Epoxy vs garage floor paint — they are not the same thing
Hardware stores sell 'epoxy garage floor paint' for the price of dinner. Real resin systems cost more. The difference isn't branding — it's chemistry, thickness and prep. Here's what each actually is.
What floor paint is
Most 'garage floor paint' is latex or 1-part 'epoxy-fortified' paint: a thin decorative film, a fraction of a millimeter thick, applied over lightly cleaned concrete. It looks fine for months — then tires, chemicals and moisture do what they do to paint.
What a resin system is
A 2-part, 100%-solids epoxy chemically cures into a thick, bonded solid — building real thickness over diamond-ground concrete, then armored with a UV-stable polyaspartic top coat. It's a floor, not a paint job.
The cost-per-year truth
Paint: cheap today, repainted every 1–2 years, looks tired between coats. A professional system: more upfront, then decades of showroom floor with a written warranty. If you plan to stay in the home, the math isn't close.