Choosing the ideal coating for the garage is often tricky and confusing, given the number of choices. Polycuramine and epoxy are the two most popular choices of all the available ones.
Though both materials provide durability and attractive coating, Polycuramine is more potent than epoxy. The coating is resistant to oil, gas, and salt; it’s easy to maintain as well.
Besides epoxy and polycuramine, there are other coating materials like polyaspartic, polyurea etc. Each of these materials varies in characteristics; nonetheless, they are popular floor coating choices that you might also consider.
However, if you are stuck between polycuramine vs epoxy and want to know one distinct difference between the two, it has to be the durability, which we will discuss in detail along with looking at a few other points in the article below.
What is a Polycuramine coating?
Polycyramine is developed by Rust-Oleum, a famous coating company that creates colorful and durable products for household, industrial and commercial use.
Polycuramine is a mixture of epoxy, polyurea, and urethane, making a strong flooring coat. Though this coating is durable, it’s not as strong as premium epoxy flooring. However, the product is environmentally friendly, easy to work with, and provides a glossy finish.
Since Polycuramine is a new product in the market, not many people know about it, and the product’s long-term performance is yet to be tested. On the flip side, epoxy has been in use for a long time.
What is Epoxy Coating?
Though it’s a popular flooring coating, epoxy is not flooring technically. Instead, epoxy is a protective cover for existing flooring. In other words, you cannot apply epoxy on its own; it’s has to be topped on something, say a layer of concrete.
Epoxy is nothing but a mix of resin and some form of hardener that coats a garage base. This causes the resulting floor to look slightly glossy and attractive.
Some people also choose to add additional color flakes to enhance the look of the coating.
Can I put Polycuramine over epoxy?
The short answer to this is yes. If you have an existing epoxy coated floor, you can recoat it with another material, including polycuramine. Once the epoxy has passed the recoat window, you can apply any coating of your choice, including polycuramine.
However, for the new layer to be of any benefit, you need to degloss and rough the surface with 120 grit sandpaper. This process allows the clear coat to get a chemical bond. If this step is not conducted, the clear coat might peel eventually.
Polycuramine VS Epoxy
| Polycuramine | Epoxy | |
| Color | Colorless | Colorful |
| Curing Time | 10 hours | 7 days |
| Thickness | 9 – 20 mils | 2 – 3 mils |
| Recoating | Possible | Possible |
💁Toxicity
The material safety of your flooring is an important factor that you must consider. You will be spending a considerably long time with the floors, and your kids will grow up playing on them; thus, determining the safety and health factor of each material is crucial.
Thankfully, both polycuramine and epoxy are safe to use. Polycuramine is VOC-free and environment friendly. However, it does contain oil, gas, salt, and other potent chemicals.
Pure epoxy resin, which is before curing, is safe to use at a low level. However, it’s advisable to wear protective gear while handling both materials. Breathing the fumes of both materials can result in respiratory diseases.
💁Lifetime
Of course, if you are looking for a floor coating you will ideally select one that is more long-lasting and give you the desired value for money.
However, for that, you need to first determine the average load the floor will support. This metric will help in the selection of an ideal strong material that will not require constant repairs.
For instance, most epoxy floors have a lifespan of 10 years. However, in high traffic areas, they run out in 2-3 years. But while it lasts, it has very high durability.
Besides, epoxy floors stand strong against mold and mildew problems and are stain-resistant. Overall, epoxy has a compressive strength of 5000 psi.
Polycuramine, on the other hand, is not as strong as epoxy and thus does not have a continued lifespan. Besides, since it’s a new product in the market, its lifespan is yet to be determined.
💁Ease of Application
Polycuramine functions better in terms of application than epoxy. A basic application coat will cover 200 to 250 square feet. However, the application will also depend on the porosity of the concrete below.
Realistically, polycuramine coating should spread over 200 sq ft and not further. It takes about 10 hours to dry, and that’s quite fast. Epoxy, on the other hand, can only take light traffic after 24 hours of application.
However, you have to wait for 7-10 days to drive over it. Besides, the drying time depends on the humidity and temperature outside.
💁Cost
*Cost depends on many factors, such as country and its economic condition, import and export duty, supply and demand. It is always changing and also depends on in which country you live. So, it is may not be the same as mentioned below.
As you might already know, the cost of epoxy floor coating varies to a great extent. In fact, it depends on the type of epoxy coating you select, the flooring size, and whether or not you need contractors to do the work. Mostly the cost is somewhere between $1500- $3000 for both the materials, including labor.
However, sometimes polycuramine is cheaper if you are covering a smaller area like 450 sq ft. This might cost something around $280. But polycuramine requires at least one additional coat, and this might increase the total cost.
Many people choose to apply polycuramine themselves, thereby saving labor and prep costs. Overall, it can be noted that polycuramine is a lot cheaper than epoxy while providing the same amount of durability.
Which One is Better for the Garage Floor?
Polycuramine is a new addition to the variety of floor coating; naturally, people are very excited to try it. However, when choosing a floor coating, especially for the garage, the primary factor is reliability.
Generally, homeowners need to apply the coating once or maximum twice during their stay on the property, but if they have to work on the coating more times than that, there might be something seriously amiss.
Additionally, since polycuramine is new in the market, it’s yet to be tested how long it will hold up to foot traffic.
Nonetheless, both of the floorings have been a source of constant confusion for homeowners. Even though polycuramine is new in the market, its durability and ease of maintenance are as straightforward as that of epoxy.
Those who have used polycuramine opine that it’s more durable and resistant to chemicals and stains as compared to epoxy. Thus for commercial use in a heavy traffic area like a garage, polycuramine can be a better choice.
Of course, epoxy too has numerous advantages, from durability to ease of maintenance. Thus to sum it up, both the floorings have their advantages, and it’s up to the user to determine which one to opt for.
Here’s a video from Danny, who has been using Polycuramine coating for 3.5 years, I found this video really useful while looking for people’s experience of polycuramine coating beside mine.
You May Also Find Useful: Does Epoxy Garage Add Value? | Why Epoxy Garage Floor?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Is RockSolid better than epoxy?
According to RockSolid, their polycuramine garage coating is 20 times stronger than epoxy. The manufacturer also says that their product contains 96% solid content. RockSolid is non-porous; thus, no chemical can penetrate it. The product is also highly glossy and takes only a day to install.
2. Is RockSolid better than epoxy shield?
Though both are equally good available at competitive prices, users opine that RockSolid is twenty times stronger than an epoxy shield.
3. What floor is better than epoxy?
Polyurea floorings are better than epoxy ones in terms of durability and flexibility. Owing to its flexibility, polyurea flooring can move along with concrete during any major temperature change.
However, the durability that a polyurea floor offers comes at a cost. Polyurea flooring is more expensive than epoxy coating.
4. Can you recoat RockSolid?
Yes. It’s possible to apply a second coat of RockSolid after 8-12 hours of the first coat and before seven days. However, the first coat surface should not be sanded for adhesion.
Summary
In this article, we have covered all that you need to know about polycuramine vs epoxy coating to make an informed choice. We hope after reading this article, you can decide which of the two will suit your requirement.
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