Garage Flooring Epoxy Paint and Floor Epoxy Kits

Home > EPOXY FAQS & FACTS

EPOXY FAQS & FACTS
The following is a list of common questions we recieve and some of what we feel are must know facts for you before you start your Epoxy Floor project.

Q: Why are the Armorpoxy kits more expensive then other epoxy kits I see online or in Home Depot.
A: Epoxy is no different then anything else you buy, there are many different grades of Quality. We specialize in the highest grade and quality type of epoxies. A good analogy would be if you were to compare a Prime cut Porterhouse steak from Peter Luger's to a fast food hamburger. They are both meat and come from a cow but completely different grades and quality beefs. There are other factors involved but one of the most common reasons we're more expensive is that we include what we beleive is the mandatory topcoat. Most other epoxy kits don't include the topcoat so as to be able to advertise a low price. It's a good marketing strategy but not the right way to epoxy your floors.
Q: Why does the thickness of the epoxy matter?
A: Epoxy thickness is very important. It's the amount of material between your finished surface and the floor. The more material(epoxy), the more tire heat the coating can absorb. Thin coatings will get discolored, blistered and dulled much more quickly then a thicker coating. Plus just like with any type of material subject to wear, a thicker material will last longer than a thinner material.
Q: If your epoxies are so great why don't they come with lifetime guarantees!
A: First let me just state that there is no such thing as a lifetime epoxy. That is just marketing fluff. If you read the details of those guarantees you will see that they exclude everything except for peeling. They do not guarantte against premature wearing or if your floor is used for anything but parking your residential vehicle on it. So when your lifetime guaranteed floor loses it's high gloss finish, has damage to the embedded chips, stains, discolors or does anything but peel up, you have no guarantee. Our epoxies are guaranteed for 10 years against everything except wear, which we guarantee for 7 years and by the way we are the only company that offers a guarantee on wear. Wear(durability) is what you should be most concerned with.
Q: Why must I etch the floor and why should I spend money on a topcoat?
A: If you don't etch the floor you will not be removing all the dirt and residues that has been grounded into your concrete. You will also not be opening up the pores of your concrete. Both of these factors will prevent the epoxy from adhering to your concrete properly and the epoxy you put on your floor will peel up in a very short time. In other words you will be wasting your time and money if you don't etch.
Q: Must I use a topcoat and what is the purpose of the Urethane.
A: You do not have to topcoat but again it's been our experience that if you don't topcoat you are wasting your time and money. Our topcoats have urethane in them. Urethane is what gives your epoxy floor it's durability. Epoxies are made for adhesion but it's the urethane fortified topcoats that keep that nice high gloss finish looking that way longterm. You can save yourself some money buying a kit without a topcoat and the epoxy may stay glued to your floor but the finish will not hold up nearly as long as you think. Especially if you are putting chips into the epoxy. Exposed plastic chips do not do well against tire abrasion, it's just common sense.
Q: What is the main difference between your epoxies and epoxies I can buy for under $100.00.
A: Ok, besides the quality and topcoat issues mentioned previously it's the fact that our epoxies are solid based versus what most often are water based epoxies. Water based paint of any kind is always cheaper than oil based paints. But they are also less durable, have less impact resistance, stain easily and do not have the same bond strength as solids based epoxies. As with most things in life it's just as simple as you get what you pay for.