Lets set the stage here. I’ve spent almost 2 decades learning about coatings, selling coatings, specifying coating projects, managing coating projects, applying coatings, training contractors to apply coatings & inspecting projects with coating failures. I’ve worked for manufacturers of epoxy, polyureas, polyaspartics, Urethanes, etc. So like the popular insurance commercial line “We know a thing or two, because we’ve seen a thing or two!”
If you want the summary before I go into detail on why below, here it is: Generally, One Day Polyurea Garage Flooring Companies are the infomercial of the garage floor coatings market. Marketing, marketing, marketing! The one day garage with polyurea benefits the contractors more then it benefits the floor owner. For the floor owner, the situations you should consider a polyurea one day system is if you need the floor back to use 24-36 hours from start of project, or installation is happening below 30 degrees. In those situations I’ll offer a polyurea base & polyaspartic topcoat to meet your your project needs. But if you have time I prefer you look to the “best of” system. Epoxy in contact with properly prepared concrete, polyaspartic(UV stable Polyurea) over flake, with an optional high wear Urethane that offers additional chemical resistance and abrasion resistance.
Lets start with what you’re seeing in search results. Polyurea vs Epoxy. Seems innocent enough, who doesn’t like a good comparison. However, the devil is in the details as they are being compared as topcoats, even though no reputable company will use an epoxy as the topcoat. What should be getting compared is polyurea vs epoxy as primer and/or base coats. Because almost all reputable floor coating companies are using a polyaspartic on top of the decorative flake. The difference is what’s being applied below the decorative flake.
Before I get into why I prefer epoxy in direct contact with concrete, lets discuss polyureas in case there is some confusion with Polyureas vs Polyaspartics. Aren’t they the same? Well kind of, all polyaspartics are polyureas, but not all polyureas are polyaspartics. There are two types of Polyureas, Aromatic & Aliphatic. Often times the lingo in the field & flooring industry is that Polyurea represents the aromatic polyurea & Polyaspartic represents the aliphatic polyurea. So going back to the search results you’ll see some sites claiming polyurea is uv stable. True if theirs is aliphatic, not true if its aromatic. Here’s a visual in case it helps.
So why do I prefer epoxy in direct contact with concrete. Simply, its trusted technology. Its the backbone with the problem substrate primers. Moisture Mitigation Primers are…. Epoxy based. Oil Stop Primers are….. Epoxy based.
Then there is the fact that epoxy gives the installer more time. Which is extremely beneficial in the early steps in the system.
1. More time, reduces the likeliness of hurried mistakes.
2. More time, allows the epoxy to penetrate into the concrete pores for better adhesion.
3. More time, allows epoxy to self level prior to throwing flake, leading to a better looking floor.
4. More time, provides a longer window for coating to except properly thrown flake evenly. Polyureas set up so fast, in the summer especially, that installers find themselves breaking the rule to not throw INTO the coating because they are worried the polyurea is setting up before it accepts the flake. Flake should always be thrown UP, not down into the coating.
Bottom line: We at Resurfacing Pride can provide you with either of these approaches to a garage floor system. My intention is to clear up some confusion with search results and reduce some of the infomercial effect on this market one person at a time! Because “I know a thing or two, because I’ve seen a thing or two.”
http://www.epoxyvspolyurea.com
Respectfully,
-Chris Patterson
Owner of Resurfacing Pride