Floor Coatings, Is thicker better?

[kudotaku]

I'm still in the process of deciding what product to use on my single car garage. Being that the garge itself is rather small, differences in the cost of the material doesnt make as much of a cost difference as it would if I was doing a 2 car or 3 car garage. I've so far narrowed it down to 3 choices, Wolverine, Epoxy-coat, and Armorclad epoxy. I've talked to Fred at Alpha garage and he was very helpful in what I would need to do my garage. I've exchanged email with all three and the customer service has been excellent so I dont really think I can go wrong with any of them. I'm actually slightly leaning towards Armorclad just because of the fact that their company is located 30mins from my home and I can drive down and save on shipping time.

One thing that all the 100% solid epoxy manufacturers seem to stress is that I can't compare sq-ft costs between each system without taking into account the thickness of the coating. So one company claims that their sq-ft cost is less than another since their system will be 3 times thicker than another.

My question is, is thicker really better for a floor coating?
I airbrush/paint with automotive paints as a hobby and for a Urethane based automotive paint, thicker is NOT better. The more mils a paint job is, the easier it is to chip and the durability actually drops.

So is there any factual evidence that a 25 mil floor coating is better than a 10mil floor coating?

 

[mmhouse]

That's a great question!

I don't know the answer but I'm looking forward to hearing from those who might.

 

[Gambitt]

Me too, I have always wondered why a really thick coat of epoxy on a floor is an advantage.

 

[GeorgiaHybrid]

From all of the non responses we have, it must be an advantage if you are the one selling it....

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Ahh... the age old question... Is thicker really better?

The answer is...

It depends on the coating!

Thicker is better when the coating is designed to be applied thick. The reason that you don't put the automotive urethane on thick is because it will trap solvent in the coating which will weaken it and promote yellowing. You see, anytime you have solvent (or water) in a coating it MUST evaporate from the film for the film to have integrity. So, trapped solvent (or water) yields poor film formation... weak floor. So, you want to ensure that what you put on is 100% solids. Be careful because there are dishonest people out there that claim 100% solids and then you find the coating contains some amount of VOC... If there is any VOC then it can't be 100% solids. So... it must be Zero VOC and 100% solids! It's also a good idea to check the MSDS to see if it shows the presence of solvents like Acetone, MEK, Xylene, Toluene, or other Organic solvents.

The LiquaTile 1184 is a shock absorbant semi-ceramic. You will find many references on these forums where people have dropped heavy tools that just bounce off of the floor. In fact, LiquaTile 1184 is flexibilized to increase the shock absorption and to allow it to expand and contract with the daily movement of your concrete.

So, should you also look for a coating that has been flexibilized? The problem is that when you flexibilize a coating you can lower the surface hardness which decreases abrasion resistance. This is why the LiquaTile 1184 has a ceramic modification. A liquid semi-ceramic can remain flexible while even increasing the abrasion resistance.

So, a good thick coating of LiquaTile 1184 will not only give you more durability but will actually give your concrete more protection.

 

[WolverineCoatings]

So, is a 25 mil coating better than a 10 mil coating? Of course it is... One of the main reasons that floor coatings fail is because they get damaged where the damage reaches to the concrete. In other words, if a coating gets a deep scratch that travels to the concrete it creates a failure path. The path can lead chemicals or abrasion to attack the coating at it's weakest point... the concrete interface. So, the thicker the coating the lower the odds of that happening. A 40 mil coating is even better... (as long as it is designed for that)... Think of it this way... If someone was going to attack you with a knife would you want to defend yourself with a few sheets of paper or a phone book? Thicker is better!

 

[WolverineCoatings]

There is a big difference between Wolverine Coatings and the other two companies you mention. We are real formulators and an actual manufacturer of polymer compounds. We aren't just a marketing company who buys products from another company labeled as our own. We have 2 Chemists and 1 Chemical Engineer on staff (actual Wolverine Employees). We KNOW epoxy, urethane, and other polymers! Our Advanced Hybrid Cycloaliphatic Technology is significantly better than standard epoxies like you have mentioned and research (written by me and ICI Devoe Coatings) has been published by NACE and is frequently quoted.

In my world, if I'm going to invest time and money then I want the people I'm doing business with to be more than just marketing and sales people. You are going to find many companies who are marketing companies who neither formulate or manufacture the products they sell even though the buckets have their label on it. They have very limited knowledge. When they talk about their lab they are talking about a lab that belongs to some other company.

Doing your garage floor is alot of work. In addition, it's not like money is growing on trees these days. When you buy a product from a company like ArmorClad you are paying extra for a marketing company to attach their label to a product made by another company. A higher percentage of the cost of our products is directly related to the cost of higher quality ingredients... not marketing. Don't get me wrong, it's not that either company has a bad product... ours is just SO MUCH BETTER!

 

[WolverineCoatings]

Last... 'cause it's really late and I should have been in bed by now... lol...

When you buy our products through AlphaGarage you can have peace of mind that you are dealing with reputable companies. Fred is SSPC certified and many here have raved about his level of service. We not only make industrial floor coatings but also linings for chemical storage tanks, pipelines, products for manhole rehabilitation, anticorrosive additives, specialty dispersions, adhesives... the list just goes on and on...

We're the people you want if you're looking for the best bang for your buck!

 

[WolverineCoatings]

lol... whoops... I was runnin' on empty I'm afraid...

I'm going to bed before anyone else beats up on my poor spelling and grammar tonight! How late does it have to be before a guy gets a pass? lol...

Ok... I updated it...

 

[AmericanEpoxyFloors]

Another data point to back up Wolverine...

Most industrial/commercial installations of high performance coatings are applied at thicknesses of 3/16" to 1/4". Those coatings typically contain a high loading of quartz aggregate.

People are always working to find ways to do more with less, but in general a thicker coating is going to protect your substrate from more damage than a thin coating. However, if your coating is installed at a thickness for which it was not designed, then it will fail prematurely.

George

 

[nonhog]

Another data point to back up Wolverine...

Most industrial/commercial installations of high performance coatings are applied at thicknesses of 3/16" to 1/4". Those coatings typically contain a high loading of quartz aggregate.

People are always working to find ways to do more with less, but in general a thicker coating is going to protect your substrate from more damage than a thin coating. However, if your coating is installed at a thickness for which it was not designed, then it will fail prematurely.

George

Post #3 and you agree with a competitor ? Thats cool ! Hats off to you !

 

[thegarageguy]

Post #3 and you agree with a competitor ? Thats cool ! Hats off to you !

They aren't competitors. Wolverine is a manufacturer and AmericanEpoxyFloors is a contractor.

There isn't much debate here. There a ton of formulas and everyone has its own spread rate.

Welcome aboard AmericanEpoxyFloors. I like your site. Pretty informative. Great idea on the under sink thing but what would you charge for that?

 

[AmericanEpoxyFloors]

Thanks for the welcome!

Right is right, regardless of your agenda

The under the sink thing (I'm calling it DripGuard for lack of a better name) I'm trying to sell for $299. That includes matching your countertops or a custom complimentary color scheme as well as about 1" of cove base with a 3/4" radius blend around the outside perimeter of the cabinet. I also seal off and build up around any piping that goes through the floor of the cabinet. It takes me about 2 hours to do an installation; about 50% of that time is actual work, the balance is waiting on stuff to cure up, so I can do more than one at a time.

I do a lot of work for custom home builders in my area and I'm trying to get installation packages for all the sinks in their new homes when I do the garage floors. The price per cabinet goes down significantly for multiple sink installations.

Thanks for the compliments on our website!

George