When it comes to commercial garage flooring, you need something that will not only keep your employees safe, but will also be durable and long-lasting. That’s why so many trust Garage Finisher for their commercial garage floor coating needs. 

However, if you haven’t had to invest in commercial floor coating before or have some questions, our team has collected this in-depth guide to the benefits of concrete coatings for commercial garage flooring, so read on! 

How Can Floor Coating Systems Make a Difference on Your Concrete? 

If your garage is made out of concrete, like most are, then adding a layer of floor coating to its surface offers a host of different benefits. Traditional paint is often composed primarily of acrylic and latex and does not adhere well to concrete.  However, commercial garage floor coating systems are much different. They’re fabricated from a Polyaspartic resin that provides much greater durability and a perfect, smooth finish. 

Another difference between traditional paints and floor coating systems is that paints dry, while epoxy or polyaspartic coatings cure over time. This means that as the floor coating cures, it becomes stronger than paint and bonds to the surface of your garage floor. 

Many commercial and industrial facilities use commercial garage floor coating systems because: 

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  They’re much easier to maintain - dust and dirt doesn’t penetrate the surface. 
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  They provide a clean, sleek appearance that’s easy to keep looking great for years.
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  Garage flooring systems are much more resistant to spills and stains, like oil or other chemicals. 
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  They enable you to choose different colors or design schemes and textures for a more attractive and safe finish. 

What Garage Floor Coating System Options Are There to Choose From?

There are a wide variety of garage floor coating systems out there to choose from today, making choosing one somewhat overwhelming at times. That’s why it’s important to do your research before choosing one, as each has their own benefits. It’s also a good idea to be familiar with how garage flooring systems work. 

Before covering all of the different types of garage flooring systems available, we want to touch on how they’re installed, because it’s much more complicated than a layer of paint. First, there are two main components to garage flooring systems, the wet film thickness and dry film thickness. The coating layer is measured twice, soon after it dries, then after its cured and the wet film thickness and dry film thickness determines the amount of material lost during the drying process. 

Garage floor coating systems can be used for both commercial and residential applications, making them versatile as well as extremely durable and long lasting. 

Different Types of Garage Flooring Systems 

1. Polyaspartic, Polyurethane, & Polyurea Garage Coatings

These days, one of the most popular forms of garage floor coatings are polyaspartic coatings. They are so popular because not only do they provide a durable top coating for your garage floor, but they also offer unprecedented UV protection and resistance to more corrosive chemicals and oils. It also cures quickly at a low temperature, meaning less down time for your floor. Floors can be used within 24 hours of installation.  Even in more extreme areas with sub-zero temperatures or in temperatures up to 140F polyaspartic coatings are ideal. 

2. Metallic Epoxy Garage Floor Coatings

One of the more popular garage floor coating materials is metallic epoxy due to the variety of colors and styles it offers. Metallic epoxy offers styles that give your garage floor a marble or granite, or swirl look that can be quite popular. However, one of the main downsides of metallic epoxy garage floor coatings is that they don’t offer good UV protection, meaning any area exposed to sunlight on your garage floor can quickly and easily fade.  As with all epoxy floors, the curing time is 3 to 7 days depending on the temperature. Another major downside to metallic floors is they are slippery when wet so not ideal for use in a garage.

3. Glitter Epoxy Commercial Floor Coatings 

Glitter epoxy floor coatings give you a variety of colors of glitter flakes to choose from and mix with the epoxy coating. It can create a truly unique room and offer an eye-catching addition to your commercial property. Glitter flakes used in commercial floor coatings should be of the highest grade and manufactured for industrial and commercial applications. Again, like metallic epoxy coatings, glitter epoxy offers little in the way of UV protection and has a 3 to 7 day curing time so this should certainly be taken into account.  Additionally epoxy and urethanes peel over time causing the costly need to recoat the floor often. 

Solid Color Epoxy Garage Floor Coatings

Also referred to as safety coatings, solid color epoxy garage floor coatings can be installed in most types of properties.  This type of floor coating it typically more affordable than other alternatives and provides a nice appearance and durability compared to paint for your garage floor. However, like more costly epoxy alternatives, solid color epoxy experiences wear and tear from UV rays, will fade over time, and still has that 3 to 7 days curing time. Additionally, epoxy gets brittle over time and peels.  Hot tires found in a garage normally cause the epoxy to loose its bond to the concrete and is referred to as “Hot Tire Pickup” making epoxy a short term solution for garage flooring. 

Vinyl Flake/Chip Garage Coatings

For those looking for a more durable option that will provide your garage floor with a unique look, vinyl flake/chip garage floor coatings are an option. Not only are they impact-resistant, but vinyl flake/chip coatings also offer high traction and enhance the aesthetic look of your property’s garage floor. This type of coating could be a good option for retail floors and residential concrete floors. 

Installing a Garage Floor Coating System Yourself vs Hiring a Contractor 

If you’re wondering whether to try to install your garage flooring system yourself or hiring a professional, there are some important things to consider.  There are many steps you need to take to properly install an epoxy or polyapartic floor or you will end up having problems with the floor and won’t be happy with the results.  Here are the steps that should be taken to insure good results:

1. Remove all contents from garage and properly store to avoid any damage
2. Grind the floor to prepare the concrete
3. Thoroughly vacuum all dust
4. Fill in all the cracks, pitting, and control joints
5. Grind the floor again
6. Vacuum the floor again
7. Apply a base coat that will penetrate into the concrete – beware Epoxy has NO penetration.  Garage Finisher’s proprietary polyaspartic formula penetrates deep into the concrete making a permanent bond. 
8. Apply a clear coat
9. Add decorative chips
10. Apply another clear coat with large beads that will provide slip resistance. 
11. Apply a final clear coat layer
12. Replace content that was removed from garage.

Most people don’t own the equipment necessary to do job right and by the time you end up renting the equipment and going through the entire process yourself, you probably have a minimum of 5 days into the project, plus the expense of the equipment.  What is your time worth? And, what will you have to spend on equipment?  By the time you are done trying to do the job yourself, you could very well end up spending more than the cost to have professionals do it all for you.  After all that, you hope you did everything right and you won’t have any problems with the new floor.  The Garage Finisher Forever Floor has one of the best commercial warranties in the industry.  So, you don’t have to worry about any issues with your new floor.

At Garage Finisher, our Forever Floor process includes a propriety polyaspartic blend that provides a beautiful seamless slip-resistant finish offering a variety of benefits: 

• First, we remove and store all items in garage, so you don’t have to. 
• Compared with other epoxy flooring types, Garage Finisher’s Forever Floor cures faster and you can use your floor the day after the installation. Other alternatives take a minimum of 2 or 3 days before you can use your floor again. 
• Garage Finisher will replace all the items in your garage that were safely stored for you.

Contact us for Garage Flooring Systems and more! 

If you’re in need of garage flooring systems, cabinet installation, natural stone removal, slat wall solutions, and more, contact us today online or call (216) 831-4500.