Epoxy Vs. Polished Concrete: What Are The Differences?

Epoxy Vs. Polished Concrete: What Are The Differences?

Are you scouring the internet for the best concrete coating option for your home or business? Do you need clarification on popular options like epoxy flooring and polished concrete?

In this article, we’ll cover the differences between polished concrete and epoxy flooring and provide our professional recommendation on what’s best for your next home service project.

At Cardinal Concrete Coatings, we offer premium concrete coatings options that are better than epoxy and can last a lifetime. Quality concrete coatings add value to your residential or commercial property and save you money by increasing the safety of your floors and preventing future damage.

What Is The Main Difference Between Epoxy Flooring And Polished Concrete?

The main difference between epoxy flooring and polished concrete is the process for installation.

During the concrete polishing process, grinders level the surface, which brings the natural substrate to view. Polished concrete utilizes the existing surface and can be customized with high gloss finishes and stains for the desired look.

With epoxy flooring installation, the grinders are used to prepare the surface, and then the epoxy is applied on top. Epoxy acts as a sealant atop the surface and can dramatically change the look of the concrete.

What Is Epoxy Flooring?

Epoxy flooring is a two-part concrete coating made of resin and hardener. It has an estimated lifetime of three to five years and is durable, stain resistant, and waterproof. Epoxy flooring is best for garages, basements, commercial warehouses, and other indoor properties.

The key benefits of epoxy flooring are:

  • Durability
  • Stain-resistance
  • Waterproof
  • Cost-effective
  • Low maintenance

Epoxy’s main drawback is that the curing process never ends. Epoxy flooring will continue to harden atop the concrete surface. While this makes the coating durable, it also creates tension over time leading to cracking and chipping. Concrete is naturally porous and expands with temperature and moisture, and with epoxy flooring, this only adds to the risk of damage.

What Is Polished Concrete?

Concrete polishing is achieved by grinding the floor and applying a chemical densifier to the surface to reinforce the exposed concrete. It is typically sealed with a gloss finish to complete this process.

The key benefits of polished concrete are

  • Endless customization
  • Can mimic more expensive flooring options
  • Economical
  • Cost-effective
  • Damage resistant
  • Low maintenance
  • Water-resistant
  • Can last up to ten years

Polished concrete is best for store rooms, hospitals, and other commercial properties because of its easy maintenance and sanitation.

Our Recommendation: Better Than Epoxy Flooring

So, now you know the difference between polished concrete and traditional epoxy flooring. At Cardinal Concrete Coatings, we’ve perfected our epoxy flooring options to include a polyurea base coat with a polyaspartic top coat concrete coating.

This formulation of epoxy flooring is superior because it allows our customers to take advantage of the flexibility of polyurea and the UV stability of polyaspartic coatings, which are both pivotal for Arizona residents.

With the polyurea basecoat, the concrete is reinforced from the inside out. When polyurea is poured, it fills in the gaps in concrete so that when concrete inevitably expands and shifts, it can bend with the movement preventing cracking. This solves traditional epoxy’s issue of curing to maximum hardness.

Our polyurea polyaspartic garage floor coating combo is 4x stronger than epoxy and has 98% more flexibility. It is the best solution to resist heat, moisture, and sun damage, in our Arizona climate. We consistently offer competitive pricing to ensure your flooring solution provides the maximum value.

Why Choose Cardinal Concrete Coating

Arizona home and business owners trust Cardinal Concrete Coatings because we know how to get the job done right. We’re family owned and operated and are committed to providing a quality customer service experience for every project. We service Maricopa County and the surrounding Arizona towns.

We offer pool deck coatings, garage floor coatings, driveway coatings, patio coatings, concrete coatings, commercial coatings, epoxy garage floor coatings, and polished concrete coatings. Contact us today to see how we can serve you.

Get A Free Quote

Are you looking for concrete coating services in Arizona? Do you want the benefits of polished concrete or epoxy coatings at a fair price? Look no further than Cardinal Concrete Coatings. We’re the best concrete coating contractors and will provide customized flooring solutions for your project. Contact us today for a free quote.