Why should I apply a clear top coat to my epoxy garage floor coating? This is a reasonable question that pops up from time to time for the average home owner looking to save some money. The real question however ought to be why wouldn’t you apply a clear coat? After all, there are many benefits to adding a clear top coat over the color coat for a garage floor.
Anyone who has installed a garage floor coating properly will tell you that the hardest and most time consuming part is prepping the floor for the epoxy. Applying the epoxy goes fast and for many, it is the fun part of the job. So after all that work of getting the concrete ready, why wouldn’t you want to spend a little more time and money to ensure a longer lasting and even more beautiful floor coating?
With various clear coating options to choose from, epoxy or polyurethane is the most common choice. The same benefits can apply to the use of polyurea or polyaspartic floor coatings as well. So to answer these questions, let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons why you should apply a clear top coat to your epoxy garage floor.
1. Adds durability and wear
A clear coat will add durability to your garage floor coating and create for a longer wearing surface. The additional coat also adds thickness to the floor coating which helps to eliminate hot tire lift and absorb impacts better.
2. Protects the color coat
Because the clear coat acts as a sacrificial layer, the epoxy color coat will be protected. Without it, the colored epoxy coat can lose its luster from wear. Though resistant to most chemicals, some oil spills or leaks that are allowed to sit for long periods can discolor the coating depending on the quality of epoxy you applied.
3. Protects the color flakes
If you applied paint chips or color flakes to your floor, the clear coat will protect them from peeling up and collecting dirt. Since the color flakes are partially embedded into the epoxy, dirt and grime can collect in and around the edges of the flakes making it harder to keep clean depending on how much color flake was applied.
Cleaning of the floor and other activities can also cause color flakes to pull up or chip away. When a clear coat is added, the color flakes are protected by the layer of clear that is over them.
4. It is easier to clean
With a clear coat over the color flakes, the floor is also easier to clean. Dust mops can just glide over the floor without catching color flakes as it goes. This is especially true if you have a heavy flake coverage on your floor. It also allows for aggressive scrubbing if necessary without worry of losing color flakes or dulling the color coat.
5. Adds depth to the floor coating
The additional layer of a clear top coat actually adds depth to the look of the garage floor. This creates for a richer looking surface that appears more luxurious and much thicker than it really is.
6. Creates a glossier looking finish
Depending on which type of clear coat you decide on, the clear will add a glossy shine to the floor that will reflect light even better than the color coat. Polyurethane coatings are sometimes available in different levels of gloss.
This is a great benefit for projects in the garage or for working on cars simply because it creates more light. It may also mean that you will not have to purchase more overhead lighting like you thought you might need.
7. It hides scratches better
All garage floor coatings will develop microscopic and sometimes larger scratches in the surface of the coating. A clear top coat helps to hide or camouflage most of these scratches so they are less noticeable and do not detract from the looks of the floor. The reason for this is that the clear top coat will act as the sacrificial layer and prevents the color coat from being damaged.
8. It’s a good medium for anti-slip additives
Anti-slip additives are hidden much better in a clear coat. Since most additives are translucent in color they will not stand out. Without a clear top coat they are added to the color coat instead. This makes the anti-slip granules much more visible as little bumps resembling sandpaper on the garage floor.
9. Can be recoated to look new again
After many years of use, an epoxy garage floor coating can start to show its age depending on how much activity it has seen. If it had a clear top coat of epoxy or polyurethane, it can easily be roughed up with sandpaper and have a new coat of clear applied.
The sanding of the old top coat removes any blemishes, scratches, and other imperfections that the floor coating acquired over the years. Once the new clear coat is applied, your garage floor coating will look brand new again.
10. It just looks awesome!
When you compare a color coated epoxy garage floor that has a top coat of clear to one that does not, there is no question about which looks better. The clear coat is what gives the garage floor that extra depth and showroom shine that screams “look at me!”
So if you’re on the fence about whether or not to add a clear top coat to your garage floor coating, think about all the benefits that it will provide in the long term. Yes, it will cost a little more money and yes, it may mean one more day of being without your garage. However once you do, you will be rewarded with a garage floor to be proud of for years to come and you will be glad that you did it.
Update – Please read
There is one important note to make. Clear coats are designed for application over 2-Part resinous coatings and some single part moisture cured resinous coatings. Do not confuse garage floor paint or 1-Part epoxy paint as a floor coating. These are latex based paints that will not form a chemical bond with a resinous coating.
Technically, you could rough up the finish of dried floor paint and apply a water based epoxy as a clear coat. It will have a limited increase in durability of the floor coating however due to the fact you are limited by the initial properties of the base paint underneath. Most other clear coats are not suitable due to their solvent base. They can actually soften these paints upon application and cause them to pull up from the concrete.
I have used a 2-part epoxy system for all of the floors in my house and now in the hallway I would like to paint on a stencil. What is your recommendation for this process? Type of paint that will adhere best but also will not peel up with a top coat & what is the best top coat. Thanx
Hello Jennyfer. You can use an acrylic paint for what you want to do. It will require that you rough up the hallway and area to be painted with 100-120 grit sandpaper. Once you do that, wipe down the floor with some denatured alcohol on a microfiber pad and then apply the paint. Once it has dried, you will need to lightly sand the paint with 150 grit sandpaper. You can then apply a clear coat over the entire hallway and stencil. We recommend using a water-based clear. You can use epoxy, however, the newer water-based polyurethanes for concrete coatings (not wood floors) have a more water clear look.
I was wondering I had my garage from done and st the end was told to put clear coat to protect it ? I wasn’t sure ? But I thought after applying the clear epoxy the ground would feel smooth instead it feels bumpy is that the way it feels? Or did I get ripped off . I need s reply quick before I pay this guy😔
Hello Liticia. Bumpy is normal. It’s caused by the color flakes that were applied into the color coat. Those flakes are thick and create a bumpy feeling.
Hi, just bought (2 Part) Epoxy Shield Garage for my concrete basement. I was just wondering if there was a reasonable way to give it that high gloss smooth look. Glossy and thick enough to smooth out the blemishes from the uneven repairs, filled in cracks, and lil bumps. Is it possible to make it look as smooth as glass without breaking the bank? 🤔
Hello Juan. Concrete with uneven repairs, bumps, and etc. require grinding to smooth out the concrete before application. A coating is only as good as the concrete prep that is done beforehand. It’s the most important step. EpoxyShield is a thin mil residential quality epoxy that is not as glossy as higher quality epoxy and it is not going to look like the professional installations. It cannot be applied too thick in one application either or you will have cosmetic issues during the curing process. If you do the proper repairs and grind them smooth, you can apply an EpoxyShield color coat and EpoxyShield clear coat (higher gloss) to create a much better look.
What is the best clear coat to use over an epoxy floor (9yrs old) to restore the shine ?
Hello Phil. Assuming that your current coating is not peeling or worn through anywhere, we would recommend a clear single-part polyurea over epoxy. The reason for this is that it has a glossier look, it is more abrasion resistant (longer wearing), and it will not amber (yellow tint) like epoxy does. You will need to properly prep the surface beforehand. We have an article here that discusses what is required.
Hello! I’ve prepped my 10 year old bare garage never been painted before concrete floor. I am about to apply the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShied Kit (2-part water based epoxy claimed on the box). What clear coat would you recommend I apply after I am done applying the kit. Thank you for your time!
Hi Gabe. It’s usually best to stay within the manufacturer’s line when doing the DIY kits. Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield has a clear coat as well. You can find it here from Amazon if it’s not available from your local home improvement center.
Hello, I just put down the 2 part epoxy shield in my garage and it went on great. I am going to put the epoxyshield clear coat on next. I was wondering if it were possible to put some more flakes down on the floor in some lightly covered areas and just roll the clear coat over top of them to seal them in.
Hi Logan. Unfortunately, that will not work very well. The color flakes will just attach to the roller and get laid down in a different spot. What ever you do, do not apply some clear, add some flakes, and then come back a 10 or 20 minutes later to roll over those. You will create roller marks and an orange peel effect on the coating. If the areas with less color chips really bothers you, you can apply the clear, toss in the desired amount of flakes to fix the issue, and then apply another coat of clear over that during the appropriate recoat window.
I have clear coated 2 times and I have places it looks like the clear repelled and made holes also it’ left roller marks … what can I do? I plan to sand it.
Hello Ramitinya. Anytime a coating repels and creates holes or craters (called fisheyes), it is due to oily or silicone based contamination on the surface. Also, you will get roller marks if you try to go back an roll it out or apply more clear after it’s been down for more than 10 minutes or so. The best you can do is sand the surface smooth and apply another coating.
Hi. I applied a 2 part epoxy about 8 months ago with flakes. I would like to apply a clear coat over . Would I need to sand before applying the clear coat?
Hello Andy. Yes, you need to rough up and degloss the surface with 120 grit sandpaper before you can apply the clear. After you sweep or vacuum up the dust, it will require a solvent wipe with denatured alcohol on a microfiber pad. After that, you are ready to go. Some people use a pole sander to rough up the surface. If you want something that will be much quicker, you can rent a floor maintainer and use a few 100 grit sand screens to rough up the surface. Once the clear is applied, it will bring the color and more gloss right back.
Hi. I applied the Rust-Oleum Epoxyshield 2-Part Gray Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit to my garage floor a day ago. It is still in the curing process. We have not step foot inside the gara
I would like to apply a clear coat. My question is when can I apply the clear coat and do I need to prep the floor again ?
Hi Michelle. You can apply the Rust-Oleum Clear Coat within 72 hours after the epoxy has been applied without further prep being required.
I applied a clear coat approx 24 hours ago, can I add a second coat of clear on top of that?
Hi Tom. You didn’t state what product you used. If it’s a Rust-Oleum product, then you have 3-7 days depending on which one you used. If some other product, then we would need to know what it is. Either that or you can check the data sheets yourself which should state recoat windows.
I recently applied Rust-Oleum 2 part garage floor epoxy I prepped the floor and mix the bags according to instructions. There seemed to be clumps when applying it to the floor. I do t know what exactly happened. Will a clear coat help? Or would applying a second coat even if I applied flakes help?
Hi Allen. No, a second coat is not going to cover clumps. It will require sanding the surface to remove those clumps before applying a second coat. If it has been more than three days since it was applied, you will need to sand the entire surface with 120 grit sandpaper in order for a new coat to adhere properly.
Hello,
First off, Thank you for such an awesome website with tons of info.
I’m planning on coating my 670 sqft garage floor with 3 gallons of AWF SIngle-part polyurea product as the base coat and a random broadcast of 5 lb flakes (1/4″). I’m trying to use a different clear coat to save costs. What type of clear coats would work over the polyurea base coat?
Hi Allen. We do not recommend using a different clear coat to save costs. The clear coat is the wear / abuse coat and arguably the most important coat you apply. You never want to apply a clear that is not equal to or better than the color coat in that regards. It would be similar to applying a nice custom paint job to your car and then finishing it off with a cheap clear coat to to try and protect the paint job. You would be better off to wait until your budget allows for the proper clear coat. The other option would be to go without the clear coat. When the budget allows for it, you can rough up the color coat with 100 grit sandpaper and then apply the clear to make the floor look new again.
Thanks Shea. I hadn’t read your other article that the top coat should be equal or better than the bottom coat.
On a related note, would the durability of say Rustoleum Epoxy Shield as the base coat improve with a polyurethane top coat, in terms of flake protection and hot-tire lift?
Yes, the durability would improve if you applied a polyurethane clear coat to Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield. However, we would recommend using Rust-Oleum Professional EpoxyShield over the standard water-based version. The water-based version can still suffer from hot tire peel up. Something to be aware of is that the color gloss from these type of kits is more satin in nature.
Since you were originally looking at a high quality commercial system (polyurea), you may want to consider a commercial quality epoxy system. This one here by Garage Flooring LLC would run a few hundred dollars less than the AWF polyurea. It provides a thicker build as well. It would be far more durable and glossy compared to a Rust-Oleum system.
Good Evening. We just put down Behr Granite Grip on our garage floor. I would like to add an clear epoxy to coat. Can we add an epoxy clear coat to Behr Granite Grip?
Hi Marissa. No, you cannot apply an epoxy clear coat. Behr Granite Grip is not a coating nor is it an epoxy. It’s a type of acrylic latex paint with the granite like additives and is not compatible with epoxy or other true coatings. It’s designed as a one component product that is not intended for a clear coat.
Shea I applied Rust-Oleum 2 part epoxy and then I applied Rust-Oleum clear coat 2 days ago I have roller marks in the floor do I need to sand the parts of floor where I have roller marks or can I just apply clear coat over the roller marks to even the clear coat Thanks Ralph
Hi Ralph. No, you need to sand out the roller marks first. The second coat of clear will cover everything up nicely. Just an FYI, Rust-Oleum allows up to 3 days to recoat without further prep. After that, it will require that you degloss and rough up the surface first before applying another coat.
I only managed to cover 85% of my 2 car garage with Rustoleum’s EpoxyShield Clear including anti skid additive as a topcoat. I’ve bought a second kit to finish the job, but figure I will use the additional product as a second topcoat since I have it, for as far as it will stretch. If I don’t use the anti skid additive the second time around, do you think the anti skid texture from the underlying clear coat will still be somewhat effective, or will it be leveled out – buried by this additional clear coat?
Hi Ryan. The anti-slip media is not going to be very effective since it will be covered. Also, do not stretch coatings. Coatings are not like paint. You will get a patchy look of gloss and matte finishes.
Thanks. I decided to use the anti skid for my second top coat, but only used about 2/3 of the bag. I’d recommend going light on the anti skid. I had a lot of git on certain strokes in the first layer, and I think the second coat is coming out OK.
UNFORTUNATELY, I goofed when pulling up my tape line and did a little bit of damage. Does Rustoleum make an EpoxyShield patch kit?
Hi Ryan. Unfortunately, Rust-Oleum does not offer repair kits for any of their coating products.
Any other product you’d suggest?
For repairing? No, you need to use the same product in order for it to look the same. Other products would have more gloss and it would stand out. The only coatings that offer repair kits are your commercial quality coatings available from concrete coating vendors online. The home improvement DIY kits don’t offer anything to repair their coatings.
I prepped our new foundation concrete floors and there were lots of repairs. We used a concrete patch, sanded and etched the entire space. We used rustoleum pearlescents and the patch marks all show up. Will a second coat cover these?
Hi Cathy. It all depends on the repairs really. Were the repairs ground flush to match the surface of the rest of the concrete? If so, a second coat will make a big difference in hiding those repairs. The Rust-Oleum Pearlescents is a thin coating that does not do a very good job of hiding repairs with one coat. If you made repairs but did not grind them flush, a second coat will help to even out the colors, but the texture and surface of the actual repairs will still telegraph through the coating. Just like wood on furniture or a fender on a car, repairs need to be sanded flush (grinding in your case) so that the paint can hide them.