This will be just a quick overview of all of the various garage floor finishes that can be used.  I figured I would post this just in case some people didn’t know about some of these options.

Epoxy Garage Floor Paint

As opposed to some other applications that also carry the name “paint”, the goal is not just to change the color of the garage flooring.  An epoxy garage floor coating will also provide some of the best protection for the concrete underneath.  It’s often the cheapest, too, as long as you can afford to install it yourself.  It will likely be the most difficult of any finish to install.  Epoxy garage floor coatings have a very long life span, and can often be installed over other paint jobs, depending on the kit.

Garage Floor Tile

Tiles are probably the next best thing when it comes to the most comprehensive solution.  Garage floors with tiles are protected almost as well as those with epoxy, but the install is not nearly as finicky, though it can be just as time consuming depending on the type of garage floor tiles used.  Unfortunately, tiles can also easily be the most expensive of all garage flooring.

Garage Floor Stain

This option is not for those who want to protect their garage flooring, but more for those who want an interesting looking floor where they park.  The object is not to add any type of garage floor coating, but just to change the color of the existing concrete garage floor.  Concrete staining is really seen less in garages than interiors, so this would probably be the most unique choice.

Garage Floor Mat

There are two main different types of garage floor mats: parking mats, and compartment mats.  Both can be referred to as garage floor coverings, so be sure to check the sizes of what you are buying to be certain that you get what you’re looking for.  A parking mat may take up your entire garage, and be referred to as a whole garage floor mat.  Alternatively, it could only take up as much space as the vehicles that park there, since the purpose is to protect your garage flooring from their leavings.  Compartment, or containment mats generally have raised edges or some other method of controlling the flow of any dropped liquids, and are used primarily for working on vehicles.  They are not intended to be a full time garage floor covering, being only a temporary, used-as-needed tool.

So, that’s all of the various garage floor finishes in one post.  Check out some of the other posts for more information about each individual option.

Quikrete is a name that many have heard, but didn’t really have a product to put with the word.  It’s one of those household names that most of the people in the household are pretty clueless about.  This article aims to clarify exactly what Quikrete is, and is mainly aimed at Quikrete garage floor coating.

So, What Is Quikrete?

First and foremost, Quikrete is a brand name.  They’ve been around since 1940, and produce a lot more than just concrete repair products, which is what they are best known for.  In addition to Quikrete garage floor coatings, they also make tile setting products, blacktop mixes, floor underlayments, stucco, sand and aggregates, as well as many other items.  They make numerous products that could be used on your garage floor as well.

Quikrete Garage Floor Preparation Products

These products are intended to be used before you apply any epoxy garage floor paint.  They include the Bond-Loc concrete cleaner, as well as an oil stain remover.  Although the oil stain remover can be used at any time, and probably should be used early since stubborn stains may require multiple treatments, the floor will have to be cleaned just before applying the epoxy garage floor coating, unless the directions for the coating say otherwise.  Both of these actions will have to be taken before any epoxy paint is applied, Quikrete or not.

Quikrete Garage Floor Clear Coating Products

If you simply want to add a clear coating to your concrete garage floor, Quikrete offers two products.  They have an stain sealer that will add a high gloss to your stained garage floor and protect it to some degree, and they also have a high gloss clear coating for garage floors that are not stained.  If all you are looking for is some protection against oil and other chemicals, then this might be your best choice, though it will not be as durable as an epoxy coating.  The regular clear coating can be used for painted floors, though, so that may be a good idea if you have an older epoxy paint job that is starting to fade.

Quikrete Epoxy Garage Floor Coating Products

Three different products are available from Quikrete when it comes to epoxy.  Their one part epoxy, which can be had in 16 different colors other than gray, is a resin based product.  They also have a clear water based product to coat any type of garage flooring.  The big daddy, though, is their epoxy garage floor coating kit.  It comes with their cleaner as well as color flakes, and is available in 64 different colors in addition to tan and gray.  There are even different color options for the color flakes.

Quikrete Concrete Stain

If the goal is to give your garage floor some color, but not necessarily add protection, then Quikrete Concrete Stain may be for you.  Applying it is quick and easy, it’s relatively cheap, and you’ll certainly end up with unique looking flooring.  Just keep in mind that you will need to apply a seal afterward, and that Quikrete Concrete Stain will not protect your garage floor on its own.

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.