Whether for looks or durability, you’re here because you’re considering coating your garage floor.
Maybe you’ve heard of epoxy, maybe you’ve looked at floor paint at the hardware store, or maybe you have no idea where to begin!
With years of experience restoring and coating concrete throughout Southeastern Pennsylvania, we’ve got a little bit of knowledge when it comes to floor coatings. Here’s our take on the best concrete coatings for garages.
Go With a Polyaspartic Coating For The Best, Lasting Concrete Garage Floor
If you’re tired of looking at your stained and cracking concrete garage floor, we’ve got options for you. The right concrete coating will save you time cleaning; will save you money by eliminating concrete repair or replacement costs; and will have the whole neighborhood wanting to do the same thanks to its incredible curb appeal.
And, you’ll have peace of mind that your garage floor is set up to last.
At Duramax we’re long-time believers in polyaspartic concrete coatings, especially for garage floors. In this industry, epoxy is no longer king.
Here’s why:
Flexibility With Durability – Polyaspartic coatings are as hard as epoxy, but with enough “flexibility” to deal with the imperceptible expansion and contraction of concrete that’s not in a climate-controlled space. Inflexible epoxy can actually crack and chip as a result of the concrete underneath shifting over time.
UV-Resistance – The other major factor for a concrete coating that will be exposed to outdoor sunlight, like a garage floor, is its ability to resist yellowing. Because of its chemical composition, epoxy floor coatings will yellow over time when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. Polyaspartic coatings will not.
Speedy Installation Times – Polyaspartic coatings cure much faster than epoxy, drying within 24 hours and ready for furniture or vehicles within 48 hours. Epoxy can take as long as 7 days to fully cure.
Same Price – Finally, polyaspartic coatings are no more expensive than epoxy, despite being more durable and longer-lasting. In our view, there’s really no reason to go with anything else!
Garage Concrete Coating Options: Paint, Epoxy, Polyaspartic
We started with the highlights of why polyaspartic is hands-down the best option for coating a garage floor, but it can be helpful to understand the rest of the landscape.
Floor Paint
Floor paint is the cheapest option when it comes to painting or coating a garage or concrete floor – it’s also the least durable, least thick, and shortest-lasting.
If you have a low-traffic part of your house with bare concrete that just needs dressed up, concrete paint can work for a time, but we would never recommend it.
Epoxy
Epoxy is the term that pops into most peoples’ minds when they think of a concrete floor coating for garages. The term is used ubiquitously, but it’s not actually the same as polyaspartic or polyurea.
While epoxy dries incredibly hard, its two main drawbacks are that it’s SO hard, it doesn’t flex (leading to cracks over time) and that it will yellow with years of UV light exposure. Anywhere with large windows or open doors should not get epoxy.
Polyurea
Polyurea coatings are similar to polyaspartic, and they are used in certain settings by professionals. Polyurea is similar to epoxy and polyaspartic, and like polyaspartic, it does create a flexible, durable coating that can resist UV in most cases.
Polyurea’s main drawback, particularly for DIY homeowners, is that it cures very quickly. That can mean it’s tough to work with (hustle hustle for DIYers!); and, polyurea is very finicky to achieve just the right thickness of application. Too thick or thin can lead to both failures in durability as well as mistakes and blemishes in how polyurea looks in the end.
Final Thoughts On The Best Coatings For Garage Floors
Anyone looking to restore, protect, and beautify their garage floor concrete should really be looking at polyaspartic coatings.
And in our view, homeowners should work with a professional concrete coating company. We’ve seen enough DIY-projects-gone-bad to know that the work and cost associated with fixing a poor installation simply isn’t worth the short-term savings.
With a professional installation, you get peace of mind, speedy project completion, and an incredible surface that won’t let you down. With the right garage floor coating, you’ll even save money in the long-run.
