Garage floor coatings - Too Many Options

[kasander]

Tried searching and didn't really find a comparison of the options so trying to pull together information into one thread. I'm going to coat my garage floor and will either use something from ArmorPoxy or Garage Flooring. (Mainly based on how much advice they give to GJ users). There are so many different options, just between those two sources that I don't really know how to differentiate what I need.

Here's some information about my garage project:

New garage, concrete poured 2 years ago, smooth finish. No stains, just dirt and dust from construction. 26x30, so 780 sq ft, but about 40 sq ft covered by staircase.

Garage to be used for storage, light mechanic work, maybe some welding in the future (with floor protection).

Here's what I've tabulated for the various options. Let me know if you see inaccuracies or can fill in some of the missing blanks. It was a little bit of a challenge since kits are priced at various square footages and some are even priced by the square foot.

I would like to stay under $2/ sq ft, but need something I won't screw up during application. I also want a custom color combo of Gray base with Red, White, and Black Flecks. (NCSU graduate) Appreciate the advice in advance.

 

[argulator]

Information overload!!!!!

I would eliminate the water-based stuff from consideration. If you're going to the trouble to do epoxy, you want to do a high-solids epoxy.

-If you do epoxy, you want to use a primer, make sure you plan for one with a kit if it's not included. You also want a polyurethane or polyurea topcoat.

-You also need to consider how you'll prep. Again, if you're going to the trouble, you should really grind. Can you just etch and it will still work out? Probably, but grinding improves your odds of a good install.

-I have done 2 floors, one mine, one a friends. Epoxy primer, epoxy base coat, chips, epoxy clearcoat and polyurethane topcoat. That's a four part process, meaning four days of the right weather and helper availability.

-I haven't used the polyurea products so don't have much to offer about them, but they are supposed to be easier to apply.

-You might as well consider Legacy Industrial. They also give excellent support to the forum.

FWIW, I'm planning to do my new garage with - Epoxy Primer/Epoxy Basecoat-Total Chip Coverage/Polyurea topcoat. That should give me the benefits of a high build epoxy floor without any possibility of yellowing, and only 3 days of install. Don't think you can do that for your budget

I find it easier to plan for and buy exactly what I want, in the case of my new floor-10 mils primer, 10 mils basecoat, 10 mils polyurea comes out to 5 gallons of each. Think it will run around $2.10/ft and that doesn't include chips, which are pretty significant cost.

Have fun with your floor.

 

[frogers911]

@kasander

Good info thanks. I am going through the exact same process as you. I think I am set on a polyurea coating and am deciding between Legacy, ArmorPoxy and Garage Flooring. Want to keep it under $2 per also for my 425ft2 garage.

Hard to decide between the 3 offerings, hoping for some black friday sales to make my choice easier.

 

[Shea]

Not to create more confusion and options, but;

One system not listed that performs great and is a good value are the kits that include epoxy primer, a high solids (93% approximately) epoxy base coat, and a polyurethane top coat.

The performance of a high solids epoxy like this is very similar to 100% solids. It has a very small amount of solvents added to the part - B hardener to increase pot life and make application easier for DIY. The part-A epoxy resin is still 100%. The coverage rate, as a result, is slightly higher as well.

You can generally find these kits for $1.25 - $1.50 a square foot depending on vendor, sales, top coat choice and etc. Full flake will cost more.

They are not as simple to apply as the single-part polyurea systems that are available, but they are less expensive and provide for a thicker overall build with slightly better performance.

If U.V. resistance is a priority, then either a full flake floor or a single-part polyurea system is your best choice.

 

[kasander]

Shea, thanks, not sure how I missed that option as I was scouring the Garage Floors website. It is not the easiest website to navigate... Anyway, that may be the option I go with. My garage doors face south and have one panel of windows, is that enough to worry about UV yellowing? I will likely have the doors open on Saturdays in the summer, but closed most of the time. Should I tint the windows?

Updated my table above to show the 93% solids options from Garage Flooring.

Next question is how much flake do I need? When I use the calculator here:
https://www.garageflooringllc.com/high-solids-garage-floor-epoxy/ it says I need 1 pound of flake per 100 sq ft, but the 500 sq ft kit comes with 12 pounds of flake... https://store.garageflooringllc.com/truelock-500-sq-ft-epoxy-kit-top-coat-flake-colors.html

I'm doing 780 sq ft, so should I order extra flake, or just use the 12 pounds that come in the kit?

 

[kasander]

Same issue on all the materials, using the calculator gives different amounts than the kit contains. I would understand if the kit just rounded up to the nearest gallon, but on the urethane it provides 20% less urethane than the calculator recommends.

For 500 Sq ft

Calculator:
1.67 gallons of primer
3.85 gallons of epoxy
5 pounds of flake
1.25 gallons of urethane

Kit:
2 gallons of primer
3 gallons of epoxy
12 pounds of flake
1 gallon of urethane

 

[Shea]

Give Justin from Garage Flooring LLC a call or send him an email. He will be more than happy to answer those questions for you and provide any assistance. I can figure most of it out, but he will have exactly what you need to know.

Scotty from Legacy Industrial offers a similar type of kit as well and would be happy to answer your questions. I'm not sure if ArmorPoxy does or not. Most of their kits are 100% solids I believe, but I'm not positive.
The amount of flake you need is dependent on the coverage you want. Vendors generally offer a certain amount of flakes for a light to medium coverage and let you decide how much you want to use. You can always order more. We have an article here that discusses the approximate amount of flakes you need for the desired coverage.

One thing I can state with confidence is that the vendors here are happy to help people out. We always recommend to contact them first if any questions need to be answered before making a purchase. I realize that some people are wary about vendors, especially on a forum, and sometimes feel more comfortable about asking around first from people who aren't trying to sell them something. There is nothing wrong with that and it is a great way to get information and opinions from others. I've done it myself with other topics. However, these guys have been helping people out here for years. One thing I have witnessed is that the the GJ moderators will not tolerate questionable vendors who are trying to take advantage of the people who participate here.

 

[kasander]

Shea, I agree with everything you've stated. I did include the ArmorFleck-EX which said it has 93% solids in my original chart, not sure if it is what you are referring to or not. I'll give Justin a ring and will try to add the Legacy Industrial products to my chart for future reference.

 

[Garage Flooring]

Tried searching and didn't really find a comparison of the options so trying to pull together information into one thread. I'm going to coat my garage floor and will either use something from ArmorPoxy or Garage Flooring. (Mainly based on how much advice they give to GJ users). There are so many different options, just between those two sources that I don't really know how to differentiate what I need.

Here's some information about my garage project:

New garage, concrete poured 2 years ago, smooth finish. No stains, just dirt and dust from construction. 26x30, so 780 sq ft, but about 40 sq ft covered by staircase.

Garage to be used for storage, light mechanic work, maybe some welding in the future (with floor protection).

Here's what I've tabulated for the various options. Let me know if you see inaccuracies or can fill in some of the missing blanks. It was a little bit of a challenge since kits are priced at various square footages and some are even priced by the square foot.

I would like to stay under $2/ sq ft, but need something I won't screw up during application. I also want a custom color combo of Gray base with Red, White, and Black Flecks. (NCSU graduate) Appreciate the advice in advance.

Here is what you do. You give me a call and explain how the floor will be used. I suggest a system and a price and then compare apples to apples. Regardless of if it is us, Legacy or Armorpoxy, I am sure you will end up with a great system. The key it to talk to people about your needs

 

[FJ4FUN]

I'll throw my hat in this ring and would love to provide input for your table. Call me or send me an Email. We have relatively new (to the general public) two component 100% solids, ceramic system that you might consider.

 

[rjacobs]

We have relatively new (to the general public) two component 100% solids, ceramic system that you might consider.

This I would be interested in...

 

[Dneel81]

I'm in the same boat as you, Kasander. I'm building a new shop. Doing everything from woodworking (planers/tablesaw/lathes) to restoring old cars/trucks (welding/grinding/plasma/oxyAcet torch). I really struggled to get away from the epoxy coatings. Talked to several of the vendors you've listed (in your holy type A personality excel spreadsheet in your first post) and they all agreed that the epoxy will not hold up to any welding heat of any significance. Sure you can weld up 36" off the ground, throw down a welding blanket (which will catch fire), but the welding splatter (not to mention the plasma slag) will most certainly damage your expensive floor. To that end, I decided (at least for this 5 minute period of time starting 5 seconds ago) I'm going to go the Hellfire route. Much better resistance to the damage that I'm likely to inflict on the floor. It's not as pretty and you don't have options for coatings/flakes, etc but it's one durable coating. That was more important to me than having a floor that looks good (at least at first).

Just something to think about.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out for you!

-Dave

 

[FJ4FUN]

Here's a couple of systems offered by us from Wolverine Coatings. The suggested DecoFlake quantity represents a light flake distribution.
View media item 98453

 

[kasander]

Dave, considering I do not currently own a welder, and it may be 10 years before I get one, I don't think Hellfire is for me, although it looks very impressive.

FJ, what are the benefits of a ceramic system over traditional epoxy or polyurea systems?

 

[FJ4FUN]

"FJ, what are the benefits of a ceramic system over traditional epoxy or polyurea systems?"

To be clear, the LiquaTile 1143 is a ceramic fortified AHC epoxy. A few of the more notable benefits of the BondTite 1101 & LiquaTile 1143 combination are:

* Superior abrasion and impact resistance eliminating the need for our hybrid-urethane clear coat.
* Increased chemical resistance
* Best-in-class color retention
* By eliminating the clear coat, return to service and the application process are vastly improved
* Excellent slip resistance eliminates the need for traction additives
* For industrial environments where floor damage is inevitable repairs are not complicated by clear coats
* Looks AWESOME!
(OK, that last one is a bit subjective but.. I love this stuff

 

[wpageabc]

Guess the cheap and easy appeal to this old boy...
Quick Crete Acrlic clear coat is what appeals to me. Yes is water based and not as durable.
But it works!

 

[frogers911]

@kasander

Curious if you have made a decision and/or bought anything yet? I have about a month before its warm enough for me to apply so getting ready to purchase.

 

[Armorpoxy]

The best way to approach this is to determine the type of kit you want and then price it out. 80% of our garage floor business is our 3 layer ArmorUltra system with upgraded 2 part Military grade topcoat, or a single layer of SPGX due to it's very high performance and lower price point.

 

[kasander]

I've decided to postpone coating the floor until I finish construction. Which is likely to be another year... I'm still trying to finish electrical and mechanical rough-in at the moment...

 

[Delta Fox]

I'm getting ready to order some ArmorClad. Just built a garage that 2/3 is going to be my shop. Third bay for my car.

 

[Armorpoxy]