Is Epoxy Flooring Scratch Resistant and Does a Top Coat Help?

Is Epoxy Flooring Scratch Resistant and Does a Top Coat Help?

Epoxy flooring is popular for a number of reasons such as its durability and value. Along with the many choices you have in the aesthetic, it’s popular as a garage floor coating.

If you’re not familiar with all of the science behind epoxy flooring and only have a rudimentary understanding of how it works, then you may be wondering if it is scratch-resistant. How does it compare with other garage floor coatings? Do you need a top coat or multiple-layer installation?

Epoxy Flooring and Its Benefits

Overall, the best garage floor coating is epoxy flooring. It’s sleek, reflective and clean-looking. Along with the fact that an epoxy garage floor coating typically costs no more than pre-finished wood flooring, the durability is a major factor when choosing it for a garage floor coating or on top of custom garage cabinets.

Another benefit of epoxy flooring is it needs minimal maintenance. Since garage floor epoxy fills porous areas and seals the floor underneath, there isn’t a lot that you have to do for its upkeep, which saves time and money. Sweeping and mopping are the only things you need to keep your garage floor epoxy coating looking shiny and new. Just avoid the acidic cleaners and keep in mind that mopping with soap can leave a hazy appearance.

epoxy floor coating

Last but not least, epoxy flooring’s seamless design offers plenty of decorating ideas as an eco-friendly, green-building option that is resistant to extreme temperatures, impacts and chemicals.

The best garage floor epoxy contains resin and hardener compounds that mix together, forming a liquid that professionals spread over the floor in several applications. The durable, rigid, plastic coating is safe enough for a homeowner’s garage yet strong enough for industrial applications.

How Does a Top Coat Help?

A polyurethane top coat added to an epoxy-flooring coating adds a myriad of benefits such as:

  • Gloss retention
  • Chemical resistance
  • Yellowing resistance
  • Easier to clean

With the addition of fine aggregate additives, a top coat adds additional cleaning benefits and makes it less slippery as well as more wear-resistant. These additives come from a variety of elements such as silica sand, aluminum oxide or even spherical glass beads.

garage flooring guide

Multi-Layer Installation

Multi-layer installation includes a primer and top coat, installed to make the floor more scratch-resistant, more resilient and longer-lasting. Along with all of the benefits of a top coat alone, a multi-layer installation adds a primer as well. This makes it even more resistant to spills, hot tires, dropped tools and road salt.

Primer helps with adhesion for longer life, reduces the chance of bubbles and pinholes emerging in the concrete, eliminates dust and reduces the chances of the substrate absorbing some of the top coat. Some epoxy primers can help mitigate moisture-vapor transmission from beneath the floor slab. They can be moisture-tolerant and work well when applied over floors with higher relative humidity.

Even while epoxy flooring has permanence on its own, the multiple layers provide even more protection for its longevity. It’s a great investment to create a garage floor that will last for years.

The garage floor epoxy cost is well worth it because epoxy flooring is long-lasting and very durable, as well as attractive. If you take steps to make sure you install the right type and quality of flooring, work with professional flooring installers and properly maintain your floor, then you will greatly extend its longevity.

Contact Boston Garage to learn more about epoxy flooring. We’re happy to give you a free consultation today about your flooring options.

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