[chiefrose]

I'm going to have my garage floor finished and am trying to decide between staining and epoxy. I have a two part epoxy finish on my garage up here in NJ that looks good after several years. I am having Amy Newsome stain my lanai floor and she recommends against the epoxy in the garage. Her reasoning is because the garage gets so hot in FL that the car tires will damage the finish. She would only recommend the epoxy if someone was doing a lot of work on cars in the garage. I would be interesed in what others have done in their garages. Any insight, pro or con, would be appreciated.

[Yankee Quilter]

We are having epoxy in the garage and cement painting(staining) in the lanai, next week. The recommendations and reasons for the choice were just as you mentioned. Also painting the small front porch painted.

[bargee]

We used a clear stain on our garage floor 13 years ago and it still looks great.

[Uptown Girl]

We had epoxy in our garage in the Midwest, but there it was baked on. (a three day process) It served us very well.
Here, we decided to use Chattahoochee river rock. We are very pleased!

[buzzy]

I went through this decision process because I was setting up my aero-modelers' workshop in the garage. I was concerned about cleaning up glue and solvent spills. I chose two-part epoxy for both the base/color coat and clear top coat. Some contractors will put an acrylic top coat over epoxy base, but that's not as solvent-resistant. Unlike acrylic, the epoxy top coat produces a glossy finish. I like it, but it's probably not for everyone. But, it's tough and resistant to harsh cleaners and thinners. Hot tires in the summer have not even left marks.

(Note: There are one-part water-based sealers labeled as epoxy, but they do have poor adhesion.)

[JoeC1947]

Another option is G-Floor.

G-Floor - Garage Floor Cover/Protector - 10' x 22' - Sam's Club

[jimbo2012]

I don't buy the hot garage theory,

Epoxy can take almost any heat.

Moreover, how hot the garage gets depends on how the sun hits it, mine is on the north it is a lot cooler than if it faced the south.

I would epoxy the garage or put down vinyl tile, the tile may be less than the paint.

If U can find tile on close out it can be .25 a sq foot.

Now that G-floor looks worth investigating as well.

[batman911]

Epoxy is very hard and brittle. It can be chipped if you drop something heavy on it. The Navy uses two part epoxy on exposed metal on ships so I do not believe the weather or heat will harm it. Long term direct sun may fade darker colors.

[chiefrose]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll have to make a decision when I get down to TV.

[Yankee Quilter]

Ours goes down the week after next ...come see anytime!