as well. Premier uses only the highest quality, industrial products on the market to ensure every customer is getting the best value.

How Much Do Your Concrete Floor Coatings Cost?

Each project is customized to your particular concrete flooring needs. Every job we do is different, because we offer different types of coatings and finishes.  We will work with you to develop a free estimate keeping your budget in mind. 

How Durable Are Your Epoxy Concrete Coating Systems??

We use only industrial products on all of our epoxy floor projects. They are designed to give clients the most value and longevity over any other coating material on the market. Just to give you an idea of how strong our products are, we installed an epoxy flake floor in the garage of a Fire Station in 2008 to protect the firehouse’s garage from dirt, debris, salt, and the extreme work environment. Due to our expertise and industrial coatings, we have yet to receive a repair call. Those same products are used in all of our residential projects.

How long does a typical epoxy flooring project take to complete?

A typical residential project takes approximately 3 – 5 days to complete depending on several variables. Variables include, but are not limited to: size of job, repairs and/or preparation requirements, weather, additional design details, customer requests, etc.

What if I already have an existing concrete coating?

Unfortunately, we must grind off any existing coating and repair materials before we can install any of our concrete coatings. This ensures the integrity and longevity of our flooring systems. If you have stamped concrete that has faded, please contact us for options in reviving it.

How Long Do I Need To Stay Off My Concrete Floor Coating After It Is Installed?

If using 100% solids epoxy, your floor will be cured and walkable in about 12-18 hours. You can return to full heavy traffic after about 24 - 72 hours. Wait for at least 24 hours before moving light weight furniture on your brand new concrete coating flooring. Before moving anything heavy (car, equipment and furniture).

How do you prepare concrete for resurfacing?

We start every project by first preparing the concrete for our products. It is imperative that we have a fresh concrete surface before installing our concrete coatings on your project – this will allow our products to have only the BEST mechanical bond.

We spend approximately 66% of the project prepping your floor which may either be by diamond grinding or pressure washing the concrete (depending on the location of the project) and in some cases we do both! Most contractors will come in and just acid wash or not even prep your floor – we get calls all the time about botched installs with customers asking if we can save their project; we must start fresh every time.

Will I Need To Reseal My Concrete Floor Coating?

If you follow our maintenance and cleaning guidelines, you should not have to worry about resealing the concrete floor coating. We offer a professional grade cleaner that will easily remove stains or tire marks, but will also preserve the life of your concrete coating topcoat.

What If My Concrete Floor Has Cracks, Chips And Is Old?

No worries, we are experts in repairing existing problem areas of concrete. In some cases we have been found to be a cheaper alternative over tearing out and replacing existing slabs of concrete. Once we have saved your concrete we then install our decorative designs to hide the flaws and repairs.

How Do I Care For My Concrete Floor Coating?

You can clean our concrete coatings with typical sweeping, mopping or steaming. 

Will Oil Stain My Concrete Floor Coating?

Epoxy floor coatings are extremely resistant to most hazards, including cleaners, gas, oil, transmission fluid, and even most industrial chemicals. Our epoxy concrete coatings system is both oil and moisture resistant.

Who Invented Polyurea Coatings?

Andy Phelan, director of business development and training at Rhino Linings Corporation, explains, “Polyurea was invented in the early 1980s when a less moisture-sensitive form of polyurethane was desired. By replacing the hydroxyl group in the urethane with an amine group, a product we now call polyurea was formed.

What Are Polyurea Concrete Coatings?

Polyurea is useful for concrete floors, as it quickly and strongly bonds to concrete while providing a smooth, virtually impermeable surface that protects the floor from impact, water damage, chemicals, heat, and sunlight.

What Types Of Environments Can Epoxy Floor Coatings Be Used?

Epoxy flooring coatings can be used in a variety of environments.  The durability, slip resistant finish is fantastic for any industrial setting, storefronts, patios, or even driveways or garages.

How Are Epoxy Floor Coatings Applied?

We have perfected a six step process for applying Epoxy Floor Coatings that involves prepping the floor, prime floor with epoxy primer, fill all cracks, holes with epoxy grout, then apply epoxy paint. 

Can I Apply Epoxy Floor Coatings In Cold Temperatures?

You can!  Epoxy can be used at cold temperatures but must be handled and applied with techniques adapted to cold temperatures.

Do I Need To Hire A Professional To Install Epoxy Floor Coating?

Installing Epoxy Floor Coating correctly is critical to the appearance and durability of your flooring.  Hiring a professional is the best way to ensure that your flooring will look amazing and last a lifetime! 

Does My Concrete Floor Coating Come With A Warranty?

The warranty depends on the system. For the Epoxy only and Epoxy with Polyaspartic topcoat, there is a 25-year warranty. For premium Polyaspartic only, there is a 30-year warranty.

Where We Service

We service Orange County, FL cities and the surrounding areas including:

Orange County, FL

Location

Coating Designs of Orlando, FL

EVERY job is done right and our customers are 100% Satisfied.