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Epoxy vs. Urethane Concrete Floor Coatings by Liquid Floor Systems is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Benefits

Choosing urethane or epoxy floors means you are making the conscious decision to protect your flooring - a decision that will improve the aesthetics of your space overall and save you money for years to come.

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Finishing

Urethane and epoxy coatings


Epoxy vs. Urethane Concrete Floor Coatings

People researching concrete floor coatings often wonder whether they should use an epoxy or urethane coating for their concrete floor. The answer in many cases . . .  although not all . . .  is use both!  Each of these floor coatings works in a different way, performs a different function, and has advantages in particular applications. Both provide protection against chemical corrosion, wear, and damage.  Both are long-lasting and reduce replacement and maintenance costs.  Both increase safety with non-slip surfaces. Both can increase light reflectivity by up to 300% which lowers utility bills, brightens the work space and improves employee morale. Epoxy concrete floor coatings function more as a floor priming/resurfacing method; whereas urethane is more of a wear surface protecting the epoxy. Here’s a brief summary of the two products:


Epoxy

Epoxy is an ideal product for resurfacing a concrete floor.  It can be applied from as little as 2mls to as much as 80+mls thick depending on the application and underlying floor surface.  It can build up an old, cracked and pitted concrete floor and make it look brand-spanking shiny and new – and increase the floor’s light reflectivity by as much as 300%.  It’s also a great way to add color to the work place and/or use multiple colors to designate certain areas, walkways, use it for directional arrows or put a logo or other design right in the floor. Epoxy concrete floor coatings don’t just make a floor look better; they actually protect  the floor surface. Appropriate for retail, industrial, showroom and public buildings, epoxy floor coatings are popular for a number of uses including: labs, manufacturing plants, hospitals, schools, automotive, aerospace, galleries, showrooms, malls, big box users, and many more.   With proper preparation of the underlying concrete (which usually means diamond grinding rather than shot blasting) and expert installation for proper curing and bonding, an epoxy floor simply can’t be beat.  Certain formulations of epoxy concrete floor coatings meet LEED requirements for VOC limits, making this a “green” approach to creating a new floor.


Urethane

Urethane is not an adjustable thin film floor coating.  Urethane is rolled out at 350 – 500 sf per gallon, which translates to about 2 – 3ml in thickness — and there is no way to adjust that.  Furthermore, urethane does not bond well to concrete, so it is not an ideal coating to apply directly to an existing concrete floor.  However, urethane is an outstanding top coat and sealer for most kinds of epoxy applied over concrete floor coatings. Urethane mortars are ideal for the food and beverage industry because it provides and seamless and smooth floor coating that is moisture and heat resistant.  Urethane is also great in a lab or industrial setting because it can be chemical resistant.  For companies seeking an ecological floor solution, 1st Rate Service USA offers both VOC-compliant and odor-free urethanes for many applications


Summary

In general, it is believed that the best approach is to use epoxy to build up floors and then urethane to seal and protect them.  With urethane as a topcoat over epoxy, the floor will outlast unsealed epoxy 3:1 and you will get excellent wear and abrasion results.  However every flooring customer’s needs are unique, depending upon the particular use and desired outcomes.  That’s why 1st Rate Service USA believes in customizing concrete floor coatings for each individual application.


1st Rate Service USA has been working in the floor coatings industry for more than a decade. We believe that the epoxy/urethane combo for concrete floor coatings produces the best floor possible



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Serving Bradenton, Miami, Sarasota Tampa, St Petersburg, Cape Coral,  ,Naples, Sun City Center, Fort Meyers and Orlando in Central and South Florida.

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Concrete Coating  and resurfacing Systems

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