1 Part Epoxy Floor Paint Vs 2 Part Epoxy Floor Coatings

I’m Sean Scott, Managing Director of Vuba Building Products Limited. Welcome to my weekly blog post!

Epoxy floor paints are a misunderstood area of the floor paint world, with many looking to take advantage of the good name of ‘epoxy’ when it comes to flooring durability.

Single component epoxy floor paints are typically a latex acrylic floor paint with a small addition of epoxy, which air dries like a traditional paint. A two part epoxy floor coating is a two component kit which cures by an exothermic reaction when both parts are mixed together.

The reactive curing process of epoxy floor coatings creates a cross-linking of the chemical components; resulting in a very hard and durable surface which is resistant to staining, abrasion and chemical attack. And even with two component epoxy floor coatings, there are differences to notice. 100% solids, water based or solvent based – commonly used terminology but what do they mean?

The terms themselves simply refer to the carrying agent involved, be it water, solvent or if it is 100% epoxy. How much carrier agent is shown by the solids content usually express in % format. A 100% epoxy product means exactly that – 100% of the product is epoxy. Water based paints will usually have a solids content somewhere around 50%, and higher for solvent based.

The amount of solids means the amount of paint left on the floor after the product has cured. A paint with high amounts of carrier agent will usually apply more easily, but the final result will be a thinner film thickness per coat. Here’s a guide for coverage rates of the different types of epoxy floor coatings:

Solvent based – 7.5m2 per kg
Water based – 8m2 per kg

Epoxy floor coatings with a carrier agent will generally apply at 100 microns per coat.

100% solids – 4.5m2 per kg

A 100% solids epoxy coating, or ‘high build coating’, will typically be applied at 200 microns per coat.

Which is the right product for you? The most important factor is to not be fooled into thinking that a single component ‘epoxy floor paint’ will demonstrate the same performance capabilities of a two component epoxy floor coating. And if you do decide for the two component epoxy, then you should consider the following as a general guide:

Solvent based – large scale, quick applications in a medium duty environment.
Water based – works well as a penetrating first coat and in low to medium duty areas, or in live working areas.
100% solids – for industrial flooring required excellent abrasion and chemical resistance.

Is it all worth it when it comes to epoxy floor coatings? The answer is yes. I will take a look at the life cycle of epoxy floor coatings in another blog post, but here’s an example of a customer we supplied almost 5 years ago. The floor has vehicle traffic every day and the floor still looks great. The company is called Rykar and they upload photos most days on their social media of new cars on the Vuba epoxy floor coating! Check them out! And check out our range of epoxy floor coatings now!

Happy shopping! We have an incredible technical department with over 100 years of hands on experience in applying epoxy floor coatings. If you have any requirement for epoxy floor paint, call us on 01482 778897 and we will put you on the right track to a fantastic epoxy floor!

If you have any more questions or ideas for my next weekly blog post, please email me at sean.scott@vubagroup.com.

Thank you for reading, happy flooring!

Sean