Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I remember there being topic on the old board about concrete floor coatings. Who has used what, with good results? I am doing a semi-makeover on my garage and its down to the floors. I know if I don't do anything now with them while most of the stuff is moved out I won't ever do it. I am not looking to spend a ton of money on it, but what ever I do I would like it to last for a while. There will be very minimum car traffic on them. I am mainly looking for something that eases cleanup of dirt/dust and the usual oil, car/bike chemical spill.

I know like any other paint project that prep is going to be the key. I also know that at times moisture does show up on the floors in certain weather. I am not positive if it comes from the underneath up or if it was caused by condensation forming due to temperature changes and lack of insulation(which it is now insulated). Are there any concrete "sealers" that will give decebt clean up or am I looking at epoxycoatings. If I could get some for around 50 cents a sq/ft I wouldn't mind tiling it, but I don't really want that much of a cost right now for what tile is. Concrete sealer looks like it it is cheaper then epoxy coatings, and would probably be easier to re-apply if needed. Any thoughts?

I did my floors with rust o lem epoxy. Alot of prep, sanding, acid wash, waiting a week to drive on it, etc. It looked good at first
but soon started to lift form the hot tires. The bike side of the garage lasted longer as I waited to bring them in after riding. Concrete floors cannot be painted and expected to last. You might want to use a clear sealer so that when the coating does wear out it isn't as unsightly and will still protect the floor from staining.

At our work the floors are done Using "Stone hard" and that coating is very very tough

Good old gray floor enamel works good. I've had it in my shop a long time. It needs repainting now, but its been down for years. Doesn't chip or peel, fairly cheap, easy to sweep, and you can touch it up anytime. I just did a 200 sf addition, and that's what I'll paint it with.

John

I gave my 2 cents in the post on the old forum..

A quality (you get what you pay for, so a quality product is not cheap) commercial 2 part floor epoxy on a properly prepped base will give you a LOOOOONG service life in a residential situation.

The one part homeowner quality "Floor Paint" (rustoleum or whatever) is a waste of your life as it WILL FAIL in short order regardless of how well you prep. You might as well just use latex wall paint.

You'll read many opinions on this, but in my experience, MECHANICAL ABRASION of the substrate gives the best and longest lasting adhesion. Some guys say, just give the concrete a Muratic Acid bath, rinse until the PH is neutral, dry it out and paint. I believe scarifying or grinding gives the surface much better "teeth". Acid works OK, but the amount of water you have to use to rinse and thoroughly neutralize usually takes days to evaporate and even then......

And there cannot be ANY sealer on concrete that is about to be painted. I dont care what anybody says, it will not last. At least I have yet to see it last.
The paint does not "absorb" or bite into the concrete itself, ends up sitting on top of the sealer and through expansion and contraction, or water,fuel, whatever getting beneath and will eventually start to flake and better yet, come off in a big sheet.... looks like crap and the peeling never stops. Touch-ups look like crap and usually the areas surrounding start to bubble and flake.

Another thing to consider is what is BELOW the concrete. How high is the water table? Is there any poly or plastic vapor barrier beneath? Stone base?, or sand? Does the floor tend to sweat like mad in spring thaw or during humid summer days? Look into a product that is suited to your situation...there is one for your garage.

I'll say it again...dont waste any precious time/money on a one part "homeowner" product.

these are my own experiences in dealing with basement/garage floor painting, and I dont know it all, but I have yet to see anything but a commercial quality 2-part stand up for any amount of time.

I have no idea what is under the floor, the garage was here long before I was. If I had to take a guess, I would say they did it the cheapest possible way. I will get some sweat in the floor, mostly when there was a drastic temp change real fast. I am hoping that some of it was due to lack of insulation in the building because in wasn't just the floors that would have condensation on it. It could have very well been working its way up from the bottom though.