Epoxy Painted Floors

A great Concrete Floor Paint

Introduction:

Epoxy painted floors are great looking floors for garages and basements. Epoxy paint provides a beautiful concrete floor finish that holds up very well to heavy traffic whether from vehicles on garage floors or foot traffic on basement floors. Epoxy paint is available in just about any color you want except for the rough coat epoxy floor paint which usually comes in only one color.

Epoxy paint is made from a liquid polymer material that is converted into a solid polymer through a chemical reaction. Not only is epoxy paint mechanically strong it is resistant to chemical elements once they become solid as the paint dries. They are also highly adhesive during the drying stage when they change from a liquid to the solid form of a finished painted floor.

Basically any type of epoxy flooring system is made up of two components; a resin and a hardener.
Resin:
The resin is usually light and is almost clear in color as well as being almost odor free.

Hardener:

The Hardener is much darker in color than the resin and will normally have a strong smell like ammonia.

When these two components are mixed together in the correct way they react to each other chemically and begin to bond together. Once the change reaction starts it cannot be reversed. When the chemical reaction is completed the material forms a rigid plastic type material.

The great thing about most types of epoxy paint for floors is that they are very strong and are able to resist all kinds of household chemicals as well as resistant to mechanical shocks and scratches. Epoxy painted floors are easy to maintain and keep clean. There are three types of epoxy floor paint available as listed below.

Industrial Epoxy Floor Paint: This is normally thick and shiny and contains no solver or odors. However, it is usually very slippery when wet.
Water Bond Epoxy Floor Paint: This is a very thin paint as compared to either the industrial epoxy floor paint described above or rough the coat epoxy paint as described below. It does not hide cracks or flaws in the floor but it is the most functional and most user friendly of all three types of the epoxy floor paints. It is often used as a primer prior to applying the industrial epoxy floor paint.
Rough Coat Epoxy Floor Paint: This is a solvent based epoxy and is thin but comes with an anti-slip grit mixed into the paint to prevent slippage. Unfortunately it comes in limited colors, usually tan, but it can be used either by itself or with other epoxy floor paints.

The most commonly used type of epoxy floor paint for the home use is the water based type as it the easiest to work with. It is made up of both the primer and/or topcoat and is certainly great for using on your garage or basement floor. It is easy to apply and dries quickly. I used this paint on my garage floor three years ago and it has held up well without requiring any touch up work. I used a California paint called “ALLFLOR” that is made for garage and basement floors. It is easy to apply and easy to clean up. If you want a great looking garage or basement I suggest that you use the water based type for your epoxy painted floors.

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