Metallic epoxy floor coatings are a hot new trend that is slowly finding its way into the home as a very high tech and exotic looking garage flooring option. These coatings create a glossy and deep looking floor with a variety of different colors and visual effects. Some even create a beautiful three-dimensional appearance that gives the illusion of craters, ripples, and swirling rivers of metallic looking plasma. So let’s take a closer look at this relatively new coating and see if a metallic epoxy garage floor is an option for you.
What is metallic epoxy?
Made of 100% solids epoxy with metallic pigments added, this self-leveling epoxy coating is designed to be manipulated to create the different visual effects. Once applied to the floor, various solvents such as denatured alcohol can be applied to diffuse and move around the metallic pigments in the epoxy. This is what can create the look of flowing rivers and spots of fractured looking molten metal that sits upon the surface of the coating.
Some products are also designed to be worked with an air nozzle or leaf blower to create 3D effects like moon craters, rolling waves, and puddling ripples. Two-tone effects can also be created with the introduction of a second color at the time of application.
Are metallic epoxy floors durable?
As beautiful and stunning as these floors look, they are considered a high performance floor coating that is designed to last for years. For the first coat they require an epoxy primer to be installed. The second coat involves the actual metallic epoxy coating followed by a third coat of clear on top. It’s not unusual to add a fourth coat if applying polyurethane as a top coat. As a result, you end up with a very thick coating due to the amount of coats involved, especially from the metallic coat.
Yes, these are real pictures of actual metallic epoxy floors!
These metallic coatings are just as resistant to oil, salt, chemicals, acids, water, and wear as any other high performance epoxy garage floor. Maintenane is easy and the amount of light they reflect is outstanding due to the glossy nature of the surface. Like any other epoxy coating, they can be a little slippery when wet if you don’t use an anti-slip additive in the final top coat.
Metallic epoxy installation
Metallic epoxy coatings are installed in the same manner as any other multi-coat system, with the exception of the additional process of having to manipulate the pigment in the metallic coat or adding metallic solvents. If you are thinking about applying a floor coating yourself, you will need a minimum of two people due to the time constraints involved with these steps.
Most metallic coats are applied with a notched trowel or squeegee and then back rolled with a 3/8” roller or looped roller to provide for a thicker film. This allows for the metallic pigments to be moved around throughout the epoxy. Because of the thicker coat, a gallon will only go about 50 square feet for some systems. As a result, someone needs to be mixing additional batches while the other person is applying the epoxy.
You need to start manipulating the metallic coat about 15 to 20 minutes after it is applied. The person doing the mixing usually will do this. This is done by blowing air directly on the epoxy to move it around to create craters, ripples, or waves. Depressions will form initially in the epoxy, but it self-levels after about 10 minutes leaving the desired effect.
Some metallic epoxy products require adding metallic solvents to the base coat instead of manipulating it with air. They are applied immediately after the base coat and will induce puddles of molten metal or to create a kind of river effect. They usually require 20 minutes or so to take effect.
It’s usually a good idea to work with a sample kit first when using solvents. The reason for this is that it takes a while for the solvent to react with the epoxy and you need to get a good idea of how much to introduce to get the effect that you desire. Once the epoxy has cured the required amount of time, you can apply your top coat of clear epoxy or polyurethane.
One thing to keep in mind is that this type of epoxy garage floor is not cheap and materials in most cases are going to cost more than a standard multi-coat system due to the limited spread rate of some metallic coats. Also be sure to compare the type of epoxy being being offered from the different suppliers. Installation is usually done by an experienced professional, but a serious DIY person can do it as well.
The extra money spent will soon be forgotten though when the floor is done. If you want a floor with a beautiful and exotic showroom look that screams “look at me!”, then a metallic epoxy coating is definitely something to consider.
hi, I have an antique claw foot bathtub that needs to be refinished. would this product be suitable for the inside of the tub? specifically the metallic copper. I am questioning how well it can be applied to vertical surfaces.
thank you.
Hi Phillip. No, floor coating products such as this are not designed for that at all. It’s not a submersible coating and it will run on smooth vertical surfaces.
Hello I’m a painter that is looking to Branch out. His your epoxy a water base if not what base is it?
Hello Tom. We don’t sell or manufacturer product. If you are curious about commercial metallic epoxy, it is generally a 100% solids. An epoxy primer has to be installed first (generally water based and dark in color) and then the metallic epoxy.
Can you add a anti slip or texture to the metallic flooring for a garage? I like the look but can’t find info on anti slip. Thanks
Hello Jim. We have an article on using anti-slip media here. Traditionally it would be mixed into a thinner clear coat so that the media will stay near the surface. Metallic coatings are very thick and most anti-slip media will sink before the coating cures. Clear coats are commonly used on metallic epoxy for most applications due to the fact that it shows scratches very easily. There are two primary reasons for this. The first reason is that most metallic coatings contain darker colors which tend to highlight scratches more. The second reason is that the 100% solids epoxy that is used for metallics is extremely hard. This hard surface can be scratched more easily. This is why most metallic epoxy has a clear coat applied. These clear coats are generally a polyaspartic, polyurea, or polyurethane. These type of clear coats are more flexible (relatively speaking) and do not scratch as easy. One thing to keep in mind is that anti-slip media will tone down the glossiness of coating as well.
Hello, I’m looking at doing a metallic garage floor coating for my 3 car garage, which unfortunately is almost exactly 600 SQFT which makes me very hesitant to buy 600SQFT kits, will using an 800SQFT kit on a 600SQFT floor cause me issues or would it just end with having an ever so slightly thicker floor since everything is self leveling? I’ve been looking at https://www.originalcolorchips.com/store/pure-metallic-epoxy-36/metallic-epoxy-floor-kit-800-sq-ft-complete-kits-45/ . Beyond the hesitation of using a 600SQFT kit after reading numerous of your articles I want to ensure this coating lasts a long time, in reading one of your articles on polyurethane coatings I wanted to know if that is different than what I see a lot of manufacturers advertise as Urethane such as Textured Urethane Clearcoat – HWU 420. Are there other manufacturers I should consider that you would recommend? Also, I live in Florida the great sunshine state, but really the humidity state, do you have any suggestions in ensuring environmental variables don’t ruin my project. Really enjoy the wave look a lot of these marble floors capture and want to do it right, thanks for all your amazingly helpful articles.
Hello Joshua. We are always hesitant as well when you are using a kit at max coverage rates. We always opt for slightly more product if we can. Some vendors have quart volumes available though not listed, so it is worth checking. The worst that can happen with a larger kit is a thicker coating and/or some unused product when dealing with 100% solids. The Pure Metallic kits are a very good product. They also incorporate the use of a solvent to create the interesting crater look. However, that can be done with other vendors metallics as well. The HWU 420 is a high performance, high solids polyurethane. Many vendors use urethane for short, though technically it is incorrect. We always recommend staying within the vendor’s own line of products when doing a metallic system. Another possible option would be Legacy Industrial. They sell metallic kits and are based in Florida. You can find their page here. Scotty would be the one to ask for and he can fill you on doing the effects like Pure Metallic does.
Plan ahead for the weather. You don’t want high temps or high humidity (> 80%). Scotty has much experience with Florida weather and can provide tips there as well. Make sure to read the instructions and then read them again. Watch all the videos you can to get a good idea of the process. A helper is a must. Lastly, plan out all your steps in advance and make sure to have small things like extra rollers available in case something happens in the middle of the application process.
Do metallic epoxy floors scratch easily and I emphasize easily and leave marks after you walk on it? I have a desk chair in my garage with wheels, pretty standard chair. And it leaves ‘scratches’ surface not deep but they do not wipe off easily? Do you think the tradesman that applied my epoxy flooring did something incorrectly ? It is black ground mass with gold lines.
Hi Greg. I would not know if they did anything incorrectly without knowing exactly what products were applied. What I can tell you is that metallic epoxy, especially the darker colors, will show every bit of dust and dirt that gets tracked onto the floor due to the very glossy and dark surface. If applied properly with a commercial quality clear coat, metallic epoxy coatings will not scratch any more than a non metallic commercial quality coating. However, any little scratch in the surface of a metallic coating is going to show much more than a non-metallic coating for the reasons stated above. All coatings will develop small scratches, but most are hard to see because of the neutral tan and gray colors combined with the color flakes. I would suggest using a hard floor chair mat to prevent the small scratches that the chair is creating.
Greetings-
We LOVE the look of the metallic finish, and are considering that on our garage floor. Can the color combinations be selected or are the combination options limited to the options above? We would like to do something with a tan base with black highlights. Thoughts?
Hi Brad. There are a multitude of color combos you can choose. It all depends on the vendor you purchase from or the garage flooring contractor you hire. Typically, two colors are the most that are combined. However, there are exceptions. Something to keep in mind is that metallics really show the dust and dirt due the extreme gloss. The darker the colors, the worst it is. This usually isn’t an issue for floors indoors that just see foot traffic, but for a garage where cars are pulled in and out and dust is easily let in from the large door, constant cleaning with a dust mop is the norm.
Hello,
I am part of the 44th fighter squadron located in Okinawa Japan. I was interested in renovating our heritage room floor with some metallic epoxy flooring that reflects our squadron colors. Any chance I could get a quote if I sent you some information? Thanks in advance.
-Capt James “Draggin” Chambers
Hello Capt. Chambers. We would like to, but All Garage Floors is an informational website only. We suggest contacting one of the vendors that sponsor our site. Here are some of them. Legacy Industrial, EpoxyMaster, ArmorGarage, and ArmorPoxy. They all carry metallic epoxy.