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In 2026, most homeowners still call every garage floor coating “epoxy.” It’s the generic term, like calling every tissue a Kleenex.
But epoxy is a product, not a service. And it’s one of three very different products available for your floor.
The differences between those three products determine how long your coating lasts, whether it yellows, and whether it holds up to the real conditions in your garage.
At TORQ Coatings, our founder Crayton believes it’s his obligation to bring transparency to an industry that avoids hard questions.
This article covers the three product types, what separates them, and the questions you should ask any contractor before signing.
The three products: epoxy, polyurea, polyaspartic
Every concrete coating on the market falls into one of these three categories. They look similar when they’re freshly installed. They perform very differently over time.
Epoxy: the original, with real limitations
Epoxy has been around the longest. It comes in two forms: water-based and solvent-based.
Water-based epoxy is what you’ll find in DIY kits at Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Menard’s. It’s affordable, easy to apply, and has 20-40% solids content. It’s designed for the consumer market.
Solvent-based epoxy is the industrial grade version. It’s 100% solids and significantly stronger. This is the epoxy that professional contractors use, and it works well as a base coat.
The key word there is “base coat.” Epoxy, even the good stuff, is not designed to be a top coat.
If a contractor installs epoxy as a top coat, here’s what happens. Open the garage door and look at the first five or six feet of floor. That’s where sunlight hits.
Within a few years, the epoxy in that zone will fade or yellow. Why? Epoxy is not UV-stable. It breaks down under UV light.
Now look at the floor joints. If there’s epoxy in them, it’ll be thick and built up. Epoxy is a heavier, more rigid product. It fills gaps and sits up higher in low spots.
Over time, that rigidity works against it as the concrete moves.
Epoxy is tough. It does well in controlled environments where there’s no sunlight exposure. But in a garage, a basement with windows, or any outdoor space, it has real limitations as a top coat.
Polyurea: flexible where epoxy is rigid
The difference between epoxy and polyurea is straightforward. Epoxy is rigid. Polyurea is flexible.
Concrete slabs move. They expand and contract with temperature changes. They shift slightly as the ground underneath settles.
A rigid product fights that movement. A flexible product moves with it.
That flexibility is why polyurea works better as a base coat than epoxy in many applications. It bonds to the concrete and flexes with the slab instead of cracking against it.
At TORQ Coatings, we use a 94% solids polyurea as our base coat. It provides the adhesion and flexibility that the rest of the system builds on.
Polyaspartic: the top coat that solves epoxy’s problems
Polyaspartic is a member of the polyurea family. Same family, different chemical makeup. And that difference matters a lot.
Polyaspartic is UV-stable. That’s the single biggest differentiator from epoxy.
Your garage floor won’t yellow where the sunlight hits. The front of the garage will look the same as the back, year after year.
Polyaspartic is designed for top coat applications.
It seals in the decorative flake. It resists chemical spills, abrasion, and daily wear. It works in garages, basements, and outdoor spaces.
At TORQ, we install a 93% solids polyaspartic top coat. This is the layer that gives the floor its durability, its chemical resistance, and its long term appearance.
The right system uses polyurea as the base coat and polyaspartic as the top coat. Each product does what it’s designed to do.
Epoxy doesn’t belong in either role in a modern installation.
The white-label warning
Here’s something that most homeowners don’t know: no concrete coating installer in America actually makes their own product. Every installer buys product from a manufacturer.
The honest companies tell you the manufacturer’s name. They’ll tell you the product line, the solids content, and where it’s made.
The less honest companies private-label the product. They buy it at cost from a manufacturer, put their own label on it, and market it as their “exclusive” or “proprietary” formula.
There’s nothing exclusive about it. It’s the same product any installer could buy, repackaged with a different sticker.
Why does this matter?
Because when a company private-labels a product, there’s nothing independent backing it up.
No manufacturer standing behind the product with their own reputation. No third party quality standard. Just a marketing claim.
The questions you need to ask any contractor
Before you hire anyone to coat your floor, ask these questions. The answers will tell you whether you’re working with a contractor who knows their products or one who’s playing marketing games.
“What products are you actually installing?”
Get the manufacturer name, not a brand label the installer made up. If they can’t or won’t tell you the manufacturer, that’s a red flag.
“What are you using as your base coat? What are you using as your top coat?”
These should be different products with different purposes. If they’re using epoxy as a top coat, you know that floor is going to yellow in sunlight within a few years.
“What’s the solids content of your product?”
Higher solids means more material stays on the floor during curing. Professional grade polyurea should be 80-94% solids. Professional grade polyaspartic should be 90-93%+. Anything below 50% is consumer grade.
“Who manufactures your product?”
If the answer is “we make our own” or “it’s our proprietary formula,” ask for specifics. Who actually makes the chemistry? Where is it manufactured? If they can’t answer, the product is private-labeled.
Why “10x stronger” claims don’t mean what you think
Some coating companies advertise their product as “10x stronger than epoxy” or “5x more durable.” These claims sound impressive. They’re usually meaningless.
Strength comparisons depend on what you’re measuring. Tensile strength? Compressive strength? Abrasion resistance? Chemical resistance? Each of those is a different measurement with different results.
At TORQ, we say polyaspartic is 4x stronger than epoxy. That’s a verified claim based on real test data. We don’t inflate the number because inflated numbers can’t be backed up.
When a contractor throws big numbers at you, ask them to show you the test data. Ask what they’re measuring. Ask who did the testing. If they can’t provide specifics, the number is marketing, not science.
Frequently asked questions
Are all garage floor coatings epoxy?
No. Epoxy is one of three product types used in concrete coatings. The other two are polyurea and polyaspartic. Most homeowners use “epoxy” as a general term, but the products are very different in performance, durability, and UV resistance.
What’s the difference between epoxy and polyaspartic?
Epoxy is rigid and not UV-stable. It works as a base coat but yellows when used as a top coat in areas with sunlight. Polyaspartic is a member of the polyurea family, is UV-stable, and is designed specifically for top coat applications. It won’t yellow and handles chemical spills and abrasion better than epoxy.
What’s the difference between polyurea and polyaspartic?
Both are in the same product family. Polyurea is flexible and works well as a base coat that moves with the concrete slab. Polyaspartic has a different chemical makeup that makes it UV-stable and ideal as a top coat. A professional system uses polyurea as the base and polyaspartic as the top.
What does “solids content” mean in floor coatings?
Solids content is the percentage of the product that stays on the floor after curing. The rest evaporates. A 94% solids product leaves 94% of its volume on your floor. A 30% solids product leaves only 30%. Higher solids means a thicker, more durable coating.
Should I worry about private-labeled coating products?
Yes. When a contractor private-labels a product, they buy from a manufacturer and put their own branding on it. There’s no independent manufacturer standing behind the product. Ask for the actual manufacturer name and look them up independently.
Why does epoxy yellow on garage floors?
Epoxy is not UV-stable. When exposed to sunlight, it breaks down and discolors. This is most visible in the first five to six feet of a garage where sunlight enters through the open door. The yellowing typically becomes noticeable within a few years.
What questions should I ask a garage floor coating contractor?
Ask what manufacturer makes their product, what they use as base coat vs top coat, what the solids content is, and whether their product is manufacturer-branded or private-labeled. A transparent contractor will answer all of these clearly.
Is a polyaspartic coating 10x stronger than epoxy?
Be cautious of inflated strength claims. TORQ Coatings says polyaspartic is 4x stronger than epoxy, which is a verified number. “10x stronger” claims typically can’t be backed up with specific test data. Ask any contractor making big strength claims to show you the testing methodology and results.