You could choose several finishes for a garage floor, from rubber matting to ceramic tiling. The right solution will always depend on how you plan to use your garage and what you plan to store in it. That you’ve narrowed the list down to garage floor paint and epoxy paints tells us that you’re after a highly durable floor.
Maybe you’ve got a two-car garage at your home where you keep your family cars, as well as your gardening and gym equipment and some extra storage space. Maybe you’re a panel beater or mechanic, and you’re re-flooring your industrial garage floors. Either way, you expect a fair bit of traffic through the area and want floors that’ll handle years of pressure without faltering.
In this guide, we’ll explain what garage floor paint is and how it’s different from epoxy floor paint. Marketing plays a part, so the definitions do blur. Finally, our specialists will recommend their top solution for protecting your garage’s concrete floor.
(Spoiler alert: we reckon epoxy flooring for garages is the best way to go. Read on to find out why.)
If you’d like to learn more about Policrete’s epoxy flooring services, don’t hesitate to get in touch. As Melbourne’s foremost concrete specialists, we can plan and deliver bespoke solutions perfect for your site.
What is garage floor paint?
Garage floors are typically coated with latex acrylic paint. This type of paint is far more resilient and durable than the interior paint used for walls and ceilings, and it’s designed to withstand skidding tires and the weight of packed SUVs without scraping, scratching and staining.
What is epoxy paint?
An epoxy floor coating isn’t actually paint. It’s made of two components: epoxy resin and a chemical hardener. These two ingredients must be mixed together in an extremely specific ratio (determined by the manufacturer you buy it from).
Like the latex acrylic garage floor coating, epoxy is ideal for hard-wearing use. However, epoxy is designed for extreme durability, chemical resistance, heat and UV resistance and bacterial resistance. It’s also waterproof.
As for colour options, epoxy coatings are just as versatile as paint. At Policrete, we offer several coloured epoxy finishes, and you can even use our colour-matching service to get precisely the hue you’re after.
Is an epoxy coating better than floor paint for a garage?
We’ve made a handy little table to compare epoxy vs paint for garage floors.
[table]
[thead]
[tr]
[th][/th]
[th]Latex Acrylic Garage Floor Paint[/th]
[th]Epoxy Floor Paint[/th]
[/tr]
[/thead]
[tbody]
[tr]
[td]Long-lasting[/td]
[td]Up to 10 years[/td]
[td]Up to 20 years[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Skid resistance[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Low maintenance[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Non-staining[/td]
[td]Doesn’t stain[/td]
[td]Doesn’t stain[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Chemical resistance[/td]
[td]Diluted chemical resistance[/td]
[td]Industrial chemical resistance[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Heat resistance[/td]
[td]Medium-heat resistance[/td]
[td]High-heat resistance[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td]Bacteria resistance[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[td]Yes[/td]
[/tr]
[/tbody]
[/table]
[feature_link]In summary: garage floor epoxy paint is the longer-lasting, far more durable solution for protecting your garage floor’s concrete surface. Essentially, it’s an industrial-strength solution with a consumer-friendly price tag.[/feature_link]
