Spray resin vs epoxy vs spray crete

Spray resin is a flexible acrylic resin built for outside. Epoxy is a rigid two part resin and an amazing product inside, and spray crete is a thin cement overlay that goes on the same surfaces as spray resin. Same concrete, three different materials, and they don’t hold up the same way.

Spray resin, epoxy and spray crete side by side

	Spray resin	Epoxy	Spray crete
What it is	Shieldcoat Step Safe Heavy Duty, a flexible acrylic resin with a P5 anti slip rating	A two part resin mixed on site that cures hard and glossy	A thin, polymer modified cement overlay mixed on site
Where it goes	Driveways, footpaths, patios, pool surrounds and commercial spaces	Garages, workshops and internal floors, where it’s an amazing product	The same surfaces as spray resin
Outside	Built for it: fade proof, flexible, mould resistant and grippy when wet	Needs a UV stable polyaspartic topcoat put on properly or it yellows, and the dry times are hard to work with outdoors	Cracks and discolours over time, and slab cracks show through
For the client	Low upkeep: a fresh clear coat about every six years	A premium price, and it can’t go on every surface spray resin can	The sealer needs touching up often, about every two to three years

When is epoxy the better choice?

Inside. I started in epoxy, and in a garage it does a great job. I still rate it there. On my own jobs I run epoxy inside the garage and spray resin outside, and I stop the epoxy right on the door line. When the door’s down, you see a clean floor on each side. Nobody asks for that detail, but it’s exactly the kind of thing clients notice.

Why spray resin outside?

Slabs move, and the rigid stuff moves with them until it cracks. During our first Sydney class I took the students to one of my past jobs so they could see it for themselves: we walked the joints and saw cuts, and the resin hadn’t cracked.

The point isn’t that one product wins every time. It’s knowing which one to put in front of the client, and being able to explain why. That’s what we teach on the spray resin workshop.

Can you put spray resin over old spray crete?

If it’s sealed or painted and stuck down well, test it with thinners. Sticky means solvent based, so prime with Primer X. Bubbling or lifting means water based, so use Step Safe WB Primer. If it’s peeling or flaking, grind it back and pressure clean first. Cracks get Slab Repair before anything goes on.