If I may also join the topic again....
Being the RaceDeck dealer in So. Calif., we have not only been selling hundreds of thousands of sq. ft. of RaceDeck flooring, but we have also installed tens of thousands of sq. ft. for customers. We finally disolved the installation portion of the business because the tiles are so easy to install, and most customers end up installing it themselves.
As far as fluids getting underneath:
I owned and operated a floor coating/covering business for many years, so here is a little explanation about why most epoxy coatings fail...
Moisture is the biggest enemy of epoxy coatings, whether from above the surface or below it. Hydrostatic moisture vapor comes up from below the concrete foundation and must escape, and when it cannot breath, it pushes the coating off the floor. When coatings become worn, damaged and aged, openings and penetrations into the coating occur and moisture can penetrate underneath the surface and cause a delamination of the coating. Think of the epoxy surface after a year or two having "rock chips" in it much like the front of your car. Even cracks or control joints can be a point of moisture entry. As small as they may be, they do allow moisture under it, especially if someone likes to wash down their garage with a hose to clean it. (We would void a customers warranty if they hosed down the epoxy floor frequently with water.)
So, why is RaceDeck designed to allow moisture underneath it? Although the joints are very tight, it can allow some liquids to get underneath if the spill is large enough, but unlike epoxy floors which may fail and delaminate when liquids get into penetrations, RaceDeck has channels and an air-gap underneath it which allows those liquids to evaporate. Remember, this is a free-floating floor that does not use adhesives. RaceDeck was specifically designed as a cure to the short-comings of epoxy coatings....it is easy to install, it cannot fail due to moisture, and it can be put over virtually any solid surface without any floor prep other than sweeping.
Before I started reselling RaceDeck in So. Calif., I re-built my own car on top of a floor in my garage on jack-stands over a period of a year. I had to drain every fluid from the car, so I spilled alot of coolant, and
oil. Once the car was finished, I removed the floor to see how much liquid had gotten underneath it, and what little was left was cleaned up with 2 paper towels.
One other word about floor prep for coatings:
Many products advise you to use muratic acid as a means of floor cleaning and etching. This should be a red-flag to anyone wanting to put down any type of coating because it creates a very high PH balance in the concrete, and unless the person is very diligent about neutralizing that PH balance, the coating will not adhere. Pressure washing is NOT a means of neutralizing or preparing a floor. If you can imagine that one gallon of muratic acid is used to treat for a neutral PH condition in a 30,000 gallon swimming pool, just imagine what 2 or 3 gallons of acid will do to 400 sq. ft. of concrete!!! Shot blasting or diamond grinding are the preferred methods of floor prep, and they are also quite expensive to do.
Also beware of products that state that their epoxy products can be thinned or cleaned up with water. When was the last time that your water-based house paint withstood solvents or brake fluids? Only solvent based epoxy products will withstand harsh chemicals....almost as well as RaceDeck can!
As it has been mentioned by other here, you will always get what you pay for in the long run. You can for for it once, or you can pay for it twice....and the second time is always more expensive.
Although we are the RaceDeck dealer for So. Calif., I would advise anyone interested in more information and a free DVD to contact RaceDeck directly at 800-457-0174, and they can direct you to a dealer in your area.