Choosing an Epoxy Covering

[Craig Balzer]

Sorry this is so long but I tried to provide a lot of inform in my initial posting.

Bottom Line up Front: I am looking for a floor covering that will stand up to near-daily, moderate usage; is UV resistant; is highly reflective; looks amazing with a glossy, smooth shine; can be applied by me; and is cost effective (yeah – try to quantify that objective). I have narrowed down my search to three candidates (I think). I will most likely wait until spring of 2020 to apply it.

Target Building. A newly built, pole barn with a 4” slab over in-floor heat in Colorado Springs that will be used for car restoration and maintenance. The structure is essentially two attached rectangles: the main hobby shop is 48 feet wide and 36 feet deep with 14’ walls. There is an attached 24’x24’ (with 10’ walls) for storage and light usage. These total 2,304 square feet. Details of the structure/build are in this thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=432775&

I am considering (A) paint / sealers, (B) epoxy, and (C) tiles.
(A) In my opinion, paint and sealers don’t have the durability. Further, sealers would be over a floor that I feel is too dark to reflect very much light. I realize concrete will continue to cure (and lighten) over time, but once a sealer is applied, the color is fixed.
(B) Epoxy is my preferred covering (right now) – I can be convinced otherwise (hence this posting)
(C) Tiles: I am not a fan of plastic tiles that snap together. Durability is not there; ease of use (moving heavy items across the floor) and dealing with spilled fluids is problematic, and – for all of that – is expensive. I have researched porcelain tiles with a PEI of 4 or more; timing that purchase with a sale or promotion is about the only way to get descent price. When you factor in the cost and materials for installation makes this option - - - prohibitive.

So – unless I am convinced otherwise – epoxy it is. I had a pro apply epoxy my attached 3-car garage in 2017 and am familiar with the prep required and application process. I was told it was 100% solids but has not held up to even light usage and within a few months I had a few chips/scratches in the epoxy. So this epoxy needs to be stronger.

The three candidates (which I believe are all 100% solids) I am considering– in no particular order – are
1. Sherwin Williams’ ArmorSeal 1000 HS Epoxy
2. Armorpoxy’s Armorclad Master Kit
3. LegacyInductrial’s NOHR-S® Polyurea Coating Garage Kit

My problem is while I know enough about epoxy to be dangerous and ask some fairly good questions, I don’t know enough to parse the answers to ultimately make my decision (for example is polyurea a type of epoxy?). This is compounded with the fact that while options 2 and 3 above list the price of their kits on-line, opt 1 doesn’t. (Yeah, I can call SW, but then I circle back to how dangerous my knowledge base is).

I note with appreciation that Armorpoxy offers a 15% discount to Garage Journal members. I served 27+ in the US Army so Armorpoxy or other source may factor in another discount. And, I am 66 -- -- hint hint: senior citizen discount??

I know no one here will have experience with all three epoxy options, but some may have secondhand experience of two of them they could share. I am also anxious for the Armorpoxy and LegacyInductrial reps to chime in with an unbiased pro/con comparison of their products (I have never seen a Sherwin Williams rep here). I am not interested in company propaganda or a sales pitch; I am looking for a straight-forward, fair comparison/analysis.
I am using a planning figure of ~$3/square foot which equates to a budget of $7,000 but I am willing to higher for a quality product.

TIA – Craig in Colorado

 

[Shea]

Hello Craig. Based on your stated requirements and how the floor will be used, a coating system that consists of an epoxy primer coat, a 100% solids epoxy base color coat and a coat or two of a polyurethane or polyurea top coat tinted to the same color as the epoxy would be a great way to go. Such a system would fit within your prescribed budget.

The epoxy primer provides the bond to the concrete and hides all the imperfections that show up in the first coat. The 100% solids epoxy is your build coat that adds thickness and durability. The high performance polyurethane or polyurea is the wear coat. They provide much better abrasion and chemical resistance than the epoxy does.

The reason to go with a tinted top coat is because you wanted a U.V. stable coating. Epoxy is not U.V. stable and will amber (yellow tint). Polyurethane and polyurea are U.V. stable and will not amber. The other option is full color flakes applied to the epoxy base coat with two to three coats of a high performance U.V. stable clear coat. Color flakes are U.V. stable and increase thickness as well as durability, but they will add cost and most people who work on cars on a regular basis don't like how they tend to camouflage small parts that are dropped on the floor. The surface of the full color flakes also requires additional coats of clear to fill in properly.

This article here is an example of such a system. It's an ArmorPoxy floor that one of our readers installed and we wrote about. Legacy Industrial and Garage Flooring LLC offer similar systems as well.

I would not bother with Sherwin Williams. Their ArmorSeal 1000 HS is not a 100% solids epoxy and they don't offer a top coat that competes with many of the other commercial products available. I would consider their products for the general public as a decent residential quality flooring that will not stand up to commercial use.

Nohr-S is a single-part polyurea and great product. We provide some good info about single-part polyurea here. These type of floor coating systems are the easiest to install. However, they tend to be a bit more expensive and they do not provide the same build thickness as the epoxy system.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Sorry this is so long but I tried to provide a lot of inform in my initial posting.



Bottom Line up Front: I am looking for a floor covering that will stand up to near-daily, moderate usage; is UV resistant; is highly reflective; looks amazing with a glossy, smooth shine; can be applied by me; and is cost effective (yeah – try to quantify that objective). I have narrowed down my search to three candidates (I think). I will most likely wait until spring of 2020 to apply it.



Target Building. A newly built, pole barn with a 4” slab over in-floor heat in Colorado Springs that will be used for car restoration and maintenance. The structure is essentially two attached rectangles: the main hobby shop is 48 feet wide and 36 feet deep with 14’ walls. There is an attached 24’x24’ (with 10’ walls) for storage and light usage. These total 2,304 square feet. Details of the structure/build are in this thread: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=432775&



I am considering (A) paint / sealers, (B) epoxy, and (C) tiles.

(A)In my opinion, paint and sealers don’t have the durability. Further, sealers would be over a floor that I feel is too dark to reflect very much light. I realize concrete will continue to cure (and lighten) over time, but once a sealer is applied, the color is fixed.

(B)Epoxy is my preferred covering (right now) – I can be convinced otherwise (hence this posting)

(C)Tiles: I am not a fan of plastic tiles that snap together. Durability is not there; ease of use (moving heavy items across the floor) and dealing with spilled fluids is problematic, and – for all of that – is expensive. I have researched porcelain tiles with a PEI of 4 or more; timing that purchase with a sale or promotion is about the only way to get descent price. When you factor in the cost and materials for installation makes this option - - - prohibitive.



So – unless I am convinced otherwise – epoxy it is. I had a pro apply epoxy my attached 3-car garage in 2017 and am familiar with the prep required and application process. I was told it was 100% solids but has not held up to even light usage and within a few months I had a few chips/scratches in the epoxy. So this epoxy needs to be stronger.



The three candidates (which I believe are all 100% solids) I am considering– in no particular order – are

1.Sherwin Williams’ ArmorSeal 1000 HS Epoxy

2.Armorpoxy’s Armorclad Master Kit

3.LegacyInductrial’s NOHR-S[emoji768] Polyurea Coating Garage Kit



My problem is while I know enough about epoxy to be dangerous and ask some fairly good questions, I don’t know enough to parse the answers to ultimately make my decision (for example is polyurea a type of epoxy?). This is compounded with the fact that while options 2 and 3 above list the price of their kits on-line, opt 1 doesn’t. (Yeah, I can call SW, but then I circle back to how dangerous my knowledge base is).



I note with appreciation that Armorpoxy offers a 15% discount to Garage Journal members. I served 27+ in the US Army so Armorpoxy or other source may factor in another discount. And, I am 66 -- -- hint hint: senior citizen discount??



I know no one here will have experience with all three epoxy options, but some may have secondhand experience of two of them they could share. I am also anxious for the Armorpoxy and LegacyInductrial reps to chime in with an unbiased pro/con comparison of their products (I have never seen a Sherwin Williams rep here). I am not interested in company propaganda or a sales pitch; I am looking for a straight-forward, fair comparison/analysis.

I am using a planning figure of ~$3/square foot which equates to a budget of $7,000 but I am willing to higher for a quality product.



TIA – Craig in Colorado

Sir, give us a jingle on Thursday, be happy to chit-chat with you.

Happy New Year!


Sent from my iPhone using Garage Journal

 

[Craig Balzer]

Shea -- your reply was an unexpected but extremely useful posting. Responses from a neutral, well-informed party is exceptionally welcome.

The article covering Tres's efforts is most illuminating -- I never even considered a white floor. But now I am. Stunning does not come close "covering" it -- pun intended.

Can you provide more details (a specific name of product or a link) for the Legacy Industrial and Garage Flooring LLC offerings. TIA

Craig

 

[Shea]

Here are the links to their websites, Craig. For such a large project as yours, I highly recommend that you give them a call to discuss your requirements. I recommend doing the same with ArmorPoxy.

https://www.garageflooringllc.com/ Talk with Justin

https://www.legacyindustrial.net/ Talk with Scotty

You will always come away learning more than expected when you discuss your project with commercial vendors like these. They want you to have a successful outcome and will provide much information, some of which you may not have considered.

 

[buzz4041]

Have you looked at the U-Coatit product line yet. I would recommend their product line. Very durable and great product. https://ucoatit.com/

 

[Armorpoxy]

Hi
Please let us know if you have any questions on the Armorclad 100% solids system. Kindly contact us at below, not PM for direct customer service. Thank you!

 

[jjanes60]

I came from a railroad background and we used an expoxy made by ameron for coating the floors in the car repair shops. welding burning and heavy rough objects were dropped daily. we only had to recoat every 2-3 yrs even with this extreme use. If I'm not mistaken sherwin williams stores can order for you.

 

[FJ4FUN]

If you aren't considering Wolverine Coatings you should... Drop us a line we'd love to assist you with your project!

Happy New Year!!!

 

[pjku79]

It looks like half the people that replied are trying to sell something. Can each of you lay out the pros and cons of your product over others? If every coating mentioned, Wolverine, Armor Poxy, NOHR-S, etc is created equal, then the buyer should just be shopping price.

 

[LegacyIndustrial]

Great point PJ.
That is why we have X vs Y comparisons on our website.
HD Epoxy vs SD Epoxy
Nohr-S vs Epoxy
etc...

 

[benwah]

Hi Craig in Colorado, this is Ben in Colorado (Gunnison-CB). It has been five months since your post, are you still looking to cover the floor in your pole barn?

 

[Craig Balzer]

Ben in Gun

I got really sidetracked.

Before applying epoxy (or whatever) I am waiting for the 8' x 8' bathroom floor to be poured.

Before the bathroom floor can be poured, I need to wait for the contractor to include a 4' sidewalk around the structure, a split apron leading to the two garage doors and a 40x20 patio.

Before all that, I confirmed my worst fears: I'll need a retaining wall (prolly two). The amount of fill I needed to get a level pad resulted in the "tallest" corner being 7.5 feet of fill. That requires 900 linear feet of 2x 4' tall retaining walls.

So -- it took a week or so to get the three estimates, and once I selected the type of walls, a 4-5 week wait for the earliest opening on that contractor's calendar. The construction of the walls will start in the first (maybe second) week of June and take a week to build. The cost is pretty dear and may ultimately affect the floor covering I go with (can afford). -- Craig