Something that has concerned us lately is the amount of poor information from reviews promoting the best garage floor epoxy or garage floor coating kits. Many of these reviews are misleading the consumer by stating that the coatings listed are the best, when in most cases they are not. They present these DIY coatings in a nice list with the pros and cons of each, while discussing brands such as Rust-Oleum, Valspar, Quikrete, EpoxyShield, and others.
The type of reviews that we are referring to are the ones most known for providing the top 5 or top 10 best products. These are published by websites that can look very official and trustworthy at first glance in order to try and assure their authority about garage floor epoxy coatings.
We don’t have an issue with quality platforms that evaluate and review various products with which they have considerable knowledge and/or experience. Some of these websites even purchase products for testing and evaluation first.
If you view their “About” page, you can learn more about who they are as well as their experience or qualifications in regards to their content.
However, we have found that consumers are being misled with inaccurate and even bad information regarding garage floor epoxy and coatings in general. As a result, we want to make our readers aware of what to look out for.
Why Best Epoxy Coating Reviews are Suspect
One of the many issues we have is that most of the websites listing the best garage floor epoxy have no floor coating experience and/or little to no knowledge of floor coatings in general. So how do they know which is best?
As an example, one such website’s author lists his experience as “an enthusiast of cars and pretty girls”. Hmmm…. I can’t even comment on that.
Another is an activist for green space. We think wanting to create more green space is nice, but it doesn’t make you an expert on garage floor coatings.
Another such website claims to be a logistics company of some sort with an extremely vague mission statement that frankly makes no sense. There are no references either (that we could find) to its experience with any of the “best products” it writes about.
A common theme among all these “Best epoxy reviews” is that they use the information found in the sales literature of each manufacturer’s epoxy floor coating to restate in their own words.
Nevertheless, they do a poor job of explaining the benefits of each of these features and why one would be superior over the other.
They then create a professional looking list that ranks them in an order that, most often, is contrary to their actual performance characteristics in relation to each other. This in itself is irresponsible.
In addition, few if any of these sites provide a platform to answer questions by readers. Some of the “Comments” sections in our articles have hundreds of questions from readers answered by us.
Furthermore, the only floor coating products that many of these websites include in their lists are those that can be found on Amazon. This is an example of misleading the consumer as well.
Why?
The reason is that the garage floor coating products available from Amazon only represent a very small sample of the large variety of concrete floor coating products available today. Just take a look at our own category for garage flooring reviews as an example.
Furthermore, the majority of these top epoxy lists are the lower budget, low quality coatings that are mass marketed as DIY epoxy kits. This includes products by Rust-Oleum, EpoxyShield, Valspar, DryLok, Kilz, Quikrete, and others.
Most of these are considered residential quality coatings and not commercial grade like you would get from a quality vendor or professional installation. Because these large companies have the budget for advertising, these best epoxy lists only contain the brand names that people are familiar with.
They by no means comprise of the finest garage floor epoxy or garage floor coating options that are available today. This article about home improvement DIY epoxy kits provides a good explanation as to why.
Furthermore, very few of these epoxy coating reviews list any valid information from manufacture technical data sheets to support their rankings in regards to performance characteristics. Examples are abrasion ratings, chemical regent tests, hardness, stain resistance, dry film thickness and etc.
As we stated earlier, we have often found that the order in which they list the best epoxy is incorrect as well. For example, one such site lists 100% solids epoxy at the bottom of their list and a low solids water-based epoxy at or near the top.
The 100% solids epoxy product will last 4-5 times longer than the water-based epoxy and the higher price point reflects that. However, the average consumer is not aware of this fact and can be led to believe that the lesser priced water-based epoxy is a great deal, when in reality it is not.
Another example of misleading information is one such author that lists a polyurethane coating in its top ten garage floor coatings. They take the time to explain (in the wrong context) as to why it is better than many epoxy products.
The problem, however, is that polyurethane does not adhere well to concrete and is designed as a high performance top coat to be applied on top of epoxy. The unsuspecting consumer may purchase and apply this to bare concrete only to have problems with it peeling up.
Some even list 1-part epoxy paint as better than epoxy. This technically isn’t even an epoxy coating and is not superior over a true epoxy in any way.
What is a good garage floor coating then?
The best coating for your garage floor is always going to be a commercial grade product and not a residential grade product like most that are listed in these top ten reviews.
the best brand of 100% solids epoxy can be the one that is on sale at the time.
To be fair, we have an article about choosing the best garage floor coating. However, we list the best garage floor epoxy and coating systems – not brands. We discuss the benefits and properties of each type of coating, how they are used in systems, and the performance you can expect from each.
We don’t rank what brand is best overall. The reason is because brand A and brand B often times are almost identical in their formulations, though some will vary.
For example, a 100% solids epoxy color coat can be very similar from brand to brand. The data sheets many times will support this. One could argue then that the best brand of 100% solids epoxy is the one that is on sale at the time.
Most of these commercial grade coatings and coating systems are available for purchase from concrete floor coating vendors online. They don’t have brick and mortar stores all over the country that people can visit to select product.
They are specialists in a relatively small field that can answer your questions and make proper recommendations. People tend not to be familiar with these vendors or brand names simply because they don’t have the resources to market nationally like the large corporations pushing lower quality DIY epoxy kits.
You can find examples of these types of vendors and companies from our sponsors that advertise on the right-hand side of our website. None of these companies are known for selling low quality product.
Home improvement centers do not carry these brands or commercial quality coatings because they are more expensive (higher quality) and require experience and knowledge of the seller to provide the proper customer service. We actually discuss why home improvement centers do more harm than good when it comes to floor coatings.
Final Thoughts
If you look through our garage flooring reviews, you will see that some of the products discussed were tested (unscientifically) ourselves when it was feasible. For those that we could not test, we often break down the specifics of the products and evaluate them based on the data sheets and our experience with similar products.
We had a hard time finding any examples of such evaluations from any of the websites promoting the top epoxy coatings.
One thing we realize that needs to be considered as well is that the best garage floor coating sometimes is only what one can afford. This is when lesser quality coatings make more sense for some people.
However, do not expect these to last for years, despite what the box and top ten sites state, and do not expect them to provide the type of performance that the higher quality coatings do. This is why we feel it is important to take a little bit of time to educate yourself about garage floor coatings in general before making a decision.
When searching for the best garage floor epoxy, remember to take this information into account. Knowledge is king. The more you learn about the general specifics of coatings, the more apt you are to choose what is best for you and your project.
Hello;
I have been looking at garage floor coaitngs and feel that the Epoy coat is a good product. Can you tell me if this is a reasonable project for an experienced do it yourselfer to tackle? Our garage floor is 800 sq. ft.
Hello Robert. Applying a good performing garage floor coating isn’t difficult for an experienced DIY’er. You just need to pay attention to the details and plan your steps. That said, Epoxy-Coat is a good choice for a garage floor coating product. We actually did a review on Epoxy-Coat here.
I applied this product to my garage floor after several days of prep. Followed the instructions to a tee. Finished about 10 pm, got up the next morning and there are literally thousands of bubbles in it. It looked great when we went to bed. Floor looks horrible.
Hi Randy. Sorry to hear about your outcome. Usually when you get that many bubbles the main culprit can be water vapor still evaporating out of the concrete if prep was etching rather than grinding.
I appreciate the detail in this article. Well written and to the point!
I agree with your statement that “The best coating for your garage floor is always going to be a commercial grade product”. In my years of experience, it really doesn’t matter where you place your epoxy finish but commercial grade products have always had a much better adherence, a better quality finish and a longer life than the main-stream brand name products.
Hello, I appreciate all the articles and I have been on your website several times over the last few weeks hoping to find an epoxy product because I plan to epoxy my garage floor this coming week. I have been frustrated because I get confused and cannot find a product that is recommended for my floor and area/situation anywhere on this website. I live in the Phoenix, AZ area and it is obviously very hot in the summer. My garage will just be used as an average family garage, but I want it to look nice. I am about to go buy one of the products at a home improvement store because I need to get this done and quit wasting time. I understand that a 90 to 100% solids product is recommended, I believe? Is there a name or a link on your website or another website that you could share with me so that I can purchase such a product? If I was to purchase a product at a home improvement store, which would you recommend? I also would like to do a shiny topcoat. Thanks much!
Hello David. We can understand the confusion as it is hard to weed through all the marketing hype from DIY epoxy kits. What I can tell you is that with the hot summers you get in Phoenix, you will experience hot tire lift at some point with most kits that you can get from your local home improvement centers. If you want a coating system that is easy to apply, will not peel from hot tire lift, will not amber, and will last for years, then I would suggest you look at a single-part polyurea. You can find our article here with links to the vendors who sell it. These type of systems are a little more pricey than epoxy systems due to the cost of the material, but they are the easiest to install.
In terms of epoxy, there are many vendors that sell systems that include an epoxy primer, high solids epoxy base coat color, optional color flakes, and your choice of a good clear top coat. Many of our sponsors sell these type of kits. This one here is an example.
If you were to purchase a product from a home improvement center, we would recommend you look at RockSolid coatings. This product does fairly well in regards to hot tire pickup. However, it does have a problem with color uniformity because it goes on so thin. It may require two color coats to get a consistent look in color and gloss. They do offer a clear coat as well.
We bought 2 kits of Riock solid garage floor paint . Is a new construction new concrete. Waited one month to paint it just like directions David. Painted it and it has started peeling all over the floor. This paint is garbage! Been working with customer service because I can’t find reciet… they well not do anything about it! That’s a bunch of bs!!! I sent then pictures and everthing she wanted I am so po that I will never ever buy another rustoleum product again! And I’m telling you I will play this review on every web site I can find! Not only is it peeling but when it was painted we have dark and light spots all over the floor! Worst product I’ve ever used!peeling right off the concrete !very very disappointed over this product! Paid just over $400 for two kits! Never again. Not only that there is no phone number that I can find to call. They always want to email . Crap..
Hello Jeanne. We’re sorry to hear about the troubles you had. You can find Rust-Oleum’s customer service number here. We are assuming you prepped the concrete properly and that you checked to make sure that the concrete was not treated with a cure and seal before you began? As an FYI, proper concrete prep for any coating is the most important part of the process – no matter what brand of coating is used. All coatings will peel if this step is not completed like it should.
Which prep is better for a prepainted floor that is peeling – Etch or sanding
Hello Phyllis. Is it paint or an actual 2-part epoxy coating? You do not want to apply epoxy to paint. Ideally, the best prep is to grind the garage floor to remove the old paint / epoxy to reveal the bare concrete. If it’s peeling, there is a reason for it and what is coated over may begin peeling and take the new coating with it. However, if you want to coat over it regardless, we have an article here on how to do that.
I bought a Ucoat it kit a few months ago, complete with flakes and cleat coat.
I followed their directions to the letter, and even talked over the phone before hand to make sure the product applied in my case (wooden floor). The base layer went great, dried perfectly. Once I got to the clear coat, I followed the instructions once again but this time, the product WOULD NOT DRY!
The customer service was PERFECT, up to the point the sale was made.
Once I applied the different layers, the normal dry time passed and I am now many weeks in with a sticky floor. Tried to call and discuss solutions, they kept pushing back to me that the instructions were not followed…
I would not recommend UCOAT IT products to anyone, they have no after sales help, no warranties, no follow up. Don’t buy UCOAT IT!!
Now I’m at the point that I need to start over, many hundred $$ later, many hours spent later… I hope you guys don’t experience this!
Hi Karl. Customer service is important. We are sorry you had a bad experience with U-Coat It. We can’t really comment on what may have happened without knowing the exact clear coat product used (they have a few options), conditions, and etc. We will say though that it’s rare for most any product to not cure properly due to a defect in materials of some type. It almost always has something to do with mixing or weather. Temperature and humidity during application and the curing process play a very important role.
Hello, in June this year I had a new garage floor poured. The concrete did contain a chemical sealant. I would like to paint it with a durable paint so that it looks finished and cleans up easier. I was planning to purchase a DIY epoxy kit until I started doing research. I am concerned about Jeanne Farris’ comment about the paint peeling and Shea’s response asking if she was sure the concrete was not treated with a cure and seal. Because my concrete contained a chemical sealant does this mean it will not accept any type of coating? Thank you.
Hi Veronica. If you don’t want to grind the garage floor and you are just looking for a budget type of floor coating, then we suggest using Rust-Oleum Garage and Interior Primer on the floor. You can then apply a Rust-Oleum DIY epoxy kit on top of that. We have an article about how it works here.
Hello Shea, I have been reading a lot about concrete floor coatings! The article that you referred me to was great but I still had one question…
“One key point we want to make is that this product is best used for the typical single coat DIY garage floor kits (not including clear coats) that you can find at your local home improvement centers or other online retailers such as Amazon. Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield and RockSolid are good examples.”
The RockSolid product looked to be much better since Rust-Oleum says it is 20X stronger than epoxy. Since it is a polycuramine and not an epoxy, is it still a good choice to use with Rust-Oleum’s Garage & Interior Floor Primer (without etching or grinding my new concrete floor that contains a sealer)? I’m hoping you say Yes! Many thanks, Veronica
Hi Veronica. Yes, RockSolid is part of Rust-Oleum’s line and is compatible with the Garage and Interior Primer. However, RockSolid is not 20x stronger than epoxy. They are actually comparing it to 1-part epoxy paint and not a true epoxy coating. You can read our RockSolid review here. Regardless, it’s a very strong coating.