While installing coatings around the southern tip of Florida we encounter several questions. One of the most common is how long concrete coatings last. Well, this article will arm you with all the information you will need to make an informed decision about why polyaspartic coatings are hands down the best coating out there.
Simply put, when it comes to concrete coatings there really are only two options; polyaspartic and epoxy. Both of these coatings have drastically different lifetimes. An epoxy coating generally will last between 2-5 years in perfect conditions. A polyaspartic one on the other hand will last over 15 years and never have to be replaced if cared for.
Here at FloorTek, we pride ourselves on being South Florida’s #1 concrete coating company. Having served clients from St. Lucie County all the way down to the tip of Florida we provide industry-leading polyaspartic coatings that are designed to last a lifetime. If you are on the fence about if one of these coatings is the right choice for you then simply reach out to us by clicking here and we will give you an honest answer as to what your project needs.
The Longevity of an Epoxy Coating
An epoxy coating has an expected lifespan of 2-5 years.
Epoxy simply is the worse coating when it comes to durability and longevity. The reason behind this is that an epoxy coating is built using carbon-based resin layers.
Normally carbon-based layers indicate a strong and durable material. Things such as Carbon-Fiber for cars and homes are sold as being one of the most durable things on the market. For most applications, this is the case but when it comes to concrete a resin layer is actually extremely fragile for several reasons.
First, carbon-based layers are susceptible to chemical spills and UV radiation. Unfortunately, because the epoxy layer is built using natural compounds such as carbon when chemicals come into contact with it then the epoxy starts to break down. Further, when sunlight lands on the epoxy layer it starts to fade and ultimately break exposing the concrete below.
This is why our car’s body will start to chip over time. Both our cars and epoxy coatings share the same chemical makeup which makes them vulnerable to chemicals and spills.
The second reason why epoxy coatings only last 2-5 years is because of how epoxy coatings harden. It takes epoxy coatings around 3 days to fully harden after the final layer is installed and once that happens the coating will become one solid layer. This might sound good for concrete but in actuality it is bad.
The reason why you do not want a concrete coating that is fully hardened is that the concrete will actually shift over time. Concrete will compress and stretch over the years to accommodate a shifting base. Now if your coating is fully hardened it is not flexible enough to also adapt to this shifting concrete and thus cracks.
Further, because the epoxy coating is fully hardened it actually cant absorb blows but rather bounces them back. This means that if you accidentally drop a hammer or other semi-heavy object the epoxy coating will attempt to spread the pressure of the dropped item across its surface. This will often result in a crack in the same way that glass would.
Simply put, an epoxy coating is the wrong choice for a garage floor coating and because of this, the coating will only last between 2-5 years before having to be replaced.
The Longevity of a Polyaspartic Coating
A polyaspartic coating will last longer than 15 years. These are the coatings that we have built our business around installing and are so confident in them that we offer a 15-year warranty for every coating we install.
The only reason that our warranty stops at 15 years is that that is how old polyaspartic coatings are. This is a new technology that we have seen never break or need replacing in the field. Simply put, a polyaspartic coating will last you a lifetime.
The reason polyaspartic coatings last so long is because of how they are built. Instead of being based around a carbon layer our polyaspartic coatings are based on a safe synthetic blend. Further, our coatings involve multiple layers while epoxy often only has a handful.
Unlike epoxy coatings which are not resistant to sunlight and chemicals our polyaspartic coatings are. This is because there is no carbon compound that will fade and degrade over time. The polyaspartic coating simply continues to have the same strength and resiliency throughout its lifetime.
Because of this polyaspartic coatings never experience the ‘ambering’ or yellowing that we see in epoxy coatings and chemicals simply wipe off.
However, the main reason why our polyaspartic coatings last longer than an epoxy one is because how our coatings remain flexible and never truly harden. Epoxy coatings will harden and then shatter like a glass window when pressure is applied. Our coatings on the other hand remain flexible and in a state of constant flow.
Because of this, a polyaspartic coating is capable of absorbing the pressure from extremely heavy objects and then spreading this pressure around the coating. The result? A polyaspartic coating will never break and is the coating of choice for everything from home garages to industrial warehouses!
Because of this a polyaspartic coating will last well over 15 years and remain just as beautiful on day 10,000 as it did on day 1.