My garage floor is an oil-stained mess. What can I do to improve it?

You can transform any garage from a mess to a masterpiece by covering the floor with a colored epoxy.  

Epoxy is a rigid plastic material formed from resins and hardeners. When you roll it out over your garage floor, it bonds to it and serves as a heat- and stain-resistant cover to protect the floor and brighten the room. It’s even more effective when topped with a protective urethane seal that can repel oil and gasoline without staining.  

Even hot tire marks clean up easily from epoxy, although battery acid will ruin it.  

You can choose between a shiny, slick surface or a non-slip, traction-resistant one.  
And you can choose from an array of colors. Most popular in Arizona are sandy tans and beiges with brown, white or black color chips mixed in for a speckled look that hides dirt.  

But custom jobs are popular, too; sports fans can have the Sun Devils’ or Wildcats’ logos fashioned on their garage floors.  

The cost of an epoxy-coated garage floors ranges depending on color and size. Custom jobs with sports logos and special-order colors cost more.  

To maintain an epoxy floor, just sweep it. Clean up spills with a wet mop and diluted TSP (trisodium phosphate) or a non-chemical cleaner. Properly maintained, an epoxy-covered garage floor will last for 15 or 20 years, even if you drive and park your car on it.