POLYUREA VS EPOXY WHICH IS BETTER?

CHOOSING THE RIGHT
COATING: POLYUREA OR
EPOXY FOR YOUR
GARAGE FLOOR?

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COATING: POLYUREA OR
EPOXY FOR YOUR GARAGE FLOOR?

CHOOSING THE RIGHT COATING:
POLYUREA OR EPOXY
FOR YOUR GARAGE FLOOR?

For all their wonderful properties, concrete garage floors are still susceptible to weathering and abrasion, and with time may begin to chip, crack, or blemish. Without an extra layer of protection, concrete floors will age and degrade much more quickly, and when left unaddressed, can lead to unusable if not dangerous surfaces. Garage floor coatings can be used to help resist wear and tear from the start, or be applied later in a concrete floor’s lifetime to combat the first signs of deterioration. The two most well-known and widely used types of garage floor coatings are polyurea and epoxy, but choosing between the two can be difficult, and depends on a variety of factors specific to each unique coatings project. While they both serve the same fundamental purpose – to protect floors and create a custom appearance – each coating offers a unique set of advantages and drawbacks, which should be carefully weighed in the context of your own garage floor coatings installation.  

WHAT ARE EPOXY
FLOOR COATINGS?

Epoxy is a powerful material known and employed by individuals and businesses alike for wide ranging applications, from arts and crafts projects to high-performance concrete coatings. Epoxy coatings are two-part systems, using a resin and a polyamine hardener, creating a thermoset resin that cures into a smooth and hard surface. Unlike polyurea, epoxy takes days instead of minutes to cure, and is more susceptible to temperature, humidity, and UV rays that can affect the curing process and lower the quality of the final product. Epoxy floor coatings are indeed strong and customizable, but their persistent issues have seen a decline in their use across many applications:

WHAT ARE POLYUREA FLOOR COATINGS?

Like epoxy, polyurea coatings are strong and customizable, and are commonly used as garage floor coatings. Unlike epoxy, polyurea provides industry-leading strength and durability, combined with improved flexibility, sustainability, and longevity. Polyurea is more than 4x stronger and 98% more flexible than epoxy, and with superior scratch resistance, making it perform better and last far longer than epoxy coatings. Similarly, its strong chemical resistance to everything from groundwater to chemical solvents further enhances its performance, perfect for workshop garages or a car lover’s refuge. Made of 100% solids, and with no solvents or volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), polyurea is also safer and more sustainable than many other coatings technologies. They can be formulated with specific properties, or with a desired color or finish to ensure they’ll meet both your functional and aesthetic needs.

WHICH IS BETTER? POLYUREA OR EPOXY?

It’s the answer nobody likes to hear, but it’s the truth; the best type of coating technology depends on your needs and circumstances, which are specific to each project. There’s no one-size-fits-all coating solution for any application, but there’s a clear winner between polyurea and epoxy for most coatings application, and especially for garage floors: polyurea. Polyurea is a stronger, more flexible material that can move with concrete and better resist impacts and chemical corrosion. The major disadvantage to polyurea is its higher technical complexity, typically requiring professional applicators for a safe and effective installation. Luckily, ArmorThane’s 24/7 customer service and technical support staff are always just one call away, ready to help with your next coatings project. Our certified ArmorThane professional applicators can help you create a smooth and beautiful garage floor, resistant to oil, grease, chemicals, extreme heat, tire marks, and a million other strains and stresses.

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Important Things To Know About Polyurea Coatings

FAQ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is Polyurea Or Epoxy Better?

While often used for the same applications, the choice between polyurea and epoxy depends on the requirements of each specific coatings project. Polyurea is more flexible and durable, while epoxy is typically thicker and lower odor. Epoxy is more susceptible to abrasion, chipping, or peeling, while polyurea is more expensive and technically challenging. Overall, polyurea is considered a higher-quality, better performing coating material.

What Are The Disadvantages To Polyurea?

Many of polyurea’s strengths can also be its greatest weaknesses. Its rapid cure time helps minimize downtime and see a quicker return to service, but it can also lead to weaker adhesion and an increased risk of application errors. Some polyureas are also vulnerable to UV-induced discoloration, thankfully without compromising their performance.

Is Polyurea Worth The Money?

Investing in polyurea coatings can seem expensive, as they often cost more than competing coating technologies like epoxy. However, their high-performance and long lifetime can translate into huge cost savings, combined with minimal maintenance and repair headaches. In the long-term, polyurea can be a highly cost-effective solution that performs better than alternative coatings, making it well worth the money.

FIND OR BECOME AN APPLICATOR

If you’re ready for your next garage floor coatings project, and are sold on the myriad benefits of choosing polyurea, consider partnering with ArmorThane! For over 35 years, we’ve formulated, manufactured, applied, and distributed our suite of polyurea and polyurethane products and services to our global network of customers and professional applicators. From garage floors to industrial manufacturing, our coatings have traveled the world to protect new surfaces day by day, layer by layer. And if you’re interested in more than just a one-time application, we can even help you start your own coatings business! We offer affordable startup packages with everything you’ll need – materials, equipment, training, and lifetime support. With only a small investment, we can help you achieve the same success that we’ve enjoyed for almost four decades, and realize what it means to help create a safer, healthier, and more sustainable world. Contact us today, and discover how we can be your one-stop-shop for everything polyurea and polyurethane!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

TYLER GLECKLER

I am a chemist with a specialization in nanotechnology and applied materials chemistry. My work has focused on the characterization of optoelectronic materials, namely including semiconductor nanocrystals.

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