DIY Epoxy Resin

Colored Epoxies Flooring Review: 100% Solids System Explained

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The current Colored Epoxies product is a two-component, 100%-solids modified cycloaliphatic epoxy coating system for prepared concrete floors. It is not a craft, casting, or tabletop resin. The current system is offered in white and other solid colors, including a three-gallon kit that closely matches the historical page’s 10025 white three-gallon configuration.

This is a research-based review. We have not purchased or installed the product. The evaluation uses the current product page, technical data sheet, application guide, architectural specification, and safety-document library.

Quick Verdict

Colored Epoxies has unusually extensive first-party documentation for a direct-to-consumer floor coating. The current system specifies a 2A:1B volume ratio, mechanical concrete profiling, a 30-minute pot life, a critical 7-10 hour recoat period, and a 2-4 day full cure. That is useful information for deciding whether the installation can be controlled properly.

The main reservation is not a missing spec but inconsistency among current manufacturer materials. Published coverage rates and some work/cure wording do not align cleanly across the product page, TDS, and older application guide. Buyers should calculate from the exact coat build and obtain written confirmation from Colored Epoxies for a specific project rather than planning from one headline coverage number.

Product Identity: Historical 10025 vs the Current System

The old page identified Colored Epoxies 10025 White Epoxy Resin Coating in a three-gallon configuration. The current Colored Epoxies store still offers a white three-gallon 100%-solids kit, and its present TDS documents the same product class, color family, 2:1 ratio, and three-gallon split of two gallons Part A plus one gallon Part B.

The live store now uses configuration-based SKUs rather than displaying 10025 for the selected product. The manufacturer does not state that today’s formula is unchanged from historical SKU 10025. This review therefore treats the current white three-gallon system as the closest first-party continuation of the evidenced product intent, while using only current documentation for specifications.

Current Specifications

Specification Current manufacturer documentation
Product class Two-component, modified cycloaliphatic, 100%-solids concrete floor coating
Mix ratio 2 parts A to 1 part B by volume
Current sizes 3 quart, 1.5 gallon, 3 gallon, and 15 gallon
Three-gallon component split 2 gal Part A + 1 gal Part B
Current solid colors 12 options, including white and black
Pot life 30 minutes in the TDS
Work time after spreading TDS says 2.5 hours; its mixing section says 20+ minutes under optimal conditions
Critical recoat 7-10 hours, temperature dependent
Walking cure milestone 7-10 hours in the TDS
Full cure 2-4 days in the TDS
Application temperature 50-90 F
Standard application 100-200 sq ft/gal in the TDS
System build TDS describes 1/8-1/2 inch systems and medium traffic as thin as 12 mil; architectural guide specifies 20-128 mil

The differing work-time statements likely describe material in different conditions - in a container versus spread on the floor - but the documents do not reconcile them clearly. Use the shorter practical window for crew and batch planning unless the manufacturer confirms otherwise.

Coverage Needs Direct Confirmation

Three current or manufacturer-hosted documents give different planning figures:

Those numbers cannot be treated as interchangeable because coat count, substrate absorption, and target film build affect coverage. The live product-page number is the most conservative for its named two-coat consumer system. For purchasing, use the exact system specification, substrate condition, and project calculator, then confirm the planned gallons and wet-film build with Colored Epoxies.

Concrete Preparation Is the Real Project

The TDS requires concrete to be dry, clean, profiled, and sound. It calls for mechanical preparation to roughly Concrete Surface Profile 2 and lists diamond grinding, shot blasting, and scarifying as acceptable methods. Cracks, spalls, and other defects need repair and the cured patches need to be ground flush.

That requirement is more consequential than whether the epoxy is advertised as self-priming. “Primer plus finish” does not mean intact glossy concrete, oil-contaminated slabs, weak laitance, or an unknown old coating can simply be rolled over.

The TDS also recommends an on-site sample on the prepared substrate. An existing coating needs a test for adhesion, contamination, and delamination risk before the entire floor is covered.

Moisture Requirements

The TDS explicitly requires dry concrete with no wet areas. The application guide calls its first coat a moisture-vapor-barrier and primer coat, but that wording should not be interpreted as permission to coat a damp slab or ignore hydrostatic moisture.

The accessible documents do not provide a simple universal slab-moisture test limit for every installation. A below-grade slab, visible moisture, prior coating failure, or known vapor drive warrants manufacturer guidance and an appropriate test before material is ordered.

Mixing and Application Window

The TDS instructs users to premix Part A for 30-45 seconds, add Part B, and mix another 60-90 seconds with a low-speed drill mixer not exceeding 300 rpm. The mixed 2:1 material should be poured onto the floor immediately because leaving it in the container shortens usable life.

That is standard reactive-coating logic: the same mixed mass holds more heat in a pail than when distributed across a slab. A 30-minute stated pot life does not justify mixing an area that the crew cannot place, spread, cut in, and back-roll in time.

The application guide describes a multi-person workflow with staged 1.5-gallon batches. A first-time installer should account for the time needed to maintain a wet edge and should not assume the system is beginner-proof merely because the components are pre-proportioned.

Layer and Topcoat Relationships

Colored Epoxies markets the 100%-solids epoxy as self-priming on properly prepared concrete and as the colored body of a floor system. Decorative flakes or metallic effects change the system design and material quantities. A clear or UV-stable wear layer may be a separate product rather than another coat of the colored epoxy.

That distinction is important when comparing this page with BallistiX Single Shot, which is a thin protective treatment rather than a high-build epoxy body coat, or with EPODEX flooring epoxy, which has its own layer plan and instructions.

Strengths

Detailed Preparation Requirements

The current TDS names a concrete profile, accepted mechanical methods, repair expectations, sample testing, and a narrow mix procedure. That makes the system easier to evaluate responsibly.

Current Solid-Color and Kit Options

The store lists four kit sizes and twelve solid colors. A white three-gallon option remains available, preserving the core identity behind the historical article.

Commercial-System Documentation

An architectural specification and separate problem-solving material support more demanding projects. The documents position the product for garages, shops, manufacturing areas, showrooms, schools, and other prepared concrete spaces rather than for resin crafts.

Limitations

Conflicting Coverage and Timing Language

The product page, TDS, and application guide do not yield one unambiguous planning rate. Work-time wording also varies inside the TDS. This is a material pre-purchase question, not a minor editorial detail.

Preparation Equipment and Skill

Mechanical profiling, dust control, repair, batch coordination, and recoat timing make this a floor-installation system. It is more demanding than a small consumer coating kit.

Gloss and Slip Need Project-Specific Decisions

The base system is described as high gloss. Glossy resin can be slippery depending on contamination and service conditions. Slip resistance, aggregate, flakes, and topcoat should be designed for the use rather than inferred from a generic floor claim.

No Universal Substrate Approval

The reviewed TDS centers on concrete. Plywood or an existing coating should not be assumed suitable from marketplace copy; compatibility and movement need direct confirmation.

Who It Fits

Colored Epoxies is a plausible fit for an owner or installer who:

Choose a different approach or involve a coatings professional when the slab is damp, contaminated, moving, badly spalled, already failing under another coating, or cannot be mechanically prepared.

Safety and Documentation

Review the current Part A and Part B SDS from the manufacturer’s SDS/TDS library before work begins. Select gloves, eye protection, clothing, ventilation, and respiratory controls from those documents and the actual preparation method.

The live page’s “zero VOC” and low-odor marketing do not mean uncured components are harmless. Concrete grinding also creates a separate dust-control problem that is not answered by the epoxy’s VOC content.

Final Assessment

The current Colored Epoxies system is a serious 100%-solids floor coating with a well-supported 2:1 ratio, mechanical-preparation standard, and defined cure/recoat milestones. The historical white three-gallon product has a credible current counterpart even though SKU 10025 is no longer displayed.

The system’s main weakness for a remote buyer is conflicting coverage and work-time language across current manufacturer materials. Treat the published documents as a starting point, obtain a project-specific material plan, and judge the product on slab preparation and system design rather than on generic durability claims.

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