What make epoxies so attractive?
For starters, if you like a high gloss finish on your floors, epoxy is the way to go, they provide shine and depth to any floor in addition to scratch resistance, to most household chemicals, very good traffic wear and many new products are easier to apply.
As with most systems, epoxies do require planning and preparation, to get a floor ready for epoxy involves cleaning and abrading the surface to ensure proper bonding. Though using epoxies may involve a little more work, the results more than compensate for that.
Simple Epoxy Paint Coating – Slightly more durable than a basic concrete paint. Residential grade water based epoxy system. Rolled on like paint but may need to be blended with part A & B. Lifespan is usually 2-5 years depending on climate and use.
100% Solids Epoxy - These systems are often reserved for professional installers. A 100% solids epoxy generally requires adequate surface preparation in the form of an acid etching , grinding, or shot blasting . These systems are squeegeed and back-rolled often in two coats. they will create a thick layer of protection and are chemically inert to many household products.
High Performance Epoxy - High Performance Epoxy is a 100% solid performance coating designed to provide high gloss, high build protection for concrete and masonry surfaces. As a 100 % solid coating, High Performance Epoxy has lower solvent odor than typical industrial coatings. This feature allows for use in occupied buildings.
Epoxy flooring has long being tied to industrial use for resurfacing and repairs. Epoxies are popular on high traffic areas because of their longevity, resistance to wear and ease of maintenance. For the last few years we have seen a marked rise in epoxy use on the residential market; with the decorative concrete industry expanding more and more into interior floors, epoxies are finding their way into homes as a choice sealer for acid stained floors and overlays.
Usually, when we think of epoxies we picture thick gooey stuff that is hard to apply and does not provide much UV resistance, that perception is changing rapidly as new developments in the industry have produced new products to accommodate the growing Decorative Concrete Market. To satisfy the needs of the contractor manufacturers have gone to new technologies to provide a higher performance product. Some of the needs the contractor had was for Water Base products, UV resistance epoxies and Low Viscosity - High Solids Epoxies, this new breed of products has made it possible for the decorative concrete contractor to use expand his arsenal of sealers to satisfy the needs of the project owners.
These advances have contributed to the increase in sales of epoxy industry wide, we see more decorative floors sealed with epoxies as well as flake system used on garages through out the country.