Epoxy is known to be an excellent material for garage flooring. Best In Show Garage’s multi-coat resinous system for garage floors consists of a combination of 100% solid epoxy base coat with a Polyaspartic top coat. So, what exactly is epoxy and is this the best coating to protect it?
Epoxy is a versatile material with a wide range of applications, from electronics to floor coatings. The highly adhesive epoxy product that most of us are familiar with consists of a thermosetting polymer made up of a resin and a hardener. A thermosetting polymer is a polymer composed of cross-linked molecules that when solidified cannot go back to being soft again. A chemical reaction happens when they are combined that makes it hard and durable.
Properties of Epoxy Resin:
- Strength: high tensile and compressive strength, tensile strength refers to the ability to withstand bending, while compressive strength refers to bearing direct loads.
- Adhesive: strong adhesion
- Stability: thermally stable, resists breaking down in extreme temperatures
- Resistant to chemicals and water: able to withstand exposure to chemicals such as bases, solvents, and acids without eroding, softening, or warping
What is Polyaspartic Coating?
Polyaspartic is a type of polyurea, an inert elastomeric substance made by combining an isocyanate compound with a synthetic resinous compound – two relatively harmful chemical compounds that become completely passive and environmentally friendly when combined. The result is a flexible, highly adaptable substance that bounces back to its original shape when subjected to stress – even enormous stress.
Polyurea is often applied to materials such as metal or concrete to create a protective layer. Polyurea’s physical properties, once cured, make it one of the best protective coatings available. Although a type of polyurea with similar properties, polyaspartic is different. The chemical composition of polyaspartic makes it more durable and easier to apply than polyurea. Polyaspartic is similar to polyurethane, however, it cures faster than urethanes and epoxies. And, it can be applied in a wide range of temperatures.
By controlling the mixture of the ingredients, polyaspartics makers have adjusted the properties to make the cure time slow enough for easy application but fast enough to allow floor traffic in 2 hours and vehicles in 24 hours.
Additional Properties:
- UV stable: holds color better than epoxy coatings and will not yellow
- High durability: resistant to scratching, scuffing and marking
- Chemical resistance, oil and stain resistance
- Beautiful, high-gloss sheen
- Safe for the environment
At Best In Show Garage, we believe our multi-coat resinous system flooring system is the best in the industry. The flooring system we use is the one most often used in commercial applications. Contact Best In Show Garage to learn more about our garage flooring system and the colors we offer.
