The Percentage Of Solids In Epoxy Garage Floor Coatings

Not all epoxy garage floor coating kits are created equal and, when it comes to garage flooring, you don't necessarily get what you pay for. When you're diving into something that is new to you, such as garage floors, it's easy to miss out on some features, especially when you don't know they exist. Let's take a look at one of the lesser known specifications pertaining to epoxy garage floor paint. Let's examine the concept of the percentage of solids in epoxy garage floor coatings.

An Explanation Of Percentage Of Solids

Every epoxy garage floor coating obviously begins its life in liquid form. There'd be no way to get it on your concrete garage floor if it was solid in the can. The important, but rarely spoken of "percentage of solids" pertains to how much of the mixture will end up as a solid. Consider epoxy adhesives, if you need help understanding. There's no evaporation when an epoxy adhesive dries; it's totally solid. With an epoxy garage floor coating, this might not be so.

But Where Is The Percentage Of Solids Listed?

Like most companies, the manufacturers of epoxy garage floor coatings tend to leave out any specifications that their product does not excel in. This makes it harder for the consumer to know if he is getting the appropriate product. In general, those epoxy garage floor coatings that are not 100% solid won't tell you in so many words. Instead, they will be referred to as water, or acrylic based. Of course, any epoxy garage floor paint that is 100% solids will generally advertise it quite proudly.

Does Everyone Actually Need 100% Solids Garage Floor Coatings?

In reality, you probably don't. Most people will likely be satisfied using water based garage floor finishes without ever really noticing a difference, particularly if they're using a garage floor covering over the paint any time they're working. However, if you being comparing the prices of 100% solid epoxies to watered down paints, you'll see that there really isn't much money to be saved in the thinner paint. In fact, there are even some 100% solid epoxy garage floor coatings which are cheaper than those that are water based. So, I guess it comes down to this: is it okay to spend an equal amount of cash on a product that is watered down?

Why Every Epoxy Garage Floor Coating Is Not 100% Solid

The best, most likely reasoning would be profit margin. Successful companies make their products as cheaply as possible, and sell them for the most that they can, without gaining a bad reputation. If they can water the paint down a little without charging less and still have returning customers, why wouldn't they? So, should everyone avoid water based paints? Well, this is where personal preference comes in. Would you rather go with the smaller company who lacks the reputation, yet promises the cheaper, better product, or do you go with a big name, hoping there's no discernible difference? When you shop for epoxy garage floor coatings, as with many other products, you have to ask yourself what kind of consumer you're wanting to be.