Flake, Mica & Powders

The color on a resinous floor comes from one of three places. Flake broadcast into a wet base coat, metallic mica suspended in a clear or tinted resin, or pigment mixed into the coating itself. Each one builds a different looking floor and each one has a different failure mode.

Flake is the most common and the most forgiving. Flake is broadcast by hand into the wet base coat, then the excess is scraped and vacuumed, and a clear topcoat locks it down. The real decision is how much you throw. A full broadcast means flake to refusal, where you keep throwing until the base coat will not take any more and the floor is completely covered. A partial broadcast leaves the base color showing between the chips. Full broadcast hides the slab and any base coat inconsistency completely, gives more texture underfoot, and takes considerably more flake. Partial broadcast uses less material and shows the base color as part of the design, but it also shows every roller mark and every variation in the base coat, so the base has to be right.

The technique matters as much as the quantity. Throw flake up and let it fall flat rather than throwing it at the floor, which makes chips land on edge and stand up. Work back toward your exit, keep a wet edge, and do not walk into a broadcast section without spiked shoes. After cure, scrape and vacuum the floor thoroughly before topcoating, because loose flake left standing will telegraph through the clear.

Metallic mica is a different animal. The pigment is suspended in a low viscosity clear resin and then moved around, and the movement is what makes the pattern. It is the least repeatable finish in the category, so sample it, and never let a customer choose a metallic floor off a photograph without a physical sample they have seen in person.

Pigments and dyes cover the third path. A pigment pack tints the resin itself, which gives a solid color body coat. A dye carried in acetone stains the concrete rather than sitting on it, which is a different look and a different process. Mixing matters more than people expect. Under-mixed pigment leaves streaks that only show up after the coat has flowed out, at which point the fix is another coat. Order color together, too. Flake, pigment and mica all vary by production batch, so buying the whole floor in one order, from one batch, is how you avoid a visible seam down the middle of a bay.