Garage floor gets wet in winter. I think 2-part epoxy would make the floor slippery. Would Behr 1 part epoxy paint be better?
Behr 1 part epoxy paint vs 2 part epoxy for cement floor
garage
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Best Answer
TLDR: 1-part epoxy is fake. Use 2-part epoxy if able, and traction modifier additives.
2-part epoxy floor paint is really excellent stuff (if the prep is good).
What is epoxy, really?
First, go down to the hardware store and look at all the varieties of epoxy glue for sale. Every speed you want, a variety of styles. Notice this is all 2-part epoxy. There's a reason for that; if you want the power of epoxy, you have to field-mix it.
Then you get very long-chain molecules, molded in-place, that require a lot of energy to break.
You're welcome to mix some epoxy in a cup, let it cure, grind it into powder and try to glue something together with the powder... but I wouldn't get my hopes up :)
Let's turn the page to epoxy paint. Real 2-part epoxy paint is nasty - the B-part resin contains BPA or other immune system damager, and you MUST not breathe the atomized spray of the resin, so spraying requires a moon suit with supplied air. As such, paint companies offer 2-part epoxy paints to consumers quite reluctantly. They'll do it for garage floor paint because nobody sprays that.
Obviously, you're a consumer, you want a good product and you're buying by name. Paint sellers want something to offer that they can stick the "epoxy" name on. For liability reasons it needs to be a 1-part paint, even though that is patently absurd. They're pretty much taking pre-cured epoxy, grinding it up and saying "those tough epoxy particles are in there" - which misses the entire point of the "long chain molecule" thing.
What is "slippery", really?
Slippery means a surface is smooth and hard. Epoxy is really good at that :)
However, it's easy to manage the "smooth" part with traction modifiers. The half-penny version is "add sand to the mix"; but really you're using particles that are designed to be a good fit to the paint you're using, and that won't impede cleaning too badly. There's a science to it.
As for application, I prefer to sprinkle it on with a salt shaker while the first coat is still wet, then seal it down with the second coat. (that presumes there is a second coat). Or, I mix it into the mixed paint of the final (or only) coat, however then it's vital to keep that mix agitated. A roller tray will have that effect, but if you brush it from a cup, watch it!