One of the easiest and most cost effective ways of improving your garage is to apply a coat of garage floor paint. There are various paint materials for a different type of finish and these include an epoxy, urethane, polyurea, latex and acrylic.
The best garage floor paint is the Rust-Oleum 238467 Professional Floor Coating Kit, that is a high solid solvents based epoxy coating with excellent durability.
Latex is the simplest paint but both the acrylic and epoxy garage floor paints are very popular with urethane and polyurea being rarely used. Durability is a key factor and the paint you choose must be able to withstand heat, chemicals and abrasion.
Table of Contents
Best Paint For Garage Floor
| Garage Floor Paint | Type | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Rust-Oleum 238467 Coating Kit | Epoxy | 200 Square Feet |
| KILZ L377611 | Epoxy/Acrylic | 400 Square Feet |
| Valspar 81052 Kit | Epoxy | 300 Square Feet |
| SUPERCOAT | Epoxy | 300 Square Feet |
| United Gilsonite Lab | Latex | 500 Square Feet |
Epoxy paint has many advantages over the and one of the main benefits over other types of paint is the resistance to heat. They are less prone to the heat of the tire softening the bond with the concrete and causes damage to the paint.
Applying paint to the garage floor is far easier than the standard decorating you would do around the house. Some garage floor paints may require mixing but apart from that, it is as simple as rolling it on smoothly and evenly.
Every garage owner has different preferences and there is a wide variety of types or colors to choose from. Below is a list of the best garage floor paints that will completely transform your garage and remain durable for years to come.
Rust-Oleum 238467 Professional Floor Coating Kit
Rust Oleum is a large brand with any sort of coating product such as their rust converters. This epoxy garage floor paint provides a semi gloss finish with a solid base color and decorative chips that can be added to the mix. Each gallon of the Rust Oleum is enough to cover 200 square feet and it will be ready for feet traffic in 24 hours and vehicle ready in 4 days.
Unlike many of the cheaper alternatives that claim their paint is durable, they have nothing compared with this kit. It is able to withstand heavy vehicle traffic, resist chemicals and standing water and there will be no hot tire pick-up.
It is an industrial graded paint for garage floors that is easy to apply and comes with a “no peel promise” for peace of mind. It is the best epoxy garage floor paint that provides maximum durability and provide that much needed protection for concrete garage floors.
Check it OutKILZ L377611 1-Part Epoxy Acrylic Paint
Kilz produces a range of coatings that suit anything from deck stains to concrete garage floors. This 1 part epoxy garage floor paint is a water based formula designed to be highly durable and able to withstand heavy activity and hot tires with ease.
In terms of the coverage of this garage floor paint, it will be able to cover around 400 square feet on concrete with additional coverage on smoother surfaces.
Kilz claim that this paint will be dry to touch in just 2 hours and you will be able to walk on it within 24 to 48 hours. It is also available in both silver and slate gray in order to suit most garages.
Overall, it is the best garage floor paint for the money with excellent coverage from just 1 gallon of paint. As it is a 1 part epoxy acrylic, it is very easy to apply too but be sure to prepare the surface prior to application.
Check it OutValspar (81052) Premium Clear Epoxy Kit
Valspar provides the strongest adhesion with an advanced bonding technology to provide a tough coat. This key to the resistance to gasoline, oil and general wear and tear of most garage workshops.
With the correct LED garage lights shinning down upon this glossy garage floor paint, you can get an excellent finish that is ideal for car showrooms. The coverage you can achieve is approximately 300 square feet, which is great value for money.
Check it OutSUPERCOAT Epoxy Garage Floor Coating
The Supercoat epoxy garage floor paint is a breathable two part paint that is easy to apply and requires no acid etching or mechanical preparation. Unlike many of the alternatives, this paint is breathable to allow any moisture vapors to pass through, which reduces any blistering or peeling.
It is also available in four colors, which include an ivory, slate grey, firebrick red and sandstone coating color. 1 gallon of this garage floor paint is able to cover approximately 300 square feet but it is a fairly expensive paint.
Other than the fact that the price is fairly high, it is still a high quality paint that is excellent for damp garages. Breathability is a premium feature and you will have to pay the price for it and the Supercoat epoxy paint for garage floors is ideal.
Check it OutUNITED GILSONITE LAB 21413 Drylok
Latex garage floor paint is other popular alternative to the epoxy material but it does require a prepared to surface in order to adhere to because its a surface paint. That being said, it will hide small cracks and be able to cover 500 square feet.
It is a dove gray coating that can be used for concrete garage floors, basements, outdoor patios and much more. It features a non-slip finish that resists hot tire pickup and is fast drying but we recommend at least 3 to 4 days before parking your car on it.
Overall, the Drylock is the best latex paint for garage floors but we wouldn’t recommend it for industrial garages as one of the other alternatives above would be more durable.
Check it OutGarage Floor Paint Buying Guide
Whereas one does not expect the garage floor to blow away people with its beauty, it is essential to ensure it is not ugly. It is because as time passes by, cracks start appearing on the floor, and the presence of oil stains, dust, and dirt all over the floor only makes things worse.
Therefore, the application of garage floor paint is necessary, and the applying is done when the floor is unheated, cold and dry to ensure the paint sticks. Once the paint is applied, it bonds the concrete surface with the open pores and tiny cracks. The resulting surface is simple to mop up and locate items that have dropped to the garage’s exterior.
Steps of Applying Garage Floor Paint
There are various garage floor paints to choose from; however, the basic instructions guiding one on the paints preparation are the same.
- The first step is thoroughly stirring the paint before and during use. The paints must be of the same color in case you are using more than one can of paint. Comprehensively mix the two paint cans to ensure color consistency is achieved.
- Addition of clean, dry sand during application of the finish coat is the next step, and this aims at adding traction to areas where an individual might accidentally slip.
- Once the paint is ready, clean the garage floor meticulously using a power washer if need be, add degreaser in water to remove any oily stains that might be present on the floor. Let the floor dry completely.
- If there are any holes present on the garage floor, fill them with a compound made specially for concrete repair.
- Use a bonding primer to bring about better adhesive capabilities, but this depends on the paint product in use.
- Follow this up by applying the paint product and when it comes to painting garage floors, achieving a good finish necessitates the use of a good paint roller. However, one can use a polyester brush, an airless sprayer or a pad applicator for other surfaces, but when one is spraying use of sand should be omitted. Paint the floor evenly over the floor’s full length to avoid lap marks and finish this up with long even strokes in one direction.
Types of Garage Floor Paint
There is a range of different materials used in the formation of most garage floor paints. Some people prefer one type to another but the most popular is the epoxy garage floor paint that covers even the roughest of concrete floors. However, the full list of the most common types are as shown below:
Acrylic Garage Floor Paint
Application of this material can be either in a mixture with a primer as a 2-in-1 setup or on top a ready garage floor. However, acrylic is not a reliable garage floor paint especially if the garage experiences a lot of work or foot traffic and also peels off when in contact with warm vehicle tires. Its main advantage is that it is the cheapest paint on the market.
Latex Garage Floor
Latex is the basic paint found on bathroom walls, garage floors or anywhere else in the house. Despite not being the best material to use on the garage floor since it doesn’t offer the best seal, it is quite expensive.
Nonetheless, its main advantage is that it dries up relatively fast in comparison to other garage floor paints and also one of the best for outdoor use. The main drawbacks of latex based garage floor paint are the floor before its application should be impeccably clean. Furthermore, it is less durable than other paints, with this worsened if its application is on a floor that has not been adequately cleaned.
Epoxy Floor Paints
Though technically it is not a paint but glue, it operates similar to paint and has several advantages. Epoxy can be used alone as a garage floor paint or mixing it with either acrylic or latex, the reason behind it being it is a better sealant than the two.
The main advantage of epoxy is that it is amazingly cheap and durable, able to withstand hot wheels and resistant to cracking. Its disadvantage is that in comparison to latex and acrylic, epoxies take very long to dry often requiring a minimum of one day thus one cannot walk or park a vehicle before it dries up.
Polyurethane
Polyurethane often shortened to urethane, despite the two being different materials, is closely similar to epoxy but of higher quality and some extra features. These features include urethane being more flexible in comparison to epoxy thus better at absorbing impacts and more resistant to stain and chemicals.
Finally, urethane does not yellow upon exposure to sunlight like epoxies do due to its ability to handle vast differences in humidity and temperature better. The main drawback of using urethane is that it does not work as effectively with concrete solely, and this is why it is layered on top of epoxy which works well with cement. Finally, due to being much thinner in comparison to epoxy, it effectiveness when being used as a leveling paint is reduced.
Polyurea
It is a subset of polyurethanes and in cases of customer fitted polyureas, use of polyaspartics is advisable since polyureas dry within five seconds and toughen after five minutes. It bonds better to concrete, long-lasting just like polyurethane and is effectively used for mild leveling.
Appearance
For those who care about aesthetics once done with painting the garage’s floor, there are a couple of different finishes accessible. Epoxy floor paint comes with a range of different colors mostly gray and is the best option to go with due to its wide range of decorative shards available.
Durability
Durability is a big factor when choosing on the correct garage floor paint. Of course, not all garages are the same because some people may simply park their vehicle in the garages whereas some people may work full time in their garage.
Therefore, you will need to base your buying decision upon the type of usage the flooring of your garage gets. If the floor is having heavy impacts from tools falling or fluids being spilled onto it on a regular basis, we highly recommend placing garage floor mats in that particular area. This will help protect the paint from chipping and stains.
Anti-Dust
When the garage floor is new concrete, dust is all over since the concrete creates and attracts dirt. However, garage floor paint acts as anti-dust thus ensuring one does not get into the house with dust.
Conclusion
Improving your garage with floor paint is an easy upgrade that serves a purpose too. We highly recommend choosing an epoxy garage floor paint as they provide the most durable finish that is long lasting with a range of different finishes. However, it is completely dependent upon your requirements and the finish you want to achieve in your garage.
