Finishing your garage floor can be a pretty, practical way to enhance a frequently used space. Choosing the best garage floor coating is a matter of evaluating how you need your floor to perform for you. The two main types of garage floor coating are liquids, such as paints, stains and epoxy coatings; and hard surfaces, usually made of a vinyl material.
If you just want to add color to the floor, a solid color or semi-transparent concrete stain is a good choice. This garage floor coating will color the concrete directly, however, while the finish is very resistant to scuffing or peeling up, oil and chemicals can harm or stain this coating. Concrete stain is available in a variety of colors, and is simple to apply with a brush, roller or pump sprayer, and is great for garages with very light traffic.
A one- or two-part epoxy can be a more durable liquid garage floor coating. These coatings can be harder to work with, potentially having a shorter open work time than a stain. Once the epoxy is dried and cured, it is highly resistant to being stained by any chemicals that might be spilled, and it will also hold up well against hot tire pick-up. Epoxy will have a longer cure time than a concrete stain, and can be disadvantageous to you if you need to use your garage frequently while it cures. An epoxy garage floor coating is also available in many colors than can usually be custom-tinted.
A single-part epoxy does not require any mixing, and can usually be applied right out of the can. The more durable two-part epoxy will need to be mixed together shortly before it is applied to the garage floor. This type of garage floor coating is good for high-traffic garages.
Hard surface garage floor coatings can be made of vinyl and other materials. It can be cut to size go fit your garage, and it is extremely durable. This type of flooring may come in planks or tiles, and is made in a variety of patterns and colors. A vinyl garage floor coating may be harder to install than liquid coverings. Installation requirements for the flooring may involve professional tools, such as a floor roller, that are not readily available to you. A hard surface garage floor coating is the most durable of all the options, and are commonly found in workshops and other areas with heavy equipment, as well as garages.