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.
Danny says
Hello,
Thanks for all the helpful information! We got a bad batch of clear Top Coat (Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield
90 oz. Clear High-Gloss 2-Part Epoxy Interior Low VOC Premium Concrete Garage Floor Top Coat Kit (2-Pack)). The first pack had large rocks of sediment. We tried to break it down, but there were still small pockets of sediment (i.e. a few millimeters thick). When we got to the second pack, there were no rocks. That’s when we realized that the first pack must have been a bad batch. We finished our floor and now we see a bunch of those small sediment rocks throughout. It looks like bubbles and you can feel the raised surface as well. We’re thinking about putting another clear Top Coat on top of the bubbled Top Coat. We’ll still see the bubbles, but we’re hoping it’ll at least be a smoother surface.
1. Do you think that would work (i.e. second clear Top Coat would even things out to make a smoother Top Coat)?
2. Do we need to apply the second clear Top Coat ASAP? We applied the first coat on Thursday and it’s now Saturday.
3. Do we need to do anything to the first Top Coat before applying the second Top Coat (e.g. sanding, etc.)? Or can we just apply it now since it’s recently done/dried.
Rust-Oleum customer service is closed over the weekend and we’re worried we need to do something ASAP. If you see this message, we’d greatly appreciate any advice!
Thank you!
Danny
Shea says
Hi Danny. It sounds like the resin pack crystalized in chunks. Rust-Oleum allows up to 4 days to recoat. However, I can’t tell you for sure if a second coat will smooth over those bumps without knowing the size of them. It may be worth your wait to contact Rust-Oleum on Monday. They have good customer service and it would not surprise us if they sent you a new kit at no charge. If you wait, it will require that you degloss the surface with 120 grit sandpaper first. Sweep/vac and then wipe the surface down with denatured alcohol (or equivalent) applied liberally to a microfiber mop pad. The sanding would allow you to smooth down the chunks and make the floor look better.
Jordan J says
My wife and I put down epoxyshield 2 part “basement” on our basement concrete 4 days ago
Can we do a clear coat on our basement floor? What product would you recommend?
Shea says
Hi Jordon. Yes, you can apply the Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield Premium Clear Coat. It’s low to no VOCs and safe for use in the basement. This is due to the 100% solids formulation. It may be hard to find at your local home improvement center. You can purchase it here from Amazon. The recoat window for Rust-Oleum Epoxy is four days. If it’s more than four days, you will need to scuff up and degloss the surface of the current coating with 120 grit sandpaper before applying the clear coat.
David says
So should it rest for 4 days following the application of the poly products to my epoxy covered garage floor?
Shea says
Hi David. You need to wait 24 hours before walking on it, 48 hours before moving things onto it, and 4-5 days before driving on it.
Steve Wheat says
Is one coat of the epoxy sealer ok?
Shea says
Hello Steve. Yes, one coat of clear is fine for a light to medium broadcast of color flakes or no flakes. The clear coat is the wear coat and sacrificial layer that protects the color coat and color flakes. It does not need to be thick.
MJ says
Is EpoxyShield 2-part with a coat of EpoxyShield clear the most economical way to achieve glossy sealed surface in the basement? Are there products that provide better value per dollar? I’ve read numerous of your articles on the topic, and there are much better products, including pro-grade stuff. They are something I would consider for a garage floor due to durability and chemical resistance requirements, but for a basement, I just want a nice shiny floor for the best price.
Shea says
Hi MJ. Floor coatings that will only experience foot traffic don’t need to be as robust as those that experience vehicle traffic and all the other activities that may take place in a garage environment. The most important about applying a coating indoors, particularly in a basement, is that it needs to be low in VOCs or it can stink up a house for days. This article here explains more. Also, make sure to test for moisture when applying coatings in a basement.
To answer your original question, the EpoxyShield color coat and clear coat are low-VOC coatings and safe to apply indoors. However, the color coat is water-based and does not provide a glossy sheen, despite what Rust-Oleum wants you to believe. This is true of all water-based epoxy. It has a satin finish at best. The newly updated EpoxyShield clear coat is a 100% solids epoxy with a glossy finish and low VOC content. However, it will not make the color coat look glossy. It will be apparent that the clear coat is glossy when viewed at different angles and it will improve the overall appearance, but it will not provide a standout glossy finish if that is what you are looking for. It’s similar to applying a glossy wax coating to flat paint on a car if that helps.
If glossy is one of your primary requirements, then you may want to consider RockSolid floor coatings instead. Both the color coat and clear coat are much more glossy than EpoxyShield. Another would be DuraGrade Concrete. It is very glossy and does not require etching the concrete in most cases like other coatings.
MJ says
Thanks for the answers, Shea!
So I was perusing Rust-Oleums site yesterday, and found that they explicitly call out not using their clear on basement floors in the FAQ. I was surprised by that. Do you have any idea why that might be the case?
Are RockSolid and DuraGrade also low-VOC and safe for indoors? DuraGrade has way more colors too! Seems like an interesting product, especially if I can avoid etching. The test you are referring to is taping down a square of plastic, right?
Shea says
Hello MJ. The Rust-Oleum clear that you need to use is their newer 100% solids low VOC. You can view it here. It does not say to not use it in basements.
Both RockSolid and DuraGrade are low VOC coatings. DuraGrade is a higher quality product than RockSolid and is easier to apply. Taping down plastic is the initial test that can be done to check for moisture. It is ideally performed during the wet months of the year. Doing it during dry months may provide a false reading of no moisture.
Cheryl says
I put two coats of Epoxy Seal garage and floor paint. Should I use a clear topcoat? and what kind?
what I put down is latex can I put all oil based over top of the two coats?
Shea says
Hello Chery. No, you cannot apply an oil-based clear coat over paint. Those clear coats are designed for wood floors and furniture, not garage floors. In addition, they have a yellow tint. Garage floor paint is not intended for clear coats, but there is a way to make it work if you accept the fact that it may still peel up from hot tires. We have an article here that gives you the information you need to know as well as a video here.