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.

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.  Interlocking garage floor tiles will give you the flexibility and leak resistance of a mat, but they can be costly.  Peel and stick garage floor tiles are just as finicky as paint when it comes to the cleanliness of the concrete, and they depend on the human hand and eye to create a seal by getting them close enough together.

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.

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.