what's the consensus on painting the garage (shop) floor ... hate it, love it, etc. and if you've done it what did you paint it with and how is it holding up ?

thanks.

- jack

If you do it right - it works well. First you need to really clean the surface. Most paint instructions will tell you what chemical to use. Then get a really good quality paint that is made for concrete floors. Then I believe you need to apply it more than once. After it cures you are set. I think you also have to re-apply like once every 5 years or so.

I work for HGTV and we've done a few segments on it and it always turns out great if you take your time, do the prep work, and get really good paint.

If the floor is sealed, you may have to remove the sealant. When the shop floor was done at a previous job I had, the sealed concrete had to be ground down so the floor could be painted. Also, be sure to use some grit in the paint. If you just paint it, it will be slippery when a little oil gets on it. A little grit helps keep your feet on the floor and your butt off of it.!

We had my old shop floor painted by someone, i think itwas some sort of poly mix in it, but it was neat, Oil dirt crap all that clean right up with a rap or a mop, but if coolant or a large amount of water got on the floor, you could slide for about 20-30 feet (fun)

I helped a buddy do his with some Behr 3-4 step stuff - works really well, just get more cleaner/degreaser than they say, unless you have a really clean floor. A year later its still looking great, probably will do my garage this summer.

I used a 2 part epoxy paint from home depot that has worked great! It was about 140 to do a 2 car garage, but it was WELL worth it.
Joe :roxy:

Originally posted by JeepinIan
If the floor is sealed, you may have to remove the sealant. When the shop floor was done at a previous job I had, the sealed concrete had to be ground down so the floor could be painted. Also, be sure to use some grit in the paint. If you just paint it, it will be slippery when a little oil gets on it. A little grit helps keep your feet on the floor and your butt off of it.!

Yep - and you can just use sand for grit. I *think* when a sealant has been used you can use an etching compound to remove it/prep it for coverage.

I used the Home Depot 2 part epoxy also. It has been on for almost 3 years and still looks great. This stuff has paint chips in it that you scatter on the floor after you put the epoxy on. It gives it a textured look so when you drop the drum from your 14 bolt you don't see the chunk it took out of the concrete:D . It also helps you get some grip when its wet.

don't they make a grey hurculiner?:D That'de be cool

POR swears that the por 15 works excellent on concrete according to the catalog

Originally posted by techguru73
POR swears that the por 15 works excellent on concrete according to the catalog

I have some POR splatters on the floor and they have not even lost their gloss after 3 years!

On a related note: I have a big gouge in my floor from plasma cutting aluminum. Any suggestions for patching it? I will be doing the 2 part epoxy next summer..

The real question is, Is there a floor paint that can withstand welding spatter? Huh, huh, anybody????

Easy

Originally posted by morpheus
what's the consensus on painting the garage (shop) floor ... hate it, love it, etc. and if you've done it what did you paint it with and how is it holding up ?



I used the BEHR stuff from Home Depot @ my old house. I parked the truck the garage everything, and the stuff came right off. On the side of the garage that has the project truck, it still looks good - but the salt from Winter driving ate away at the stuff. Granted, that's not a problem in AL!!!!

bkg

A painted floor is great! I wishI could do one but my garrage floor is way to pitted and trashed.

Last airport I worked at we painted the floor of the hanger with some one part Home-Depot floo rpaint and it worked really good. We cleaned it with muratic acid and then washed it with soap$water with a stiff bristled broom a couple of times to make sure it stayed down. After about half the hanger was done we decided to start sprinkling sand in it when it was wet. this worked OK but not great. On about the last 1/4 we started to mix the sand into the 5 gallon buckets with one of those big drill mixers and it worked really well.

After it was done the part where we sprinkled the sand was OK but the sand came up off the paint in a short while. The smooth part was dangerous when wet, oily or anything. The 1/4 with the sand mixed in was still a little slick but not bad. I thought it was great! Everything just wiped right up or you could squegee it into the floor drain.

We did have a problem with lifting at ome of the really greasy spots of the floor that we didn;t get as clean. The other lifting problem was we had a few areas where we put heavy aircraft on it before it cured.

Painted floors are easier to clean and the paint keeps the dust down. Wash the floor thouroughly and use an etching solution on floor prior to painting. The guy at the local paint or hardware store should be able to hook you up with everything you need.

We three used a two-part system on a buddies garage floor. The etching compound help prep the concrete and get it nice and clean. We put a base coat down and let it cure. Then we put down a sandy coat a little thicker and then let it cure. A final top coat to finish off and lock in the sandy coat.

I can't stress it enough on the importance of the prep work and following the directions. It may not happen in the first 6 months or even the first couple years, but prep work and folloing the directions is paramount to a superior and long lasting surface.

If you have pits or holes in your concrete, find a QUALITY patching system. Going cheap on this will definitely cause problems. This is also part of the proper preparation.

It has been about 5 or 6 years and the garage still looks awesome. It isn't used just to park the wifey's car in either.:D A good surface even when wet and is a cinch to clean.

Just my .02 ... Keith

For etching the floor I would suggest a muratic acid and water solution. This is cheap(one gallon muratic acid) and fast. I would get a PLASTIC 5 gallon bucket and add one gallon acid to 4 gallons of water(I always hear a 10% solution is good, but I like more power). Get a PLASTIC floor brush(or broom) and scrub the floor down. This will etch the hell out of the concrete. Rinse the fllor with water and let it dry for a couple days. Don't let the acid touch any metal.
Home Depot sells Muratic acid.