Epoxy Floor Coatings
Epoxy floor coatings use to be standard in the resurfacing industry. Unfortunately they’ve become outdated compared to new sealer technology. Most people thing “I want an epoxy sealer on my floor” but don’t really know what that means. I’ll try to break down the difference between epoxies and other sealers here.
Problems With Epoxies
Like I said before, epoxies are old technology. They are usually two parts which need to be mixed on site. The pot life for a mixed epoxy is usually a half an hour or so. That means that you better work fast before that epoxy starts to harden! I’ve had epoxies start to set up on me and then peel up later. This was because the sealer started to harden and didn’t bond to the concrete correctly.
They also yellow or ( amber ) when exposed to UV light. This discoloration looks awful and has been eliminated in most modern day sealers.
Epoxies break down in sunlight. Sunlight causes micro cracks throughout the sealer, which makes the sealed surface look cloudy. Therefore, epoxies have to be used indoors because of this reason.
Epoxy sealers have to be applied using a roller. This can take forever when applying an epoxy to a large square foot area.They also usually need two coats which adds to the application time.
They’re really not that scratch or chemical resistant compared to newer sealers. Polyurethane, urethane, silica, and silicone ceramic coatings all have better scratch, chemical, and slip resistant properties compared to epoxies.
Benefits Of Epoxies
Epoxy coatings can hold back hydrostatic pressure. This is a great benefit when there might be moisture problems in the concrete. Many companies use an epoxy base coat for their garage floor coatings for this reason. Now I usually waterproof the concrete using Creto DPS ( which holds back hydrostatic pressure ) before I apply any topcoat so personally this isn’t a benefit for my company.
They are considered a non-breathable coating. This can be great when using an epoxy for radon mitigation or for other applications like that.
Um, I don’t know of really anymore benefits of epoxies, to tell you the truth.
High Quality Epoxies
Here at CretoSeal we sell two high quality epoxies. They are for clear coating concrete and not meant to be used as a base coat for garage floor coatings. Our garage floor coating system doesn’t require an epoxy base coat. It’s a full polyaspartic system using Creto DPS to hold back hystrstatic pressure.
Our E10 Epoxy from SealGreen is a one part epoxy meaning no mixing is required. Instead you just pour it out right into a paint tray straight out of the bottle. No part A and part B mixing together and no short pot life! This epoxy is great for radon mitigation and interior applications. It’s water based ( not solvent based ) so it’s low VOC and low odor.
Our E15 Epoxy from SealGreen has all of the great characteristics described above but can be applied outside. It’s completely UV stable and works great for outdoor applications.
Other Sealer Options
Personally I like to use urethane based sealers like Barrier which is more cost effective and comes in gloss and matte finishes. Another great polyurethane sealer from SealGreen is PolyShine. It works just like their epoxy except it is more chemical and scratch resistant. Check out more information about these product and others on our website ( which you’re on right now ).
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This article I found on Angie’s List talks about the advantages of epoxy floor coatings on concrete. Full Article Here…
