My name is Andy, and I own Patriot Epoxy in Charleston, SC. I believe that part of our job here at Patriot Epoxy is to educate our customers to achieve the best results for our customers, not necessarily what is best for our pocket. We also believe that deceiving is lying.
Need a ½ page synopsis of the findings via our AI-generated summary? Click here. Need all the deets? Read below.
If you’ve seen advertisements for floor coatings, I’m sure you’ve seen “4X stronger than epoxy” or even “20X stronger than epoxy”. But is it? In this article, I'll delve into the technical aspects of both materials, using factual data and expert analysis to provide a clear and unbiased comparison.
Materials Used
Let's clarify the materials involved before we delve into the strength comparisons. When someone claims a coating is 4x stronger than epoxy, they're likely referring to either polyurea or polyurea polyaspartic. These materials are often used in garage floor coatings, including the TOPCOATS of our system. However, it's important to note that we never make such exaggerated claims about their strength compared to epoxies.
Parameters of Strength
First, I would like to explain a few concepts before we start. As a graduate of the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, I believe my knowledge is adequate on certain engineering topics; including the ones relevant to this article.
When evaluating the strength of a coating, we typically consider factors like:
Compressive Strength: Measures resistance to crushing.
Tensile Strength: Measures resistance to pulling apart.
Flexural Strength: Measures resistance to bending.
Adhesion Strength: Measures the bond between the coating and the substrate.
Hardness: Measures resistance to scratching or indentation.
With that in mind, let’s get to work...
When a claim is made that polyaspartics or polyureas are 4x stronger than epoxy, how is the strength being measured? It is measured in pounds per square Inch, or simply put, PSI.
“Andy, I’m not an engineer. What does that mean?” I’ll explain.
Simply put, it is a force (pounds) applied over an area (square inches). Here is a simple example: Say you weigh 150 pounds, and you stand on a 12×12 inch square. That means you are applying 150 pounds over 144 square inches; or 1.04 pounds per square inch, roughly 1 PSI. This is why you can lay on a bed of nails, but you can’t step on one. If you are laying on 150 nails, you’d be applying roughly 1 pound of pressure on each nail, versus stepping on one and applying 150 pounds on a single point.
Now that you understand how strength is measured, let’s get to evaluating this claim of “4x stronger than epoxy”.
We'll start by finding some manufacturers’ data sheets. I’ve searched for some of the most popular polyaspartic and 2-component 100% solids epoxy (will explain more below) data sheets. These data sheets are right from the manufacturer’s websites. As you’ll see, some of even the most popular brands don’t list all the information needed for a comparison. If they don’t release that information, how would the applicator even know the information to make such a claim of “4X stronger. Let’s evaluate…
Compressive strength is a limit that “leads to failure in a material in the manner of ductile failure”. In other words, how much an item can be compressed before it breaks. Think of trying to crush a new pencil by pressing from each end of the cylinder.
Compressive Strength | |
Epoxy | Polyaspartic |
Simiron 1100SL: 11,600 psi | Simiron Polyaspartic HS: Not available |
Carboline Dudick Steriflor GP: 12,000 psi | Carboline Dudick Sealer 985: Not available |
MF Performance MF 2600: 10,500 psi | MF Performance MF344: 12,000 psi |
As you can see, some of the most polyaspartics don’t publish a compressive strength value. The ones that do are definitely not 4X that of the epoxies.
Tensile strength is “resistance to lengthwise stress” without tearing apart. Going back to our pencil example, this time it would be grabbing each end and pulling straight out, trying to stretch the pencil's length.
Tensile Strength | |
Epoxy | Polyaspartic |
Simiron 1100SL: 9,600 psi | Simiron Polyaspartic HS: 4,000 psi |
Carboline Dudick Steriflor GP: 7,200 psi | Carboline Dudick Sealer 985: 3,000 psi |
MF Performance MF 2600: 6,500 psi | MF Performance MF344: 3,900 psi |
That’s two categories of strength evaluated and we’ve not found anything indicating polyaspartics as multiples stronger than epoxy. Let’s see what the next strength category says…
Flexural strength is “the material’s ability to resist deformation under load”. In other words, how much can we bend the pencil before it breaks.
Flexural Strength | |
Epoxy | Polyaspartic |
Simiron 1100SL: 12,800 psi | Simiron Polyaspartic HS: Not available |
Carboline Dudick Steriflor GP: 11,500 psi | Carboline Dudick Sealer 985: Not available |
MF Performance MF 2600: 5,500 psi | MF Performance MF344: Not available |
This category is hard to evaluate since no values can be found for polyaspartics. However, no claim can be made on the basis of flexural strength that polyaspartics are stronger.
Adhesion strength is the “measurement of how strong the bond between two materials is”. Since we’re applying these basecoats directly to concrete, that is how they’re being evaluated below.
Adhesion Strength | |
Epoxy | Polyaspartic |
Simiron 1100SL: “>400 psi (100% concrete failure)” | Simiron Polyaspartic HS: Not available |
Carboline Dudick Steriflor GP: “Cohesive failure of concrete” | Carboline Dudick Sealer 985: Not available |
MF Performance MF 2600: “>300 psi @ ASTM D4541 (concrete failure)” | MF Performance MF344: Not available |
Whoa! Concrete failure? How? Failure commonly occurs when that much psi is pulled on from the top of the concrete. The concrete beneath separates from itself, leaving a layer of concrete attached. Don't believe it? We've pulled up epoxy and seen it. The epoxy comes up with a layer of concrete attached and a divot in the existing concrete surface.
All that to say: As long as the weakest link is the concrete and not our coating, the number doesn’t matter.
Hardness
Although not strictly in the “strength” category, one more measurement that could be viewed in the same breadth is hardness, the resistance to scratching or indentation. For this measurement, a needle gauge is pressed firmly against the material and after the needle has penetrated as far as it will go, a corresponding value is given.
Hardness | |
Epoxy | Polyaspartic |
Simiron 1100SL: 75 | Simiron Polyaspartic HS: 70 (@ 24 hrs), 86 (@ 5 days) |
Carboline Dudick Steriflor GP: 85-90 | Carboline Dudick Sealer 985: 45 |
MF Performance MF 2600: 78-80 | MF Performance MF344: 80 |
In general, no distinction can be made here between epoxies and polyaspartics. On average, the epoxies are at least comparable, if not better than their polyaspartic rivals.
Conclusion: Nowhere on the data sheets do we find anywhere that polyaspartics are 2X, 4X, or 20X stronger than epoxies.
Truth in Advertising
Why say 4X stronger than epoxy then? At what point does false advertising kick in?
Well…technically they’re not lying. They’re evaluating an epoxy as a 1-part. An example is Rust-Oleum’s garage flooring products. Directly from their website, you’ll find the following:
Floor Paint + Primer | Epoxyshield | Rocksolid | |
Durability | “Durable protective coating” | “5X more durable than 1-part” | “20X stronger than epoxy” |
The EPOXYSHIELD® data sheet has not published any of the information we evaluated while the ROCKSOLID® only has the hardness category. There’s no mention of compressive, tensile, flexural, or adhesion strength.
The evaluation of “epoxy” is against a 1-part epoxy, which is not the industry standard and is not what 99% of professional floor coating companies would use when coating your floor.
Final Thoughts
Peeling of the coating is generally caused by poor prep. The only appropriate preparation methods are grinding or shot-blasting followed by thorough vacuuming from a high-powered vacuum. Pressure washing, acid etching, and/or using a leaf blower to dust off the surface are not sufficient to achieve proper bonding.
Epoxies do amber over time as exposed to UV rays whereas polyaspartics do not. That said, our flake systems are a full-broadcast and fully cover the epoxy from exposure to UV rays. The flakes are then top-coated with the UV-stable polyaspartic.
In order to provide the best quality and service to you as a customer, our flake systems only use 2-component, 100% solids epoxies with a polyaspartic topcoat.
If you’re convinced, check out our services offered in the Charleston, SC area and let us know what we can do for you!
Sincerely,
Andy - Owner of Patriot Epoxy
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