
Every once in a while, your garage floor needs a new coating. It's a must if you want to protect your floors from stains, oils, and other damages. Check out polyurea floor coating vs epoxy and which one is better.
It can be hard to find and decide on which type of floor coating to use. In this industry, there are two main types of coating: polyurea vs epoxy. In most Google searches, epoxy is the first result. But is it really a better choice for you?
This article outlines the advantages and disadvantages of a polyurea vs epoxy garage floor.
Polyurea Floor Coatings
This type of flooring option for your garage has been creating a buzz in the industry. It's most commonly used for bed liners, pipe coating, containment lining, fillers, garage flooring, and other industrial applications.
Polyurea is a type of polyurethane. It's a two-part component where the resin is mixed along with a catalyst to create a reaction. This reaction makes the material hard to protect the floor.
It has a very long elongation rate: above 300%, making it flexible. Polyurea has a speedy cure rate, meaning it's fully hard in less than five minutes. It can also be applied in low and high temperatures.
Advantages
Polyurea can be applied in many situations
It is abrasion-resistant
Polyurea is resistant to chemicals
Polyurea has 100% UV stability and won't go yellow
Disadvantages
- The thickness of polyurea (2/3 mils) can not be adjusted over time
- Polyurea is not often used to fill cracks in the floor
Epoxy Floor Coatings
Epoxy floor coatings have been around longer than polyurea floor coatings. It's also a two-part system that contains a resin and a hardener. You can also choose to add social additives like accelerators or UV inhibitors.
Similar to polyurea, once you've applied the epoxy floor coating, you'll benefit from higher chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, and a rapid cure for other defects on your floor.
Advantages
- Epoxy coatings can come in various thickness degrees
- Epoxy can bond well with concrete (unlike polyurea)
- If you use a thick coating, then epoxy is impact resistant
In essence, epoxy can provide relatively long protection for your floor. But there are some drawbacks compared to polyurea that you should be aware of:
Disadvantages
- If not done professionally, epoxy can look imperfect and can fail
- The epoxy may turn yellow over time in the sunlight
- Common substances, like garage cleaners or oil spills, can damage the epoxy
- Temperature changes, if extreme, can damage the epoxy
Epoxy is not always the best solution. For example, you can see here how the Polyurea from Garage Force is stronger epoxy.
Polyurea vs Epoxy: What's the Best Choice?
A garage is a safe haven for many families. So, it's important to make sure that your garage is properly protected and usable.
As you can see above, it's a tight choice between polyurea vs epoxy as a garage floor coating. But polyurea tends to provide the same (if not more) benefits as epoxy for a longer period of time. So, usually, that's the safer choice!
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I hope you enjoyed this polyurea floor coating vs epoxy post.
It's impressive how garage floor coating could help prevent slipping as you work on your car after a breakdown. I want to help my friend with his plans to build a garage that matches the aesthetics of his vehicle. I hope this can convince him to find a flooring company that can help!
A precise & well-wrtitten post. Thanks heaps for sharing it.