Polyurea and polyaspartic coatings for concrete floors are excellent flooring solutions for busy homes and commercial spaces. These convenient epoxy floor coatings instantly transform a space, delivering a sleek, neat, and seamless finish while remaining high performance, easy to maintain, and safe.
In addition, these floors are easy to install with incredibly quick curing times, making it easy for homeowners and businesses to spare the time needed for the installation process.
So, what’s the difference between polyurea and polyaspartic floor coatings? Are they the same floor coating system, or can you choose to install one over the other?
Keep reading to learn more about these floor coating products, their differences, and what makes both so popular with homeowners and businesses today.
What Are Polyurea Floor Coatings?
Polyurea coatings for concrete and other floor surfaces consist of an elastomer substance derived from a process known as step-growth polymerization. This chemical process involves combining isocyanate with a synthetic resin to produce polyurea.
Polyurea is sturdy, robust, flexible, and flame-retardant. This material is ideal for sealing floor surfaces exposed to high foot and car traffic, heavy weight, heat, chemicals, and moisture, as it is resistant to these elements. This flooring solution is also convenient to install, offering same-day installation times on most projects.
Polyurea floor coatings differ from polyaspartic coatings in that they are not aliphatic. This means they are not resistant to UV light and turn yellow when exposed to sunlight in the long term. However, these floors are still preferable to traditional epoxy flooring, as they have a higher resistance to abrasion, chemical exposure, moisture, and other daily pressures.
What Are Polyaspartic Floor Coatings?
Much like polyurea floor coatings, polyaspartic coatings are formed when a partially blocked amine reacts slowly with isocyanate reactants during step polymerization. This modified chemical reaction produces a different form of polyurea that’s stronger, more durable, and longer-lasting, delivering four times the flexibility and strength of a traditional epoxy floor.
A polyaspartic topcoat applied onto a polyurea base makes the floor resistant to chipping, flaking, delamination, and peeling. This topcoat is also aliphatic, meaning it is UV-resistant and – unlike polyurea and epoxy alone – won’t yellow or fade when exposed to sunlight.
Polyaspartic flooring comes with enhanced stain and moisture resistance, anti-slip protection, and anti-microbial properties that make them easy to clean and maintain. They take a maximum of 24 hours to install and cure compared to traditional epoxy, which takes 6-7 days.
In short, a polyaspartic floor coating is a type of polyurea modified to overcome the challenges that polyurea floor coatings face. These chemical modifications give polyaspartic an extended shelf life, which results in improved adhesion, faster installation, and higher UV resistance.
When Should You Choose Polyurea Over Polyaspartic Floor Coatings?
Polyurea and polyaspartic floor coatings have myriad applications. They both offer advantages over traditional epoxy flooring, including:
- A faster cure time (24 hours compared to 6-7 days)
- Color customization
- Fade- and stain-resistant
- Higher durability
- Higher flexibility which means fewer cracks and chips
- Low odor and volatile organic compounds (VOC) content
- Non-porous and waterproof performance
However, traditional epoxy flooring is more resistant to chemicals such as brake fluid and battery acid, making it a better option for commercial garages exposed to corrosive substances regularly.
When you go the extra mile and install polyaspartic flooring, you can expect to pay more but get the added benefit of:
- UV-Resistance: Polyaspartic floors trump both polyurea-only and epoxy-only floors with enhanced UV resistance, making them suitable for outdoor areas like pool decks and patios.
- Any Weather Installation: Epoxy floors are applied in temperatures over 55°F; polyurea and polyaspartic floors can be applied in 30°F temperatures.
Faster Installation: This flooring option takes 24 hours to cure compared to the 6 to 7 days required for traditional epoxy floor installations
Schedule a Free Quote for Polyurea and Polyaspartic coatings Installation with the Experts!
In today’s construction industry, property owners can choose from a wide variety of flooring finishes. However, polyurea floor coatings are gaining popularity because of their high functionality, durability, and convenience.
At TAGG Concrete Coatings, our team of skilled and experienced flooring experts has installed thousands of polyurea polyaspartic floors in residential and commercial spaces. We’ve helped residents revitalize their garages, basements, patios, and pool decks, and businesses spruce up commercial kitchens, car showrooms, commercial garages, warehouses, and more. We proudly serve residents in and around Wake County, NC, delivering beautiful, functional, and showroom-ready polyurea and polyaspartic coatings.
Contact us online or call (919) 439-8879 today to schedule a free quote. Our flooring experts will give you the advice you need to decide whether our polyurea or polyaspartic flooring solutions are suitable for you.
