What is Epoxy Floor Painting vs. Epoxy Floor Coating?
Many people are confused about the terminology related to applying an epoxy coating to your garage floor or other concrete surface. The term “painting” when used with epoxy,” isn’t really correct. One major difference between the two, is that epoxy paint dries and epoxy coating cures. When you opt for a true epoxy coating, the concrete floor becomes hard and durable, making it highly resistant to chemicals, abrasions, oil, grease, and stains – basically all factors that are common in any garage.
There are four major ways to treat your garage floor, listed from worst to best.
- Paint the floor – Even if you use a so-called “Concrete Paint” these coverings look nice for a few months but will begin to peel and chip under normal use. But it is a cheap solution which is appealing to many homeowners initially.
- Paint with Epoxy – There are do it yourself oriented “Epoxy Paints” that are available in your hardware store. This is a better choice than concrete paint but the concrete preparation and labor that goes into applying this correctly is daunting to most homeowners. Plus ultimately, the quality of the resins available at Home Depot is simply not the same as what is used by licensed commercial epoxy flooring contractors. Applying epoxy paint without proper experience can lead to a floor that has the same lifetime issues as just painting it, like peeling, discoloration, and cracks, as well as a floor that can take days or weeks to dry.
- Stained Concrete – Staining your slab is a nice option and there are so many colors to choose from. Stains will penetrate the concrete to some degree and if you seal the concrete stain with a proper sealant it will afford some degree of durability to the surface, though not as much as an epoxy floor. You still don’t get out of prepping and repairing your concrete though, as cracks and chips that aren’t dealt with will ruin your finish almost instantly. Diamond Garage is an experienced concrete staining contractor and can help you with concrete floor stain project from conception to completion.
- Epoxy Flooring (Professional) – Having an epoxy floor installed by a professional is undoubtedly the best, most durable way to finish a cement floor. Not only do you have a boatload of color and pattern options, but most of these floors are guaranteed for as long as you own your home. Diamond Garage is an experienced epoxy flooring contractor and can help you with your concrete epoxy floor project from conception to completion.
It may seem no surprise that we think Epoxy floor coatings should always be applied by professional contractors, but what if that’s because it’s true!
- The success of epoxy installation is dependent on proper preparation methods of the concrete through repairing, grinding and even leveling the surface with specialized commercial equipment. A homeowner simply is not capable of this kind of surface preparation.
- Epoxy and polyaspartic coating products work as a 2-component resin system with a very short application time. Industrial products like these require more than one skilled hand during the mixing and application process.
- Commercial products use compounds not available in your local hardware store. This is why they last so long and are so durable.
Can you paint your concrete floor?
Well you can, but the question is why would you want to? Many people are indeed looking to paint their concrete floors. They think this will be easier, less expensive and look just as good. Unfortunately, they are mistaken on all counts. Let’s forget about concrete paint, even if you use a good Home Depot epoxy paint, it is made of latex acrylic and is only effective for light-duty and short-term applications. This is because the epoxy paint will eventually peel and crack, especially in high traffic areas. Epoxy paint is also subject to staining whereas epoxy coatings are not. By the time you buy all this product and donate days of your time to getting this done for an uncertain result, you will barely be saving money over hiring a professional.
Why professionally installed epoxy coatings are way better than painting your garage floors
An epoxy coating is hands down the best choice for high-traffic flooring. They provide long-lasting durability in garages, where they have to stand the test of hot tires, people traveling in and out, oil spills, grease stains and more. Coatings are also industrial-grade for commercial floors in warehouses, showrooms and other high-performance areas. Plus, epoxy coatings can be customized in a variety of ways to get a unique and attractive finish. Not to mention, when you work with a professional epoxy floor installation team like Diamond Garage Solutions, we do everything possible to make the process easier for you. From start to finish, we’ll help you clean out your garage, arrange for temporary storage of your items and then put them all back when the project is complete!
If you have the DIY mindset, you may have thought painting your garage floor would be easy. However, I think we’ve shown that in every long term consideration, this will end up costing you more money, time (and headaches) than it saves you.
So, let us handle the dirty work. Call Diamond Garage Solutions today to get a free quote on your epoxy coating project: 201-633-1700.
Our team installs professional epoxy floor coatings all over New Jersey,
New York and Connecticut.
