Are you tired of that old gray, boring, dirty looking concrete garage floor? So you decided you want to cover it.
Best Garage Floor Coating
There are a number of products you can use to do this.
A clear sealer will get rid of the dust the concrete produces and make it easier to clean the floor. You will still have the same look. and it will wear off over time.
Painting the floor will help made it look nicer while making it easier to clean. The paint will wear off and will not hold up to many chemicals you could have in your garage.
Staining the concrete and then a urethane sealer over it will make the floor look great. You will still have an issue with cracks and expansion joints.
So which is the best? In our opinion, epoxy coating is the best product you can use. Epoxy certainly is not the cheapest to install, but over the life of the floor it will come out to be the most economical.
Epoxy is harder than any paint and will hold up to most things being dropped on it.
It make your garage look like a show room for many years to come.
WHAT IS GARAGE FLOOR EPOXY?
We’ll start by ending some confusion about epoxy right now. An epoxy garage floor coating is not paint. Paint for garage floors is a latex acrylic product. Some paints will have a small percentage of epoxy added to the mix to make it more durable than standard paint, but it is still paint. These are known as epoxy paints or 1-part epoxy paint.
Epoxy is an actual thermosetting resin that is applied as a coating. It is formed when you mix one part epoxide resin with one part polyamine hardener. The hardener acts as a catalyst and is what gives epoxy its strength.
Unlike paint that has to dry, epoxy cures. When the two parts are mixed, a chemical reaction is started which creates an exothermic curing process. This curing process produces polymer structures that are closely cross-linked giving epoxy its superior strength and durability. The end result is a coating that is much thicker than paint and bonds tenaciously to a properly prepared surface.
So what makes an epoxy coating one of the best finishes for your garage floor? Besides looking nice, the hardened and thick application that you get from epoxy creates a coating that is very durable and resilient to impacts, chipping, chemicals, stains, and surface abrasion. You don’t have to panic about damaging the floor if you drop a wrench or a bicycle falls over.
The thicker coating also does a great job of covering over minor imperfections such as small spider cracks and flaws in the concrete. Because epoxy is a topical sealer, it is also anti-dusting. Much of the dust in a garage is created from the powder that a cement floor can shed. Normal traffic on bare concrete can kick up this dusty powder that has a tendency of collecting on cars, tool benches, and storage items, as well as being tracked into the house.
As a topical coating it is also naturally moisture resistant. This is a great benefit for people who live in snowy climates. It makes for easy cleaning of icy brines and road salts that can collect on the floor during the winter. Just a little mild soap and water is all it takes. Dust and debris can be collected with a dust mop or soft broom when the floor is dry.
Depending on whether you added colored acrylic flakes to the floor and the type of topcoat used, some surfaces can be slippery when wet. For people who live in drier climates this usually isn’t an issue. If you want some extra grip however, you can add slip resistant aggregate to the final coat that will create a non-skid surface.
Before starting any garage floor coating project, toy need to be sure the floor is totally clean and grease free. Repairing cracks in the concrete is best to do at this time so they will be cover by the top coating. See our article on repairing cracks in concrete, Click Here.
Here is a great video series on prepping and install Epoxy floor coating in your garage.
