Decorative finishes that don’t look like every other showroom.
Metallic pours, flake systems, custom color matches. For homeowners and businesses who care more about the finish than the price – and want a floor that’s still beautiful in year ten.
Free design consultation.
We bring physical samples to your walkthrough. Hold the finishes in your actual light.
Metallic vs. flake – what’s the actual difference?
The two most-requested decorative systems in San Diego look nothing alike, but they share a foundation: diamond-ground concrete + polyaspartic chemistry. From there, the artistic layer diverges.
Metallic pours use metallic pigment suspended in clear resin. As the resin self-levels, the pigment moves with it – creating organic flow patterns that look like polished stone, copper veins, or liquid color. Every floor is one-of-a-kind. Better for: finished basements, statement showroom floors, designer interiors. Trade-off: every install reveals slightly differently. We work with you to dial in the look during sample.
Flake systems broadcast decorative chip into a wet base coat. The chips fully carpet the surface and add visible texture and slip resistance. We offer dozens of pre-blended flake colors (gray + black for graphite, tan + brown for driftwood, etc.) and can hand-blend custom colors. Better for: garages, mudrooms, patios, pool decks, and any space where you want a finished look that hides daily wear.
Both systems install in 1-2 workdays. Both carry the lifetime workmanship warranty. The decorative layer is the visual; the system underneath it is what makes it last.
The spaces that earn the upgrade.
Showroom garages
The car-enthusiast garage. The detached carriage house. Metallic copper or bronze, sometimes with a custom logo center. The garage becomes part of the property tour.
Finished basements
Where epoxy meets interior design. Soft warm metallic, subtle flake patterns, or custom-color solids. Pet-safe, moisture-tolerant, easier to maintain than wood or carpet.
Retail showrooms
Auto dealerships, design studios, high-end retail entryways. The floor sets the brand tone before a single product is seen. Brand-color match available.
Decorative is still a system.
The artistic layer sits on the same prep standard as every other floor.
Design consult
Physical samples, color match, lighting walk-through. We dial in the look before the slab is touched.
Fixed quote
One number, in writing, in 24 hours. Includes design, prep, install, warranty.
Diamond-grind prep
Slab ground to bare concrete. The artistic finish is only as good as the prep under it.
1-2 day install
Metallic pours sometimes need a second day for the topcoat. We tell you upfront, never on the day-of.
Premium pricing, honest numbers.
Decorative finishes run 30-50% above standard garage epoxy. The materials cost more, the application takes more time, and the design consult adds hours upfront.
What’s always included: design consultation, custom samples, prep, materials, install, warranty. Nothing gets added later.
Get my fixed quoteThe standard behind every San Diego floor
Diamond-ground prep
Every San Diego slab is mechanically diamond-ground, not acid-etched, so the coating actually bonds and stays down.
Most garages in a day
A standard garage is prepped, coated, and topcoated in one day. Back to parking without a week of downtime.
Bonded and insured
Fully bonded with liability coverage. Ask for the certificate before any crew starts.
The Lodestone Coat Standard
A written commitment on adhesion and finish. If a covered issue shows up, we come back and make it right.
Decorative epoxy, answered.
Related coatings.
Decorative floors San Diego actually wants.
San Diego’s mild coast is easy on people but still works on concrete. Steady UV and marine-layer moisture slowly degrade bare and painted slabs, and many County garages and patios carry years of embedded oil. The climate is forgiving enough that prep, not weather, is usually what decides whether a coating lasts here. From coastal homes to inland County neighborhoods, the slabs we coat are often older and well-used, so grinding out oil and opening the concrete is what makes the finish bond for the long run.
Metallic, flake, and custom-color floors should look like a designed space, not a garage kit. In San Diego we install UV-stable decorative systems that keep their color and finish through mild coastal climate, steady UV, and marine-layer moisture, from San Diego County homes to showrooms.
We install decorative epoxy across San Diego and San Diego County, prepped for mild coastal climate, steady UV, and marine-layer moisture.
Will a metallic or decorative floor fade in San Diego?
Not with our UV-stable decorative systems — they’re built to hold color and clarity through San Diego’s mild coastal climate, steady UV, and marine-layer moisture, indoors or in light-exposed spaces.
What decorative finishes work best in San Diego?
We tailor flake blends and metallic finishes to your San Diego space and lighting — popular across San Diego County for garages, entries, and showrooms.
How much does a decorative or metallic epoxy floor cost in San Diego?
In San Diego, a decorative or metallic epoxy floor typically costs $9 to $16.5 per square foot installed. The figure covers surface preparation, the coating system itself, and labor. What moves a quote inside that range is slab condition, how much grinding and crack repair the floor needs before anything is applied, the finish you choose, and access to the space.
How we specify a floor in San Diego
San Diego’s mild coast is easy on people but still works on concrete. Steady UV and marine-layer moisture slowly degrade bare and painted slabs, and many County garages and patios carry years of embedded oil. The climate is forgiving enough that prep, not weather, is usually what decides whether a coating lasts here. From coastal homes to inland County neighborhoods, the slabs we coat are often older and well-used, so grinding out oil and opening the concrete is what makes the finish bond for the long run.
Every slab is tested before we quote a system. Moisture drives more coating failures than any other single factor, so we measure it rather than guess: a calcium chloride test to ASTM F1869 for moisture vapor emission, or in-slab relative humidity probes to ASTM F2170 where the slab is newer or below grade. If the readings come back high, the floor gets a moisture-mitigating primer before the build coats, not a thicker topcoat.
Preparation is mechanical, never acid etching. Diamond grinding opens the slab to an ICRI CSP-2 to CSP-3 surface profile, which is the texture a coating needs to key into concrete properly. Cracks and joints are chased out and filled before the first coat. Slab flatness and finish are assessed against ACI 302.1R guidance so we can tell you up front what the floor will and will not hide.
Systems are quoted by total mil build, not by coat count, because that is what determines how long a floor lasts. A flake system for a working garage is typically specified in the 20 to 30 mil range; a thin roll-on kit is often 8 to 12 mils, which is why it wears through at the tire tracks first. Polyaspartic topcoats cure fast and hold a wider application window than epoxy, they stay UV-stable rather than ambering in daylight, and their short pot life and recoat window are exactly why they are a crew-and-equipment job rather than a weekend project.
Bring physical samples to your walkthrough.
Free design consult. Custom color match included. Fixed quote in 24 hours.