Garage Floor Coatings

Posted on February 27, 2008 - Filed Under Home Improvement |

There are four types of acceptable garage floor coatings that you apply over concrete – epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic sealer/stainer and latex. Epoxy is the most widely used coating because it forms a hard durable surface and a strong bond to the concrete. However, you have to prepare the garage floor before you start to apply the epoxy and you have to make sure it is completely free of any dust or dirt. If you tend to leave the garage door open a lot, epoxy tends to turn yellow and lose its gloss when it is exposed to sunlight for long periods of time. You do need to have the right temperature when you apply epoxy because if the temperature is less than 60 – 80 degrees the material becomes too think to apply. It will dry to the touch within a few hours, but you will have to wait for several days before it is dry enough to drive a vehicle over it.

Polyurethane resists chemical spills much better than epoxy and will not fade as readily. It is also a very durable coating and dries to a high gloss finish on the garage floor. However, it really isn’t suitable for direct application to a concrete floor. You have to put an epoxy primer to the floor before you apply the polyurethane so that it will bond to the concrete. This is the reason that polyurethane is used as protective coating for epoxy.

There are also various types of latex paints that are suitable for garage floors. It is actually the cheapest of the coatings but you have to wait 72 hours before you can drive a vehicle over it even though it is dry enough to walk on after a few hours. The antique looking stains create a unique and warn finish for a garage floor. With this coating, the garage floor can actually look like stone or leather. It covers any imperfections in the concrete and makes them look as if they are part of the satin. The finish is permanent, but you do need to add a protective coating over it. Exposure to the sun and dragging heavy materials over it can damage a stain coating and in order to have a non-slip surface you need to go over it with a broom to put grooves in the liquid.

For lots of information on
garage
flooring and other garage remodeling related topics, visit Garages Spot at
http://www.garages-spot.com

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