Garage floors take in a ton of abuse, from dirt and dripping oil to high foot traffic and hot tires. It's no surprise that after several years, a concrete garage door that was once pristine tends to look old and dirty. A worthwhile home improvement is painting the garage floor, as it not only helps to protect the surface from all manner of gunk, but it also makes cleanup much easier, among many other benefits.
If you're considering joining the construction industry as a concrete contractor, you should be prepared to wear many hats in the course of your profession. One of these hats is that of a concrete painter or concrete painting contractor. In addition to removing coatings, grinding, and polishing, you'll also be responsible for mixing paints, matching colors, and applying paint to concrete floors. Therefore, having knowledge of the top paints for garage floors is a must.
Which is the Best Type of Garage Floor Paint?
There are different types of concrete floor paints, which include:
- Latex paints: These are water-based paints that use acrylic resin as a binder. These types of paints are oil- and grease-resistant, and they offer resistance to surface wear. They also tend to give better coverage with fewer coats.
- Latex acrylic paints: Like Latex paints, latex acrylic paints are paints that use acrylic resin as a binder. The difference between the two is that latex paints are water-based, while latex acrylic paints are chemical-based. Latex acrylic paints are also more elastic, thus expand better without chipping or cracking.
- Two-part epoxy paints: Epoxy is a heavy-duty resin that comes in two parts: one part epoxy resin and one part polyamide hardener. The two parts of the epoxy paint are usually kept separate until just before use. Out of all the options, two-part epoxy paints offer maximum resistance to vehicular and pedestrian traffic.
- One-part epoxy paint: These are latex acrylic paints that have a little bit of epoxy resin mixed in to make them strong enough to hold up to light vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The small addition of epoxy resin makes 1-part epoxy paints more durable than latex paints and latex acrylic paints, but less durable than 2-part epoxy paints.
The three options have their pros and cons in terms of cost, color variety, prep time, application procedure, maintenance, and durability. Latex and acrylic paints cover well, prep quickly, and are the cheapest. On the other hand, they are less durable compared to one-part epoxy and two-part epoxy paints.
To determine which the best garage floor paint is, it all boils down to ease-of-application versus durability. Even though latex and acrylic paints are cheaper and easy to apply, they cannot match one-part epoxies and two-part epoxies in terms of maintenance and durability. Most clients (if not all) only want to do this once. As such, epoxy paints are the best garage floor paints as they are by far the most durable.
Which Brand of Garage Floor Paint is the Best?
There are many brands of garage floor paints available on the market today. As with all products on the market, not all garage floor paints are created equal, and not all are intended for the same use. Some brands have a latex base, while others have an acrylic base. You'll also find garage floor paints that contain epoxy. We have listed five paints that most contractors and property owners cite to be among the best on the market today:
1. Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating
The first product to make our list is this amazing product, which is basically a two-part epoxy formula that is very adhesive and tough. While it's often used as an additive to paint, the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Garage Floor Coating is a great long-term investment that is guaranteed to leave an incredibly durable surface. Adding this two-part epoxy to your latex or acrylic paint will help to protect your garage floor against oil spills, greases, and damage from road sands.
2. KILZ 1-Part Epoxy Acrylic Concrete & Garage Floor Paint
Made by one of the best paint makers, KILZ, this garage floor paint is undoubtedly one of the best garage floor paints on the market. Being a one-part epoxy acrylic paint means that it provides all the benefits of regular paint - cost-effective and easy to apply – combined with the durability and high adhesive qualities of epoxy paints. Another aspect that sets the KILZ 1-Part Epoxy Acrylic Concrete & Garage Floor Paint apart from other traditional paints is that it offers a far shinier finish that is guaranteed to look good on any garage floor.
3. UGL Drylok Concrete Floor Paint
Made by UGL, this concrete floor paint is another ideal paint for garage floors. This consumer-grade floor paint is very easy to apply, tends to apply thick, and is extremely fast-drying. According to the manufacturer, you should apply more than one coat, mixing one-part water and one-part paint for the initial coast. While it's not suited for extremely high pedestrian and vehicular traffic, it holds up well to light traffic, hot tires, acidic and alkaline spills, frequent washings, and frequent washings.
4. Supercoat Epoxy Floor Covering
If you're looking for a high-quality epoxy coating that's reasonably-priced, durable, and available in different color options, then this is it. The Supercoat Epoxy Floor Covering is a two-part epoxy paint that is made with durability in mind. Although it can be a bit hard to apply and work with, this garage floor paint is guaranteed to produce great results when applied suitably. For the best results, be sure to apply more than one coat of this paint on the surface.
5. Epoxy-Seal Concrete and Garage Floor Paint
Last on our least, but definitely not the least, is this high-quality concrete and garage floor paint from Seal Krete. The Epoxy-Seal Concrete and Garage Floor Paint is basically a one-part acrylic paint with epoxies mixed in. According to the manufacturer, one gallon of this paint can cover up to 500 sq. Ft. The paint is available in gray, slate gray, and sand colors, and it's sold in deep white or white base primer product. Besides being easy to work with, this garage floor paint leaves behind a good-looking finish.
Why You Should Prepare Garage Floor before Applying Paint
The process of garage floor cleaning and surface preparation for floor paint should be carried in advance. Before applying any garage floor paint, it's good practice to perform proper cleaning and surface preparation of the floor. Preparation is key if you want to get a more pleasing and long-lasting end result from your project.
If the concrete floor that you're preparing to paint has other coatings and adhesives, be sure to remove them first. If the floor has areas with mastic glue, be sure to follow all the necessary steps for mastic glue removal.
Choose the Best Concrete Floor Preparation Tools
Since floor preparation is a crucial first step, it's important that you have the right equipment at your disposal to carry out the task. A concrete grinder is one of the essential tools for concrete floor preparation. There are many different uses of concrete grinders, including removing stains and spills, grinding off mastic, glue, or epoxy, and preparing the concrete floor for further treatment.
If you're looking for the best concrete floor preparation tools, then you should look no further than Onfloor Technologies. This is where you will find everything you need to offer outstanding concrete floor preparation services.
Onfloor Technologies offers a vast collection of machines, vacuums, and tools for mastic glue removal. Their products are also designed to remove other types of carpet glues and adhesives.
If you're shopping for a concrete floor grinder that you can use for garage floor preparation, then the Onfloor OF9S-L will be an ideal choice. This multi-surface single-disc concrete floor grinder is great at levelling high spots, grinding cracks flat, removing coatings, mastic and more.
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