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Floor Coatings 101

4 Things You NEED TO KNOW before beginning your project

If you are here because you are confused by the advertisements and information about concrete floor

coatings and you are not sure what the right choice is, you are not alone. There are a lot of products and

brands out there, and sifting through the information can be painstaking.

Several years ago, I had a bad experience with a DIY concrete floor project. It didn’t turn out well. I

bought a DIY product that wasn’t what it should have been and concluded that concrete coatings might

be okay for a fu fu garage but weren’t a good option for a garage that gets heavy use.

As it turns out, I was wrong. If I had done my due diligence, I would have found that if I had chosen the

right products and used the right process, the results would have been much different. Most of what I

know has come from making mistakes—I’m sure you can relate to that.

My goal is to give you the information necessary to be able to either select a DIY product that will give

you the results you are looking for if you decide to do it yourself, or provide an informed understanding

of the products and process so you can ask the right questions in order to hire a qualified professional.

Let’s get started.

Number 1: The 4 Most Common Concrete Floor Finish Looks

Solid Color – This option is exactly what it sounds like; a solid color coating. While this can be a simple

solution, the color does not cover any imperfections in the floor; in fact, every imperfection in the floor

is accentuated. For this reason, many professionals charge much more for this option because they are

most likely going to spend significantly more time on prep work to get the floor as perfect as they can;

and even then, meeting the expectations of the customer can be challenging. For that reason, I do not

suggest this finish unless you are not concerned about aesthetics and only seek the other benefits of a

good floor coating such as easy clean up and ease of sweeping. If your garage floor is new and has no

imperfections and you simply want to seal it, this could be a viable option

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Typical Application for a Solid Color Floor

1. Prep the floor

2. 1 Basecoat

3. 1 Topcoat

Partial Chip – This finish look has a solid color basecoat with colored chips distributed while the coating

is still wet (chips are similar to confetti, are made out of paint, and lay on top of the basecoat). You can

choose one or several different colors of chips. The intent of partial chip finish is to give some

contrasting color so your eye is not drawn to the imperfections in the floor like it is with a solid color.

And, if done well, it looks great and it effectively hides flaws in the floor. The challenge with partial flake

is applying a consistent pattern and not having more flakes in one area and not enough in another.

Keep in mind, if you make a mistake and sprinkle too many flakes in one area, you cannot get them out

of the paint; remember—you drop the chips on the floor when the coating is wet.

The kits that you can buy vary from a single coat to multiple coats with a clear topcoat.

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Typical Application for a Partial Chip Floor

1. Prep the floor

2. 1 Basecoat – Then broadcast color chips lightly and evenly on the wet basecoat

3. 1 Topcoat

Full Chip – This finish is much like partial chip, except the entire area is covered with chips, so you don’t

see the base color of the coating. This finish does an extremely good job of masking the imperfections in

the floor. Usually, there are several colors in the chip mix, and the size of the chip can vary depending on

the look you want. This finish requires a basecoat and a clear topcoat.

Typical Application for a Full Chip Floor

1. Prep the floor

2. 1 Basecoat – Then Broadcast color chips and cover the entire wet basecoat with chips

3. 1 Topcoat

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Metallic – This finish has a much different look than the others, as you can see. Like the full chip, this

finish will hide imperfections to a degree because the colors in the floor draw the attention away from

imperfections. This finish can also be tricky when laying out the coating, but the end result is very nice.

Typical Application for a Metallic Floor

1. Prep the floor

2. 1 Basecoat

3. 1 Topcoat

Number 2: Concrete Preparation

Regardless of which finish type you want, preparing the concrete is a critical step in the process—if the

prep work is not done well, it makes little difference what coating you use; the floor is more likely to fail.

A floor failure is typically an adhesion problem between the coating and the concrete. If there is not

good adhesion, the floor coating will flake off or wear off easily. When it comes to floor prep, there are

two options to get good adhesion:

Option 1 – The best method is to use a concrete floor grinder with a diamond cutter to take the sealer

off and open the pores. This allows the coating to soak into the pores of the concrete and attach which

gives you good adhesion and reduces the chance of a failure. This method results a good mechanical

bond.

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All reputable professional companies will grind the floor. If you are a DIYr, floor grinders can be rented

from an equipment rental store for a reasonable fee. They can be a little tricky to run, but usually it

doesn’t take long to get it figured out. The grinder should come with a vacuum to keep the dust down,

but you want to make sure to use a proper mask—this is very important.

Option 2 – If you are a DIYr, and grinding the concrete is a step you want to avoid, the next best option

is to apply a professional grade etching primer on the concrete before the basecoat. The purpose of this

primer is to create a good chemical bond that bites in and holds onto the concrete (rather than a

mechanical bond that comes from grinding the floor). Typically, there is a little bit of prep work that

needs to be done to the concrete before you put down the primer; washing the floor and treating oil

spots. While grinding the floor is the best option, there are some high quality primers available that can

give you nearly as good adhesion as grinding does (more about that later).

Number 3: Coating Types – What is Best for My Garage?

Generally speaking, there are three types of garage coatings for the floor.

Single component – This is a one-part paint that you buy at the big box store, do a little prep work,

and simply mix it up and paint the cement floor. I would never waste my time on a single component

paint, it simply will not hold up.

Epoxy – A resin polymer that stands the test of time, it has been around for years. Epoxies have 2 parts

that are mixed together, they are designed to have a long pot life, so they are relatively easy to apply

because you have more time before they start to cure. The downside to an epoxy is they can take a long

time to dry depending on the formulation of the manufacturer. Epoxy can be formulated as a water

base or solvent base.

Epoxy Pros

• Durable finish that dries hard

• Excellent chemical resistance

• Long pot life so there is a little more time when applying the coating

• Excellent adhesion because the coating has extra time to soak into the pores of the concrete

Epoxy Cons

• Extended drying time depending on the formulation

• It may fade or yellow if exposed to UV rays if the formulation of the coating does not have UV

inhibitors

• Epoxy cannot be applied in extreme temperatures easily

Polyaspartic – A hybrid that is much like polyurethane. It typically is faster drying, which makes it

trickier to apply but it has incredible durability.

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Polyaspartic Pros

• Extremely durable and highly scratch resistant

• Drying time is fast, typically 30 minutes to an hour

• UV stable so it will not fade or yellow

• Can be applied in a variety of temperatures and weather conditions

Polyaspartic Cons

• The quick drying time makes it more difficult to apply

• Pot life is short

• Adhesion is not as good as epoxy, so delamination is more of a concern

Number 4: Facts you need to know

Other culprits to adhesion issues that can cause a floor to fail:

1. Oil spots that were not sufficiently cleaned up

2. Moisture wicking through the concrete. There is a simple test that you can do to help determine

if this might be a problem in your garage: Cut up a plastic bag and tape it down to the floor.

Tape the entire perimeter of the plastic. After a day, take the plastic up and check to see if there

is moisture on the floor. If so, then you may want to consider a moisture barrier to seal the floor

before putting down the basecoat. Think of this as insurance.

3. There is a significant difference between professional coating materials and coating kits

available at a home center. Home centers are all about price and less concerned about quality.

Differences include:

a. Thickness of the coatings – Some home center brands have a very low level of solids in

the coating, so the end result is a thin layer of coating on the floor compared to a

professional coating that can be 2-3 times as thick.

b. Quality of the coating – Home center brands need to make the coating as inexpensive as

possible, so they resort to cheapening the product in order to get it on the shelf.

c. Primers – Etching primers are not all the same, do not scrimp on an inexpensive primer,

it is cheap for a reason.

What Is the Best Finish for The Garage?

I think the best way to answer that question is to share a recent project I worked on.

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Not too long ago, we moved into a new building. There were two areas where we wanted to put down

floor coatings; our maintenance office and our hardware room. Both areas see a lot of use, and I wanted

the floors to look nice for many years.

After doing my own research and talking with flooring professionals, I concluded with what I think is the

best solution.

This is what we did with our floors

Finish type – The area sees a lot of traffic, so I knew we needed a really tough finish and a look that

would hide scratches and abuse. I chose a full flake finish because I liked the look and felt it would stay

looking good the longest.

Floor Preparation – The areas that we were coating previously had carpeted floors, so we really had

no choice but to grind the floor to not only get the sealer off the floor and open the pores up in the

cement but also to get the carpet glue off. We didn’t have issues with moisture or oil, so we did not

have to do any extra prep work.

Coating Types – To answer this, I need to break it down a little more

1. Basecoat – The basecoat used was a high solid and professional quality epoxy. The coating was

put on about 10 mils thick. Epoxy is better for a basecoat because it creates a stronger bond to

the concrete than other materials, so the concern of failure is much lower. In addition, here are

some other benefits of the epoxy we used.

• Essentially odorless

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• Self-priming over properly prepared substrate

• Lifetime adhesion warranty

• VOC compliant

• High color stability

• Chemically resistant

• Withstands up to 9 lbs. of moisture vapor emissions

• Can be accelerated to dry in 2 hours

• Low viscosity

2. Full Flake finish – While the epoxy was still wet, color chips were spread out and covered the

entire floor so the basecoat was not seen. The next day, the floor was scraped (to get loose

paint chips off) and vacuumed, ready for the topcoat that would be applied the same day.

3. Topcoat – As mentioned, this area is high traffic, and we tend to be hard on our surfaces, so

toughness is essential. That is why we went with a Polyaspartic Topcoat, applying about 8-10

mils. Poly is far more durable than epoxy, so it was the perfect choice. Here are some other

benefits to using a poly.

• UV Stable, non-yellowing

• Chemical and stain resistant

• Low viscosity

• 4x more abrasion resistant than epoxy

• 1:1 mixing ratio (makes it easy)

• Solvent-free with virtually NO odor

• Cures at temperatures above freezing

• High flowability

• 4-6-hour cure time (return to service in 24 hours)

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Hire a Professional or DIY? – For this project, I hired a professional, mostly because we simply did not

have the time when moving, but knowing what I know today, I would not hesitate to make the next

floor a DIY project. I think it would be fun and rewarding.

Where do I find professional coatings? – We currently do not sell floor coatings, but we know

people who manufacture excellent quality materials and have high-quality service (which is just as

important to me). Simply reply to the email we sent you and ask for information on where to purchase

quality floor coatings. We will get right back to you.

I hope this helps. Let us know if there is something we can do to help you along the way.

Troy Greenberg