Polyaspartic/Polyurea Flooring should I Trust??

[garagewax]

Hello All:

I recently spoke to a contractor about resurfacing my floor, and their application of a one-day coating system as follows:

Surface Prep:
Morning day of:
Diamond grinding and any necessary concrete repairs.

Base coat and flaking:
Afternoon day of:
Application of polyurea base coat and decorative flakes.

Protective top coat:
Evening of day one:
Polyaspartic clear coat.

Cure:
24 hours walk on ready
vehicle safe-24 hours, full cure in a week.

I just wanted to hear some expert opinions because I’m reading a lot of conflicting information. My garage floor is uneven, pitched to one side and has multiple cracks. The contractor claims limited lifetime warranty. The cost is around $7 a square foot. I’m looking at DIY kits for around $1000 plus equipment rental as a comparison to cost. Is this a good way to go about fixing the floor or are there better ways?

Thank you

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[67King]

Whatever you do, if you DIY it, don't put any water on the floor, or else you'll need to let it dry for a week. I've seen online guides that say after acid etching, let it dry a full 24 hours. That didn't come close to having it be dry in my case. Grind, sweep off, blow off, use acetone to "damp mop" it, and still give it a good 24 hours.

 

[Andy Smith Jr.]

Run far away from one day floors and polyurea base coats. Also you should never drive on a floor 24 hours after install. Ever winder why contractors want to do a one day floor?

 

[mrtynafixit]

That system they're describing is actually pretty standard — polyurea base, flakes, polyaspartic topcoat is a legit professional setup, and the one-day thing is fine since both cure fast. The only part I'd push back on is parking a car on it after 24 hours. Give it 48–72 to be safe, especially with hot tires.

The thing to think about with your floor is the pitch and the cracks. A coating follows whatever's underneath it — it'll fill and bridge cracks if they grind them out and patch them first, but it won't fix a slope or level an uneven slab. So just get clear with them on what they're actually fixing before you sign.

On DIY — for a floor with cracks and pitch issues, I wouldn't learn on this one. Prep is the hard part and a rough slab makes it harder. That $1,000 kit looks cheaper until you add the grinder rental and the odds of redoing it. $7/sqft with grinding and a warranty included is a fair price.

One thing worth doing before signing: ask exactly how they're handling the cracks, and check that the warranty covers peeling and not just "defects." There's a good list of questions to ask a coating contractor at garagefloorsrsm.com if it helps.