Epoxy...epoxy...epoxy. If you want longevity with LOW maintenance you work with epoxy coatings. You pay the piper for this TODAY...so that tomorrow (and all of your tomorrows) are maintenance free (or darn close). If you want staining and damage and lots of maintenance you work with unsealed or acrylic coatings (such as the Brickform 650). And to be clear, the 650 is the VOC content on this SOLVENT based product. There are states in the USA that make this level of VOC illegal for use indoors (California comes to mind).

Here is the MAINTENANCE statement written right on the Brickform website:

http://www.brickform.com/ResourceDownload.aspx?id=4156

BRICKFORM Poly-Seal can be used on interior or

exterior masonry, and concrete-type surfaces. BRICKFORM

Poly-Seal can be used as a base-coat for interior applications

where a compatible, commercial floor wax is planned as part of a maintenance program.

Oooh boy. Wax-on; wax-off grasshopper.

And this is why the maintenance of the lower-end finishes are MUCH greater than the HIGH-END epoxy. The acrylic is the final layer in protection. The wax (that you must apply a few times per year) is the FIRST layer in that protection.

Pay now for epoxy or pay later with wax, wax, wax, wax and then STRIPPING IT and then more wax...repeat until you are sick of the waxing....and decide to get another floor.

If you go with finished concrete, go all the way. Epoxy and be done with it. And yes it is a big price tag. That's the way finished concrete should be. It is a lifestyle choice, not a budget choice. Sorry to say but the acrylic coating is going to require plenty of maintenance....but I'm sure the price is much better than the epoxy.

Clear epoxy is clear. You should be able to see through it. And it should be PROFESSIONAL grade (the $3/sf stuff) and not Home Depot stuff. The preparation for epoxy may be different than for the urethane. If you need epoxy as the finish, it needed to be stipulated BEFORE the work began...not 1/2 way through.

Talk to your concrete flooring specialists who are doing this job. Ask them to talk to you about clear epoxy instead of the acrylic. Tell them you just discovered the maintenance requirements with polished/acrylic and aren't happy with the need for waxing.

Epoxy should have been encouraged at the beginning...but if you stressed BUDGET over maintenance, the professional may have opted to show you the quote for the acrylic....because it fit the budget. But the maintenance seems to be the important part for you. And that makes straight polish/acrylic finishes off the table and epoxy square in the cross hairs.

https://www.concretenetwork.com/products-sealer/epoxy.html

A properly polished concrete floor should need no coatings.

Wonderful finish. I looked into it and it is an EXTENSIVE process to get the Hiperfloor done. I was very impressed with the product/process. This should get you dozens of years without much effort.