A 1-day garage floor coating might sound like the perfect weekend upgradeโfast, clean, and convenient. But that kind of speed often comes with a hidden cost. Many 1-day installers skip a critical step called moisture mitigation, a process that protects your garage floor from failure caused by vapor pushing up through the concrete. Skipping it saves time, but it also sets the stage for bubbling, peeling, and delaminationโsometimes within months.
Why Skipping the Primer Is a Big Mistake
The biggest shortcut these fast-turn companies take is applying a quick-curing polyaspartic or polyurea coating directly to bare concrete (to get the job done in one day) without a moisture-mitigating epoxy primer. Polyaspartic-polyurea coatings cure quickly and go down thinly; they simply donโt have time to penetrate the concrete slab and form a strong bond. When moisture vapor pushes upward, it gets trapped beneath the thin, poorly-penetrating base coating and builds pressure. That pressure causes the coating to lift or peel away.
What the Experts and Standards Say
Respected coating manufacturersโincluding Sherwin-Williams (General Polymers), Benjamin Moore (Corotech), Sika, BASF, Euclid Chemical, Tnemec, Stonhard, and Eco-CorFlexโagree on one thing: moisture testing and a 100% solids epoxy vapor barrier primer are essential before applying polyaspartic or polyurea topcoats. Even ArmorPoxy and VersaFlex, who make these coatings, warn that theyโre topcoats onlyโnot primers.
Industry standards support this advice. ASTM International, the American Concrete Institute (ACI), the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI), and AMPP all call for moisture testing, surface preparation, and epoxy-based vapor barriers beneath resinous coatings. ASTM F3010 defines the requirements for moisture control under these systems, and skipping it can void warranties outright.
Why Michigan Floors Are Especially at Risk
Michiganโs climate brings constant changeโfreezing winters, humid summers, and seasonal moisture swings. That movement drives vapor up through the concrete. Most 1-day coatings can only handle about 3โ4 lbs MVER or 75โ80% relative humidity, far below the 5โ10 lbs or 85โ100% RH often found in real garages.
The Garage Floor Coating of Michigan Difference
At Garage Floor Coating of Michigan, weโre a 2-day company because quality takes time. Every slab is moisture-tested, every system starts with a true epoxy vapor barrier like Eco-CorFlex MME, and every warranty includes moisture protection.
A long-lasting garage floor coating doesnโt come from speedโit comes from doing it right the first time.
Donโt Pay the Price for a Fast Job
A fast garage floor coating may look good at first, but skipping the primer guarantees long-term failure. When it comes to protecting your investment, choose expertise over speed.
GarageFloorCoating.com follows industry standards, uses manufacturer-approved systems, and delivers coatings backed by scienceโnot shortcuts. Choose the company that does it right the first time, so your floor looks incredible and stays that way for decades.