# Epoxy or polyurethane for a garage floor coating?



## nvrfinished (Aug 15, 2013)

Hello everyone.  One of the questions that many people ask about when deciding on a a garage floor coating is what the difference is between epoxy and polyurethane, should you use one over the other, and which one is best to use.  I thought I would post a link here to an article that helps to explain the differences in epoxy and polyurethane.  

Hopefully it will answer some of your questions and help you decide which type of coating is best for you.


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## pauloman (Nov 10, 2013)

in parts of california floor coatings can have no more than 100 g/l VOC - almost impossible to match with anything but a solvent free epoxy (l.e. Industrial Floor Epoxy (tm) as an example.)

Even the so called water based epoxies actually contain solvents often in excess of 100 g/l. 

Common to have an epoxy base coat and an urethane topcoat. 


Paul Oman - MS. MBA 
A.K.A. &#8220;Professor E. Poxy&#8221;
www.epoxyfacts.com 
epoxies since 1994
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers) -- SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)


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## nvrfinished (Nov 11, 2013)

> in parts of California floor coatings can have no more than 100 g/l VOC



So true - and a few other states are making it difficult about the amount shipped.  Some companies are working around that though with multi-quart kits.

A friend of ours has been using a water based 2 part aliphatic urethane from Concrete Solutions for parts of Orange County and has been pleasantly surprised with the results so far.


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## pauloman (Nov 12, 2013)

the quart excemption rule is valid in all states but CA.  Calif got rid of it years ago.  In calif pretty much 100% solids epoxy or nothing. Even most water based floor products have more than 100 G/Cc in VOC solvents - note that acetone is an excempt solvent.

Paul Oman - MS. MBA 
A.K.A. &#8220;Professor E. Poxy&#8221;
www.epoxyfacts.com 
epoxies since 1994
Member: NACE (National Assoc. of Corrosion Engineers) -- SSPC (Soc. of Protective Coatings)


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