Painting a garage floor

[Duke Thrust]

Chaps,

Will be painting my garage floor in the new pile in the next few weeks, I was thinking of concrete sealer and then a floor paint?

Any recommendations?

[pmanson]

There was recent thread by NCOT on this exact subject... can't remember what the conclusion was though!

[King Herald]

Duke Thrust said:

Chaps,

Will be painting my garage floor in the new pile in the next few weeks, I was thinking of concrete sealer and then a floor paint?

Any recommendations?

I'm hoping you put a waterproof membrane in before pouring the concrete. Because if you didn't you'll have no chance of getting any sort of paint to stick to the floor in the long term.

I used thinned down Screwfix floor paint on most mine, painted on as thin as possible so it dries thoroughly, thinned so it soaks well into the concrete. Forget the sealer, it does nothing.

I do welding, cutting and grinding and stuff in my garage, so I really don't expect the paint to last that long. It is more to keep the dust down and makes it far easier to sweep up.

Use slave child labour it is easier. They can get into all the small spaces.

[mickk]

^^ I see you have supplied suitable safety footwear for the task.

[NiceCupOfTea]

I used International stuff - concrete floor sealer. I also bought their garage floor paint, and then shelled out for dynotile which I finished laying on Sunday evening. Looks smart. Expensive, but they have some ex-display ones which are half price.

Advantages for me are it's more comfortable to work on, insulates, and it won't lift up on car tyres.

Still have the tin of paint as I lost the receipt

The sealer on its own really keeps the dust down.

[Duke Thrust]

Thanks chaps, it's not a new garage, just at the 'new' (160 year old) house.

I'll give it a try with the sealer and the paint, got to be worth a go to keep dust down and clean up spills etc.

[King Herald]

mickk said:

^^ I see you have supplied suitable safety footwear for the task.

No expense spared in my garage.

[blackcab]

Unless you spend £40 /£50 per m2 its not going to last long, Im sick of doing mine - will get them gym type tiles of ebay next time I think - will be a bit warmer under foot as well

[NiceCupOfTea]

Dynotile have some ex-display stuff at the moment, I paid for £350 for what should have been £600.

[StevieBee]

Have a look at www.watco.co.uk

They do an epoxy floor coating that once down will last for ever. Well worth the money!

[blackcab]

StevieBee said:

Have a look at www.watco.co.uk

They do an epoxy floor coating that once down will last for ever. Well worth the money!

epoxy should last 3- 5 years - but it gets battered by moisture and frost so suffers in garages so can be a risky investment

[The Black Flash]

King Herald said:

Duke Thrust said:

Chaps,

Will be painting my garage floor in the new pile in the next few weeks, I was thinking of concrete sealer and then a floor paint?

Any recommendations?

I'm hoping you put a waterproof membrane in before pouring the concrete. Because if you didn't you'll have no chance of getting any sort of paint to stick to the floor in the long term.

Yeah you can.
Do the bag test (put a bin liner on the concrete floor, weight it down with a couple of bricks, leave over night). When you remove the bag, if the floor is damp underneath, you don't have a membrane under the concrete.

All is not lost however. Search for Johnson's (maybe Johnstones) Damp Proof Paint. A couple of coats of this stuff will seal the floor - quite expensive but is really good stuff. It will also fill your house with appalling fumes - we actually stayed with a friend the night we put it down. However, works really well and as far as I can see, will never come off.

I then used an ordinary floor paint on top, which is a bit pants. But even where it's chipped (dropping tools etc), the damp proof stuff underneath is untouched. So I'd go for that, and a proper epoxy top layer.

[King Herald]

The Black Flash said:

King Herald said:

Duke Thrust said:

Chaps,

Will be painting my garage floor in the new pile in the next few weeks, I was thinking of concrete sealer and then a floor paint?

Any recommendations?

I'm hoping you put a waterproof membrane in before pouring the concrete. Because if you didn't you'll have no chance of getting any sort of paint to stick to the floor in the long term.

Yeah you can.
Do the bag test (put a bin liner on the concrete floor, weight it down with a couple of bricks, leave over night). When you remove the bag, if the floor is damp underneath, you don't have a membrane under the concrete.

All is not lost however. Search for Johnson's (maybe Johnstones) Damp Proof Paint. A couple of coats of this stuff will seal the floor - quite expensive but is really good stuff. It will also fill your house with appalling fumes - we actually stayed with a friend the night we put it down. However, works really well and as far as I can see, will never come off.

I then used an ordinary floor paint on top, which is a bit pants. But even where it's chipped (dropping tools etc), the damp proof stuff underneath is untouched. So I'd go for that, and a proper epoxy top layer.

I'm curious how paint will adhere to damp/wet concrete though? Unless you need to get it on a 'dry' day?

[The Black Flash]

Going from memory here, but it's not like normal paint. It actually binds chemically to the concrete in the presence of water, rather than just forming a film on top.
There are similar products for painting cellars walls etc.

[blackcab]

Paint will not adhere to dry or damp floor it will flake off in no time - it needs to be dry and sealed using a concrete sealer and then 3 or 4 coats to get a good finish, even then - will not last more than a year or two - dont believe anything you read on the tins !