Epoxy garage floors are one of the top choices for garage flooring. One of the toughest and most durable finishes that you can apply to a garage floor is an epoxy coating. Elite Epoxy Floors professionally applies epoxy garage floors in the Kansas City area.
Used for both residential and commercial applications, epoxy will give your garage or shop floor that showroom shine that says “Look at me!” Depending on which application you choose, you can select from a variety of solid colors and hues, to custom colors and blends of color flakes that match your style or even your favorite sports team.
What is Garage Floor Epoxy?
An epoxy garage floor coating is not paint – epoxy is a two-part component and when mixed together it starts a chemical reaction that hardens. 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 one-part epoxy paint.
How is Garage Floor Epoxy Applied?
Epoxy garage floors require good floor preparation, which is critical for a successful coating. This usually involves some form of either floor grinding or shot blasting of the floor to profile the concrete for the epoxy. It’s very critical that it is done right or the epoxy coating will not adhere properly. Patching or repairing any cracks or other damage to the concrete before the epoxy is applied is required as well.
Benefits of an Epoxy Garage Floor
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.
Factors that influence how long an epoxy coating lasts
There are many factors that influence an epoxy coating’s lifespan:
- The strength of the concrete flooring itself: The initial layer of concrete is the base of your floor and is the first factor that will determine the lifespan of your epoxy floor coating.
- Surface preparation: One of the main prerequisites of a well-performing epoxy flooring is going to be how thoroughly the surface was prepared before application. The surface should be free from dust, oil or other liquids, and should have no damage.
- The thickness of the epoxy:An epoxy coating can range from 400 to 1,000 microns on industrial floors (that is, between 0.4 mm and 1 mm). The thinner your epoxy coating is, the sooner it is likely to wear down and need replacement.
- Quality of the topcoat: Often a floor coating contractor like Elite Epoxy Floors will recommend the epoxy have a urethane topcoat applied to resist abrasion and scratches
- Extent of traffic: High levels of pedestrian traffic can wear down even a well-installed epoxy coating. Forklifts and other wheeled vehicles will take its toll as well. If your facility will be subject to heavy traffic, consider an additional topcoat.
For more information about epoxy garage floors, call Elite Epoxy Floors at (816) 729-7143. To request a quote, click here.