Best Garage Floor Coating – Epoxy and Paint
Rust-Oleum Professional Floor Coating Kit
Rust-Oleum Professional Coating Kit is the best garage floor epoxy coating kit if you want a semi- industrial strength epoxy coating at an affordable cost. The coating kit contains a two part solvent based epoxy coating, which is a clear upgrade from the 1-part epoxy coatings in cheaper products. By weight, it is about 85% solids, which results in a thick coating.
We thoroughly tested 13 products, surveyed 68 random consumers, spoke to 4 industry experts, and spent 16 hours researching reviews online. Each metric below is computed by taking the weighted average of many computed data points. Data points are quantified on a 1-10 scale based on test results, consumer and expert opinions, and online reviews.
Finding the best garage floor paint or the best garage floor coating can be a nightmare. There are so many products on the market and many of them labeled with deceptive marketing that it is hard to hone in on exactly what you need. We hope to clarify all of this for you and help you decide on the best product for your needs and budget.
You should be using the best garage floor paint or the best garage floor coating to help keep your garage and cars clean and for your garage to look new. Most of the dust in your garage comes from the concrete in the ground, so it is a wise idea to apply a layer on coating over your concrete to seal it.
In general, garage floor coating and treatment products come in three categories: paint, epoxy paint, and epoxy coating. These terms are not to be confused with each other and are certainly not the same. However, because these words have been interchanged in industry jargon, many companies purposefully decide to market all of them as one product. After you read our guide, you should know the difference.
Best Garage Floor Coating Reviews (Epoxy & Paint)
- Rust-Oleum Professional Floor Coating Kit (Top Pick)
- Epoxy-Coat Full Kit
- Drylock Epoxy Paint
- Valspar (81020) Garage Floor Coating Kit
- Supercoat Epoxy Floor Coating – Milamar Coatings
Rust-Oleum Professional Floor Coating Kit
The coating kit contains a two part solvent based epoxy coating, which is a clear upgrade from the 1-part epoxy coatings in cheaper products. By weight, it is about 85% solids, which is means most of the coating will not evaporate. The result is your floor will have a thicker coat. Remember that epoxy coatings with a higher % solids content are better in terms of coating thickness and durability.
Although it is not 100% solids like most industrial grade professional epoxy coatings, it is close enough to put it in the major leagues. This 2 gallon jug can over about 300-400 square feet of area (assuming 15% loss by evaporation). This is enough for most two car garages. Unlike many ordinary garage floor paint, the Rust-Oleum coating kit is very good at resisting peeling, the build-up of mildew and mold, hot tire pick up marks, and oil stains.
Applying this epoxy coating can be a bit tricky, but with patience you should be alright. First you need to make sure you are applying it on a smooth and even surface. If you do not have that, you can sand down patches until they become smooth and use concrete fillers for large gaps. If you have any oil spots, grease or spills, be sure to wash the spots before applying. Also if your concrete garage floor is new, you should allow about one month for it to cure first. Once you have prepped the floor for application, you need to mix the solution using a power mixer.
Then follow the instruction on the label about how long you should wait. We recommend applying using a roller and only one coating should be enough. Just remember, depending on temperatures and conditions, you need to apply the mixture 2 to 5 hours after mixing. All in all, the Rust-Oleum Professional Floor Coating Kit is the best garage floor epoxy coating for the value. It is a respected brand and delivers outstanding results at a reasonable cost. For those who want an even better coating, you will have to look at hiring professional coaters or getting expensive professional grade epoxy.
Epoxy-Coat Full Kit
For the most part, industrial professional grade epoxy coatings are not marketed under any brand names because they are mostly bought by professional coaters and tillers. Epoxy-Coat is one of the few 100% solids epoxy coat you can buy and do yourself without having to pay for a professional installation.
In case you don’t know already, a 100% solids epoxy coat is the best kind of epoxy coating out there because it means 100% of the solids will remain after application and will not be lost to evaporation. This means usually one coating is enough and you can be sure that coating will be thick (at least 10 mils).
This kit comes with all of the essentials for a professional do it yourself coating. It has all the tools including brushes, rollers, and even a DVD instructional video. Best of all, it does not require multiple coatings: just one single coat will do the job. Keep in mind, this does not come with a top coating, which you can also buy separately or in a bundle with Epoxy-Coat’s premium package.
However, for all intents and purposes, we do not think it is necessary to use a top coat unless you want to go overboard with your garage coating. If you want the best garage floor epoxy coating used by professionals in a nice comprehensive do it yourself solution, this is the perfect package for you. It is relatively easy to apply for a 100% solids epoxy coating and you get garage floors that will last for years to come.
Drylok Epoxy Paint
However, we still cannot fully classify this as a real epoxy coating product because it is simply too weak and definitely less than 50% solids. What this means is that after application and curing, less than 50% of the coating actually remains due to evaporation.
What you end up with is a thin layer of coating around 3 mils thick. While this is a much cheaper alternative to using 100% solids epoxy coating, the durability is clearly not as good. You should really get garage floor paint if you want a hassle free application process, you don’t mind having to reapply the mixture in the near future, and you want to save some money.
Drylok will not protect your garage floor for serious hot tire pick up marks, tough oil or grease stains, and is a bit keen on peeling. As long as you know this is not a true epoxy coating and not have high expectations, you should be extremely satisfied with this product. The best garage floor paint will never be as good as the best garage floor epoxy coating, but it sure does win on cost and installation convenience. If you don’t care about having pristine garage floors that sparkle, you should be fine with a jug of Drylok.
Valspar (81020) Garage Floor Coating Kit
This epoxy is fit with advanced bonding technology which helps the coating adhere to the garage floor. It protects your floor to a durable and beauty finish. Also it will absolutely protect your floor from hot tires, oil, gas, and general wear and tear.
We should probably also cover some of the product specifications for the techno geeks out there. The Valspar 81020 epoxy coating is about 3.0 mil thick when wet and 1.5 mil thick when dried. It has a 90-120 KU viscosity and a 35-65 units @ 6- degree angle. The flashpoint is 200F and VOC is less than 250 g/L. In terms of percent solids, you have 53% volume solids and 62% weight solids.
With one gallon of this stuff, you get about 200 square feet of practical coverage. In terms of dry time given normal drying conditions that is relatively hot and good relative humidity you have 8-12 hours drying to the touch. For recoat you have 24 hours and for a full cure you are looking at 3 days.
Application should be pretty easy as long as you follow the instructions carefully. First, you must mix the Valspar 81020 properly. You should open both cans of the epoxy kit and mix together, stirring for 3 minutes or more. You should then activate the product out in direct sunlight for the recommended activation time.
Keep in mind that if you have a two-car garage, then you will need two of these kits. We would strongly advise you to make sure you have all of the tools necessary before you start coating. You should definitely use a polyester brush and a medium nap roller. Overall, this is the best garage floor coating kit if you want a water based coating that lasts. There are quite a few colors to choose from as well.
Supercoat Epoxy Floor Coating – Milamar Coatings
SUPERCOAT has a technology called WET Chemistry that ensures your coating won’t chip, bleed, peel, or blister. These effects can be caused by water vapor rinsing through your garage floor concrete.
Also, SUEPRCOAT is more or less resistant to damage caused by gasoline, brake fluid, and chemicals. It is definitely stronger than floor paint and right up there with some industrial strength coatings. It really is a premium garage floor coating that you can get for a fraction of the cost of hiring a professional.
We like that SUPERCOAT comes in eight colors, which more than enough for you to find one you like. There are three camo blends and 5 regular colors. Each SUPERCOAT kit will cover 250 square feet of space. This is basically the size of a single car garage. The kit comes with decorative flakes, a cleaner or de-greaser, and a non-slip aggregate. You also have the option of a clear glaze coat if you want to high gloss finish.
If you are going to apply SUPERCOAT, you should thoroughly prep the floor. However, you won’t have to acid etch or do any sort of mechanical prep. Just the basics is fine. All in all, if you want a breathable epoxy that doesn’t chip or peel, SUPERCOAT epoxy liquid flooring is your answer. It is super easy to apply and have great durability.
Best Garage Floor Epoxy Coating Buying Guide
The best garage floor paint is a latex acrylic product. It is often seen as an inexpensive hassle free solution to give your garage floor some life. It is a very thin layer of film (in the low single digit in terms of mils) and does not last for a long time. The next grade up is epoxy paint, which is a mixture of paint and epoxy. Most do it yourself products are sold in the form of epoxy paint. However, the name on the label maybe a bit different. These products are relatively cheap and easy to apply, mostly because they are not pure epoxy.
Pure epoxy is made of epoxy resin and a polyamine hardener that is first mixed together then applied. You have limited time and temperature range to apply the epoxy. The thickness of the remaining epoxy coating depends on the amount of solid content that remains after the epoxy cures. A product that is 100% solids means that 100% of the epoxy product remains after it is cured.
For epoxy paint, most are usually around 50% solids, which means, half of the thickness of your coating will evaporate after curing. For all intents and purposes, when professionals talk about industrial grade epoxy coating, they mean one that is 100% solids. The best garage floor epoxy coating is expensive and hard to work with. This is because it has high viscosity and there is a short time to apply the mixture. In terms of thickness, floor coating is usually measured in mils (one thousand mils is 1 inch).
The best garage floor paint will only give you about 3 mils of thickness since it is at most 50% solids. You can add one or even two layers of clear epoxy top coat to bring the thickness up from 3 mils to 6 or 9 mils. The best garage floor epoxy coating on the other hand is at least 10 mils since it is 100% solids. You can add some acrylic paint chips to this for some extra thickness and longer lasting color. Additionally, you can add one or two layers of epoxy clear coat.
You should also add a primer coat first before applying the best garage floor epoxy coating. The primer coating allows the epoxy coating to bond better with the concrete and seep into the pores. All in all, the ultimate combination of coatings that will give you a floor lasting 20 years. This basically means a 40+ mils thickness primer coating, followed by the actual epoxy coating, with some acrylic paint chips on top and two layers of clear epoxy top coating.
So now the big question remains: should you get the best garage floor paint or the best garage floor epoxy coating? The answer really depends on your budget and the level of protection you want on your garage floor. Remember, the purpose of applying any kind of paint or epoxy coating is to trap dust in your concrete floors. Also you want to prevent it from making your garage dirty.
It also looks good to have nice shiny clean garage floors. You should also try to prevent dirt and bacteria from getting into your concrete. This could damage and crack your garage floors. Obviously, the best garage floor epoxy coating will do a better job coating your floors. However, the best garage floor paint is way cheaper and easier to apply. Therefore, you need to decide whether you want a longer lasting garage floor and a steeper upfront cost or not.
