Epoxy Garage
Floor Kits
Compared

For a parking floor, a 2-part kit with high solids builds the thickest film per coat: Rust-Oleum RockSolid (96% solids) and 100%-solids kits from Gorilla, ArmorPoxy, ArmorGarage, Legacy and Epoxy-Coat leave roughly 6–10 dry mils at their stated coverage. Water-based kits like EpoxyShield are easier to use but dry to about 3 mils per coat. The best kit on a poorly prepped or damp slab still fails.

By the data sheets, RockSolid Polycuramine is a much higher-solids product (96% by volume, versus about 53% for water-based EpoxyShield), so it leaves a thicker film, and it allows vehicles in 24–36 hours versus 3 days. It covers less area per kit (200–250 sq ft per kit on its data sheet) and costs more. EpoxyShield has a longer pot life and is more forgiving to apply.

It depends on the brand. Rust-Oleum's EpoxyShield 2.5-car kit covers up to 500 sq ft, Gorilla's 2.5-car kit 550 sq ft, while RockSolid's data sheet lists 200–250 sq ft per kit. Porous or rough concrete takes more. Buy by square feet, not by the number of cars on the box.

It means none of the liquid evaporates as it cures, so the film you roll on is the film you keep. A 50%-solids coating loses about half its wet thickness as it dries. One gallon of a 100%-solids coating covers 1,604 sq ft at 1 mil, so the same gallon spread over 250 sq ft leaves about 6.4 mils.

Water-based kits like EpoxyShield target 3.0–3.5 dry mils per coat. 100%-solids kits leave roughly 6–10 mils at their stated coverage. Professional flake systems are much thicker; one manufacturer's one-day epoxy flake system is over 50 mils nominal with flake and topcoat.

Every kit requires a clean, profiled, unsealed surface. Most kits include an etch, but etching won't remove a sealer, oil or an old coating, and All Garage Floors calls citric-acid kit etches ineffective compared with stronger acids. If you can rent a diamond grinder with a vacuum, grinding gives a more reliable profile. Always neutralize and rinse any etch.

It ranges from 24–36 hours (RockSolid, Gorilla) to 3 days (EpoxyShield, Quikrete, ArmorClad) and 5–7 days for one-part epoxy paints like Drylok E1 and Behr. Cooler temperatures slow curing.

The usual causes are poor surface profile, moisture coming up through the slab, oil or tire dressing, etch residue, an existing sealer, weak surface concrete (laitance) and soft concrete. Most of these are prep problems, not product problems.

Not for parking floors. One-part epoxy paints dry rather than chemically cure, go on thin and take 5–7 days before tires. They work better on basement, workshop or storage floors. Two-part kits cure harder and allow vehicles sooner.

Some kits claim to, but thin water-based epoxies are the most prone to it, because hot tires soften the film and pull it as they cool. Thicker, harder films and good prep reduce the risk. Tire plasticizers can still stain some coatings.

Kits for about 400–500 sq ft run from about $185 (EpoxyShield 2.5-car) to $430–$700 for 100%-solids kits, at September 2026 retail prices. This Old House puts a DIY 2-car job at $720–$1,800 including supplies.

Many kits are one-coat systems with a light sprinkle of flakes and no topcoat. A clear topcoat locks flakes in, adds thickness and makes the floor easier to clean. Epoxy yellows in sunlight, so polyaspartic or UV-stable clear coats are used where sun reaches the floor.