A few people have found this site by asking if they can use Quikrete High Gloss Sealer over epoxy garage floor paint, so I figured I would do some research and find out.  As is the norm with Quikrete, you have to be very specific about the name of the product.  Assume nothing!

Quikrete High Gloss Sealer

This is a water based, waterproof sealer that Quikrete says is intended for use on both painted and garage floors, so it stand to reason that it should be fine on painted garage floors.  It can also be used on bare concrete garage floors, and even masonry, brick, aggregate, stone, and pavers.  Hah, this means you could put it on a brick house and end up with a waxed looking house.  Anyway, since this is a sealant, you might not want to apply it to concrete that isn’t etched since you’ll probably end up with a pretty slick garage floor.

Quikrete Wet Look High Gloss Sealer

Another water based sealer, but a different product.  This one does not specifically mention one way or the other if it should be used on paint, but Quikrete does say that they don’t recommend it for use on garage flooring.  Upon deeper investigation into the product specifications, it does say “Previously sealed surfaces must be porous…”, which an epoxy garage floor coating is most certainly not.  So the verdict is, no, Quikrete Wet Look High Gloss Sealer should not be used on garage floors, painted or otherwise.

Quikrete Etching Stain High Gloss Sealer

I’m being dead serious with these product names.  In an age where people find much of their information on the internet, they couldn’t have made these different products harder to search for, using the same three words in every title.  Quikrete says that this product can be used on your garage floor.  They do not specifically mention painted surfaces, but the product information does say, “Avoid using this product on non-porous, sealed surfaces”.  That makes it pretty clear that, no, you cannot use this product over epoxy garage floor paint.  It also says that, as the title indicates, it is meant for use on floors that have been treated with Quikrete Etching Stain, so it would probably create a rather slick surface.

So, in summary, if your garage floor is painted or unpainted, you’ll want to look for Quikrete High Gloss Sealer, and be absolutely sure there are no other words in that title.

I don’t talk much about garage floor stain because I figure that, for the most part, those who find this site are probably looking for something to protect their garage floor as well as beautify.  I do, however, recognize that there are situations where garage floor stain makes sense and not much else really does.  Here is a quick overview of why one would use garage floor stain instead of one of the other garage floor coatings or coverings.

Too Much Moisture For An Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Sometimes, in some areas, epoxy just won’t work.  No matter what the homeowner tries, the garage floor paint just peels, or comes apart when touched by hot automobile tires.  In these cases, you may consider garage floor stain, but beware.  Stain offers zero protection to your concrete garage floor.

Some People Only Park Cars In Their Garage

Another excellent reason to consider garage floor stain.  If you don’t even do anything in your garage that would warrant protecting the concrete garage floor, then considering garage floor stain suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.  Always consider, however, that anything concrete still needs a seal, so be sure to apply whatever garage floor seal your stain recommends.

Garage Floor Stain Is Different

Everyone wants to be different, don’t they?  Well, since many people don’t even realize that you can stain concrete (in a good way, anyway), garage floor stain remains at least a little unique.  Will it stay that way?  Time will tell.

Sometimes It All Comes Down To The Money…

Staining garage flooring is pretty darn cheap.  The only thing cheaper is epoxy garage floor paint, and I suspect that’s because of the thick competition in that department.  Comparing a garage floor staining kit to an epoxy paint kit will return prices that are nearly identical, but always consider that you also have to apply a sealant after garage floor stain.  The sealant generally does not come with the stain, although the manufacturer of the stain will certainly recommend it somewhere on the product.  All things considered, you can usually get away with spending less than $200 if you do it yourself, which is less than a set of garage floor tiles.

When it comes time to choose your garage flooring, there are many different options from which to decide.

Garage floor paint will provide you with an excellent garage floor coating, and will also give you some nice color as well.  This paint is designed to keep your garage floors nice looking, in addition to protecting it from chemical stains and other damage.  There are quite a few brand names and types of garage floor paint out there, so we’ll quickly take a look at a few of them.

Rust-Oleum EPOXYShield Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Rust-Oleum’s EPOXYShield garage floor coating is available mostly in browns and other tans.  To some, this may be a deterrent, since many people purchase paint because they want to add some colors to their garage floors.  However, if brown is okay, or you simply do not care what color your garage floor is, than this Rust-Oleum might be good for you.  It comes available in a kit that is designed for a one car garage, and even includes an instructional DVD for installation.  It is, like most garage floor coating, waterproof and stain resistant as well.  The reviews on this particular product are great, which really speaks for the ease of install.

Weatherbeater Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Generally available for a little less than Rust-Oleum’s product, the Weatherbeater Epoxy Garage Floor Coating offers most of the same promises, minus the instructional DVD.  It’s not rated as well, but does come with decorative chips to accent your garage floor.  Without the instructional DVD, it’s very likely that the poor reviews are coming from people’s inexperience at installing garage flooring, so you may want to take those reviews with a grain of salt.  Speaking of salt, Weatherbeater claims that their garage floor paint is resistant to salt, as well as other chemicals such as gasoline and oil.

Quikrete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating

Quikrete is probably the most popular garage flooring paint, and is available in over 40 colors.  They also include color flakes, like the Weatherbeater, if you would like to add such accents to your garage floor.    Their formula is twice as strong as concrete, and they claim that it is the toughest garage floor finish available.  It is a bit more expensive than the other two, however, and reviews are hard to come by.  Sometimes no news is good news, though, and you can bet if this hadn’t worked on many garage floors for whatever reason, there would be plenty of negative reviews.

Although probably the hardest to install, especially correctly, garage floor paint is definitely the cheapest option of all.  If you are willing to do the work yourself, you can easily coat an entire single car garage for under $75.  Considering the money you’ll be saving on repairing concrete in the future, that’s a heck of a deal.  There’s no doubt that there are many other reasons to choose an epoxy garage floor coating.  Just make sure you check out all your options first, before deciding, since it would be rather difficult to undo.