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At Floor Masters we have a wide range of solutions for concrete floors.  One of those solutions is finishing the floor with a resin coating.  The difficulty in making the right decision is that there are lots of different type of resin coatings.  In this section we will break down the differences, and look at the pros and cons of them all.

– Epoxy.  Epoxy is the easy one to start with.  Most people have a basic knowledge of epoxy resin.  It’s been around since about 1927 and for almost 100 years has been the most used flooring resin and glue used worldwide.

Epoxy is a thermoplastic, that means that 2 components are mixed together and set via a chemical reaction that creates some heat.

There are many types of Epoxy, that have different performance characteristics and are best suited for different purposes.  

At Floor Masters we mostly use 4 types of epoxy

1) Moisture Barrier – this is an epoxy resin that is formulated to create a very strong bond to concrete.  Strong enough to resist hydrostatic pressure and regulate moisture vapor transmission.  A moisture barrier is required on floors with a high moisture content or a rising damp issue.

2) Roll Coat epoxy systems – these are thinner (applied with a roller) coatings of epoxy.  These are a cheaper solution for floors not subjected to heavy abrasion or impact.  Roll coat epoxy floors are a great option to seal floors, hide stains and create a surface that is easier to clean.

3) Self Levelling epoxy systems – These are thicker and heavier duty epoxy coatings.  the thicker the coating the more impact resistance the coating offers.  These floors can be very smooth or have quartz broadcast into them to make mild to heavy non slip surfaces.

4) Metallic epoxy floors – A metallic epoxy floor is a clear resin with special pigments that create a unique effect.  While the other epoxy coatings are generally a plain solid colour, metallic epoxy can be subtle colour variations to wild effects. See our Resin Rustic or Metallic FX systems.

Epoxy Pros

By volume, epoxy is the cheapest 2 component resin (acrylic resin is cheaper).

A thick coating can offer good impact resistance.

Medium performance coatings at lower cost. (big variations across the board).

Epoxy cons

Most formulations only allow one coat per day.

Most epoxies are highly effected by UV exposure (can chalk and turn amber/yellow).

Many formulations go very hard and brittle.

– Polyaspartic. Polyaspartic is a more recent resin technology, developed in the 90’s.  Also know as PAP (Polyaspartic Aliphatic Polyurea).  Just like epoxy, polyaspartic has many formulations, though not as diverse as epoxy.

I often say “polyaspartic is everything I wished epoxy was”.

The advantages of polyaspartic are that it sets much faster (different formulations set at different speeds), but we can sometimes be applying the next coat in as little as 45 minutes (most epoxies are 12+ hrs).

At Floor Masters we use polyaspartic is a number of systems.

Sparta-Guard – a solid coloured roll coat system.  Due to much higher abrasion resistance, it offer much better performance than a roll coat epoxy. Can also have slip reduction additives for slip resistance.

Sparta-Flake – this system used blends of coloured flake to make a more durable and attractive finish.

Sparta-Quartz – this system used coloured quartz to make an even more durable, attractive surface coating.

Polyaspartic pros

Fast setting, can allow floors to be completed in one day with return to light use in as little as 2 hours, vehicle traffic in 24 hrs.

UV stable – will not discolour or degrade with UV exposure.

Superior abrasion resistance – 3-5 times greater than epoxy.

Exceptional chemical resistance

Higher heat resistance.

Resin remains semi flexible, has a little more give before cracking.

Polyaspartic Cons

Higher resin cost

Can’t be installed as a thick coating, not as high impact resistance (compared to Self levelling epoxy or Urethane cement).

– Urethane Cement – Not to be confused with urethane or polyurethane.

Urethane cement or Urethane Fortified Cement is a heavy duty hybrid, combining a fine concrete blend and resin.  The result is a cost effective heavy duty coating with great impact and thermal resistance. UC also offers great moisture tolerance and usually avoids the need for a separate coating of Moisture Barrier before the main resin coating.

The thicker the installed thickness of UC the higher it’s heat resistance.  Normally installed between 3 and 12mm thick – depending on the performance requirements.

Urethane Cement is great for food production areas as well of heavy industrial floors, such as engineering.

UC pros

Good value for money

Can negate the need for a moisture barrier

Good thermal shock resistance

Great impact resistance

UC cons

Polyurethane cement is ultra prone to UV light (turns it yellow, but does not effect performance) – Can be top coated with a UV stable coating.