We are often asked how effective the discount kits at the big box home centers are.

Generally speaking, these discount kits are of lower quality material, and cannot withstand the heavy duty use required for automobile parking, the stress of weather elements (substrate expanding and contracting), and cannot fill pre-existing cracks and imperfections.

A surface needs to be properly prepared in order for it to be able to bond mechanically with epoxy coating. This means it should be clean, dry, dust-free, and the surface must be diamond ground or shot-blasted to the appropriate roughness before applying the primer.

Epoxy needs a rough surface to mechanically bond to. If the surface is too slick, the epoxy will not stick to it for very long.

Most epoxy paint kits will instruct the DIY user to just clean the floor or etch it with muriatic acid. Cleaning by itself will make zero difference. No matter what type of degreaser you employ, it will have no impact on the concrete profile.

Acid etching, while a valid preparation method, will only work if the concrete’s pores are open enough to allow the acid to react and remove the thin cement paste on the very top.

The preparation made by acid etching is just skin deep. As a result, acid etching will not be enough for areas of the concrete which are sealed, oil stained, painted or contaminated.

Epoxy doesn’t bond well with water. Presence of moisture and humidity in the concrete can cause serious problems. Moisture will change the course of chemical reaction that is going on in molecular level, and will not result in your desired durable garage epoxy flooring.

Concrete surfaces that are dry to the touch may still have enough moisture below the surface to react negatively with the epoxy coating. Performing a moisture test on the concrete with a probe to ensure moisture levels are in line with the products tolerance is the only way to know for sure if the epoxy will successfully bond.

DIY kits are typically 1 and at best 2 thin coats of epoxy material. This is no thicker (and in some cases thinner) than the paint on your walls. Garage floors take substantially more abuse than interior walls. Thin coatings are more susceptible to chip up from impacts, scratch down to the concrete and crack.

Professional installations are 6-10 times thicker than DIY kits. The epoxy material is applied substantially thicker for each coat and a full layer of impact resistant flakes are sandwiched in-between the base coat and topcoat. This provides a more durable floor surface.