Epoxy flooring

Polyaspartic vs. Epoxy: Which is the best concrete floor coating?

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Garage Floor Epoxy Alternative

Epoxy garage floors have been around for a long time — so long that people often use “epoxy” as a generic term to mean “floor coating.” But garage floor epoxy is a specific material that has some serious drawbacks. That’s why, after a lot of research, we chose polyaspartic for our concrete floor coating product.

The Truth About Epoxy Floor Coatings

Epoxy concrete floor coating takes nearly a week to cure and because it’s so inflexible, it cracks easily, allowing moisture to seep beneath it, breaking the bond with the concrete below. This makes it a less durable option down the road. Throughout our exhaustive research, we found that epoxy flooring has multiple serious drawbacks, including:

Peeling and flaking in concrete
Peeling & Flaking

Unlike epoxy coatings, which just sort of sit on the concrete surface and are susceptible to peeling and flaking, polyaspartic coatings seep into the concrete’s pores, creating a permanent bond.

Hot tire mark in concrete coating
Hot Tire Pickup

When you drive, your tires heat up and expand. Then when you park, that heat transfers to the floor below them. With an inferior epoxy floor, your tires can “pick up” bits of the epoxy as they cool back down and contract. Thankfully, this isn’t an issue with polyaspartic flooring.

Chemical burn on concrete coating
Chemical Burns

Epoxy flooring is susceptible to stains caused by chemical burns from oils, gasoline, diesel and other spills. Polyaspartic concrete coatings aren’t affected by these chemicals, so long as you wipe them up quickly.

Poor flake distribution
Poor Flake Distribution

DIY epoxy floor solutions, in particular, often suffer from poor flake distribution, resulting in an uneven, unprofessional look. Hello Garage polyaspartic concrete flooring features full-broadcast flake distribution that gives it a natural, granite-like finish.

Yellowing concrete flooring
Yellowing

Epoxy floor coatings aren’t UV stable. That means they will often yellow over time due to repeated exposure to sunlight. Polyaspartic floor coatings are UV stable and will never yellow.

UV fading in concrete flooring
UV Fading

Epoxy floors can also fade over time due to exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun. Since polyaspartic floor coatings are UV stable, this isn’t an issue with a Hello Garage floor.

Read about Polyaspartic by Hello Garage

Why a Polyaspartic Floor Coating Is Better Than an Epoxy Floor Coating

When it comes to a floor coating, you should choose the kind that lasts the longest. And polyaspartic beats epoxy in that area without question. Why? Just take a look:

The polyaspartic floor coating material is very fluid and applied in an almost water-like state. This means it finds every crack, crevice and pore of the concrete beneath. Because of this, it doesn’t just adhere to the concrete; it actually bonds with it, becoming one with your garage floor.

Because of this superior bonding, polyaspartic floor coatings are not susceptible to hot-tire pickup. You can park in the same place over and over, even in the hottest climates.

The polyaspartic material Hello Garage uses is 100% UV resistant. It won’t yellow or fade like epoxy floor coatings do over time.

It takes just 24 hours for our polyaspartic concrete coating to cure. That means no waiting a week to use your garage, laundry room or patio. It’ll likely be ready the very next day!

When epoxy coating fails in laboratory testing, it’s because it peels away from the concrete surface below. But when polyaspartic floor coating finally fails in lab testing, it is actually the surface layer of concrete that peels away. So, the polyaspartic floor coating itself never really fails — the underlying concrete does. It’s that strong a bond.

While polyaspartic floor coating technology was initially developed for industrial use, it was first used commercially as spray-in truck bed liners. Just think of how tough a truck bed has to be! Plus, truck beds are made of steel, which doesn’t have open pores like concrete. So, if polyaspartic can stick to that, it can definitely bond with your concrete floor.

Hello Garage 100% Polyaspartic vs. Other Floor Coating Options

EpoxyPolyureaPolyaspartic
Bonds strongly to concrete to avoid peeling and flaking over timeX
UV resistant, so it won’t yellow or break down over timeXX
Greater flexibility to prevent crackingX
Appropriate hardness for optimum impact, abrasion and crack resistanceX
Resistant to hot tire pickupXX
Resistance to chemical damage
Looks great for years to comeXX
UV exposure to concrete coating in garage
Open garage flooring getting UV exposure | Hello Garage

Epoxy Coatings and UV Exposure

The sunlight that warms our bodies and nourishes our plants also contains ultraviolet radiation or UV for short. In fact, it’s overexposure to UV radiation that causes sunburns. And just as it can harm your skin over time, UV radiation can cause certain floor coatings to yellow and fade, including epoxy floor coatings.

Polyaspartic: The UV-resistant concrete floor coating.

You might not think your garage gets much exposure to the sun, but if you leave the garage door open while you mow the lawn, for instance, that exposure year after year can cause your epoxy garage floor to yellow and fade. And if you’re coating an exterior space, forget it; epoxy is not the way to go. Only polyaspartic concrete flooring will give you the UV resistance you’re looking for.

Polyaspartic
Epoxy
Clear coating on concrete floor

Clear Coat

Clear pearl coating on concrete floor

Clear Coat on HG Pearl Flake

dirty garage flooring | Hello GarageAfter epoxy coating applies to garage concrete floor
Before & After Spotlight

Epoxy vs. Polyaspartic Garage Floor Coating

Don’t just take our word that polyaspartic is better than epoxy. Check out this real-world example from a customer’s garage!

View More Transformations

Polyaspartic — The Superior, More Affordable Concrete Floor Coating

The beauty and durability of polyaspartic simply make it a better solution for improving your garage, patio, basement or other interior or exterior concrete surface. And though a high-quality, 100% polyaspartic concrete coating typically costs a bit more than an epoxy floor coating initially, over time, it’s a better value because it typically lasts up to four or five times longer when professionally installed. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Unfortunately for DIYers everywhere, approximately 80% of garage floor coating success comes down to surface preparation. We have the specialized tools (walk-behind grinders and industrial vacuums) and the expertise to get it done right the first time. We ensure your concrete is free of damage, cracks and abrasions that cause other methods to fail. We also test the moisture of your concrete slab with a professional tool to ensure the material will adhere properly.

In a word, yes. That’s why it’s been the choice of warehouses, factories and other industrial applications for 40 years. Now it’s available for residential garages. Plus, only polyaspartic floor-coating technology offers granite-like looks and durability and can be installed in about a day.