What is epoxy flooring?

Whether you’re a floor owner or specifier looking to get new epoxy flooring, or an installer just starting their epoxy flooring career, having a firm grasp of the basics is important to help make good decisions right from the beginning.

In this article, I’ll cover just a few of key concepts and terms related to epoxy flooring so that you have a better platform to build upon for further learning. This includes a brief introduction into how it works, what it's used for, and even some of the imperfections that can occur.

Epoxy flooring basics

• Epoxy flooring is available in a wide range of products that cover many forms and functions. They can be low-viscosity sealers and primers, plain-colour floor coatings, clear decorative topcoats, and high-build slurries and screeds. The lower viscosity products like sealers and topcoats are typically applied with a brush and roller, while a trowel is used for the thicker slurries and screeds.
  
  
• Epoxy flooring products can be applied together in different ways to form epoxy flooring systems. These systems have widespread use in all types of flooring applications, from decorative finishes in living rooms and garages, to heavy-duty, non-slip protective flooring in mining workshops. Offices, schools, shops, showrooms, cafes, restaurants, warehouses, storage areas, commercial kitchens, laboratories, food production and chemical processing plants are just some of the other popular uses.
  
  
• Epoxy flooring is primarily solvent-based technology. This means that they mix with and are cleaned up with organic solvents such as MEK, acetone and methylated spirits. There are water-based epoxy flooring formulations, however these aren’t as broadly used as solvent-based technology.
  
  
• Two-pack epoxy flooring consists of a Part A (epoxy resin) and a Part B (amine compounds). When the two components are mixed together, a chemical reaction occurs generating heat (exothermic reaction) and hardening the mixture into an inert plastic (thermoset plastic). It is important that the correct mix ratio – typically given by volume, e.g. 2:1 Part A to Part B – is used for the product to reach optimum performance.
  
  
• The hard, inert films formed through the curing process have several properties that make epoxy flooring suitable for the many flooring applications listed above. At the forefront of these is excellent adhesion to many different types of surfaces, high resistance to most commercial and industrial chemicals, and good all-round durability to resist wear and impact.
  
  
• It is essential when handling or using epoxy flooring products that the safety data sheets (SDS) be read and fully understood beforehand. These documents will inform you of any hazards associated with the product and how to deal with them to ensure your safety and the safety of surrounding people. There are epoxy flooring products on the market that are corrosive, flammable and/or toxic, so it’s essential that the precautions and safe practices documented be strictly observed.
  
  
• Surface preparation is a crucial aspect of any epoxy flooring project and is perhaps the single biggest reason behind premature failure of flooring systems. In short, surfaces need to be structurally sound, free of contaminants (i.e. as clean as possible), and have a suitable surface profile for the type of epoxy flooring being applied.
  
  
• Proper mixing of the two epoxy flooring components (Part A and B) is vital and should be done using an epoxy flooring mixing blade attached to an electric drill. The time required to mix different epoxy flooring products varies, however the aim is to get the mix looking consistent. Extra care should be taken to ensure the “low-mix” regions on the side and bottom are also mixed thoroughly to avoid soft spots in the applied film.
  
  
• With two-pack epoxy flooring, the hotter the conditions, the less time you have to apply them. This is referred to as “pot life” when the product is left sitting in a bucket, or “working time” when the product has been poured out onto the floor. The rule of thumb states that a 10C increase in temperature will approximately half these times, while a 10C decrease will approximately double them.
  
  
• The best time to re-coat epoxy flooring is within the “re-coat window”. A second coat applied within this period will establish a chemical bond to the first coat in addition to a mechanical bond (chemical bonds are much stronger than mechanical bonds). Refer to the technical data sheets for information on the product’s re-coat schedule.
  
  
• Read more detail on how to apply epoxy flooring with our installation guide. 
  
  
• Clean-up of solvent-based epoxy flooring products is most effective using organic solvents such as methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), acetone, methylated spirits etc. If cleaning epoxy from skin, refrain from using organic solvents as they can be harmful. Instead, it is advisable to use hot, soapy water and vigorous scrubbing to remove.
  
  
• Epoxy flooring films will harden in a relatively short time, however complete curing will generally take several days (3-7). Most epoxies will harden sufficiently within 24 hours to return to light service, but may require more time before full properties are realised, i.e. chemical resistance, hardness etc.