Epoxy or Polyaspartic Top Coat

[formula388]

Hi All, I've tried doing some research on here and I am still not sure if I am making the right choice with a top coat.
I am in the process of hiring a company to do my 450 sq ft epoxy floor. I found an installer and they are charging $7/ft for install. They told me they use Purepoxy brand products. (any good?) Their process is: Fully Grind & prep, use a vapor barrier coat, then 100% solids base coat with full broadcast flakes, scrape the floor of excess flakes, then a top coat. Originally they said it included a polyaspartic top coat because it is better with UV, but then I pointed out that my garage door is mostly shut, and it faces north with no other windows... They said they could also do an epoxy top coat if I would prefer. They said the epoxy would go on slightly thicker.
The reason I am going with this installer is because they are doing the vapor coat which they said acts as a primer coat, no other installers in my area were willing to add the extra day for the primer coat.
What is better for a workshop environment? Epoxy topcoat, or polyaspartic?
Thanks for the help,
Dennis

 

[Shea]

A polyaspartic clear topcoat will perform much better than the 100% solids epoxy. Epoxy is an excellent choice for a build coat. However, your topcoat is the wear coat. That is where all the abrasion abuse and stain resistance takes place. Polyaspartic in general is much more durable in terms of wear and will last longer. Just look at the data sheets at PurePoxy. PurePoxy offers PP-S85 and PP-100SX. One is 85% solids and the other is 100% solids. The 100% solids can be applied thicker. Just keep in mind that a full flake coverage will have a rougher texture than partial flake floors. Some people think that they should be smooth, but they are not.

If you are not familiar with data sheets, they give an indication of how one particular coating will perform compared to another. We have an article about the basics of data sheets below.

How to Read Data Sheets for Garage Floor Epoxy & Coatings

When choosing a garage floor coating or sealer, one of the first things you should do is review the Technical Data Sheets. Otherwise known as the TDS, these sheets can provide important information to you, the consumer, about the composition, characteristics, and performance of the coating or...

allgaragefloors.com

 

[Seventurns]

Just had the Polyaspartic done about a month ago. Very pleased with the results and finish

 

[Armorpoxy]

A clear epoxy as a topcoat can yellow over time and is must less stain (and tire mark) resistant than a urethane or polyaspartic topcoat. We would not recommend a clear epoxy as a topcoat. Make sure to verify that your contractor is going to sand/scrape the flecks well so that the floor is not rough from the overlapping flecks and on a full broadcast we recommend two coats of topcoat since the first coat sinks into the millions of gaps caused by the overlapping flecks and the 2nd coat gives the build and protection. We always try to sell our floor kits for full broadcasts with two topcoats for this reason. It costs a bit more but adds 5-10 the life span.