Garage floor paint recommendations

[scott vroom]

I'm looking for a one-step, easy to apply garage floor coating to hide old paint and stain spills, ground in dirt, etc. I'd like something that I can apply with a roller. I see Behr makes a garage floor one part epoxy paint (mixed reviews) but I don't know if that's the best option. I'm not looking for a fancy speckled finish, just plain battleship gray would do. Any recommendations?

Thank you.

[Allan Speers]

Results vary depending on a lot of factors, but looking for a "one-step, easy to apply" solution is foolish.

The best advice I can give is to buy an expensive, oil-based epoxy paint. Do NOT use the cheap stuff, like the water-based Rustoleum type products. (Even if someone else had success with it.) You won't find the good stuff at Home despot or Lowes, you'll have to order online.

I've used 2 products with success. My favorite is Amerlock. (I forget which series) It has decent working time, dries super-hard and chip-proof, and it can be applied over a very wide range of temperatures.
I got it from these guys:

C.G.Edwards & Co.Inc. Boston, MA 02127
http://www.cgedwards.com

There's also a company called "NORKAD" IIRC, (Maybe "Norkan" ) with great tech support, and they have a lot of pictures on the site, showing different colors & chip combinations.
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Also: Surface preparation is critical. It's best to rent a concrete grinder & take off 1/8" or so, but a good acid bath can work fine if you get all the grease off first. - And then make sure to re-balance the ph with a baking soda bath.

I also HIGHLY recommend that before you paint, you spray some kind of water vapor barrier into the concrete, as water vapor will often destroy an epoxy floor over time. I used the "Radon Seal" products (2 different formulas, one after another) but there are several good options. This will have the advantage of keeping your tools from rusting if they lay on the floor, and it will lower your dehumidifying costs significantly.

[Martin Wasner]

I wouldn't go with paint at all. Grind it, stain it, apply a sealer.

If you do paint, sand blast it to clean concrete then re-coat. Allan is correct that the consumer grade stuff isn't up to the task. You need high solids and solvent based. Sand blasting gives plenty of tooth for the epoxy to adhere to the concrete.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I agree with the others. if you want a finish that will last, you have to do a lot of prep work and buy a high quality epoxy. I did what you are thinking of doing... used a 1 part behr concrete paint, and didn't grind the floor or acid e5ch, or anything. after about 5 years, only half of the paint was still on the concrete. the rest had simply flaked away.

Do a few hours of research before your buy anything and you'll see what we're talking about. Concrete is much harder to paint properly than wood!

[Mark Paavola]

I guess I must have got lucky with my floors. I used Rustoleum epoxy floor coatings from Home Depot. I did my garage floor approx. 15 years ago. Truck parked in 1 bay. Car parked in one bay. Third bay is my repair area. Welding car work etc. Spilled battery acid, oils mineral spirits etc. Floor coating is still holding well. Not a chip in it. There is some fading but I don't clean it often enough. The floor in my woodworking shop I did about ten years ago. I can clean it and still looks almost new.

[Chris Fairbanks]

Go check out the garage journal forums. They have an entire forum dedicated to just flooring with a 100k+ posts in it. Everything you will ever need to know is there and a bunch of the manufactures post directly there and you can ask any questions you cannot find answers to.

[Allan Dozier]

Ditto on Chris's suggestion. I have been researching on what to put on the concrete portion of the shop I have started construction on and mainly on that forum. What I have gleaned so far is to grind the floor no matter what. Apparently it is not quite as onerous a job as I imagined. Most rental yards as well as big box stores rent the machines.
Another requirement should be to test for moisture with a sheet of plastic taped down overnight. If the slab doesn't have a good vapor barrier it will necessitate additional options.

[Mike Heidrick]

Go check out the garage journal forums. They have an entire forum dedicated to just flooring with a 100k+ posts in it. Everything you will ever need to know is there and a bunch of the manufactures post directly there and you can ask any questions you cannot find answers to.

This! Plus those dealers to get GJ folks good prices. GJ has scared me away from doing this lol. 2560sq is expensive and scary to do.

[Ben Rivel]

A link for those who havent seen: LINK