Garage Floor Paint

[Gary C.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

Dan,

1) Big Box Stores clear sealer
In the local Home Depot, the clear sealer was applied after the concrete had cured.
Might call and check their headquarters construction office.
2) Sherwin Williams
Make sure you talk with someone who has knowledge of the "Commercial Floor Sealers" or give you a phone number to their store that specializes in commercial floor sealers. Most local Sherwin Williams stores can order any of the commercial products if they're told what to order.
3) Cost - I used Sherwin Williams Armor Seal (real) epoxy and did all the work. 2,000 sq ft cost was $0.78 cents per sq ft.
4) Whatever you do - the floor must be clean!

Please post your decision and results on this thread. Good luck in whatever you select to do.

Gary
....

[Patrick H.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

3) Cost - I used Sherwin Williams Armor Seal (real) epoxy and did all the work. 2,000 sq ft cost was $0.78 cents per sq ft.
4) Whatever you do - the floor must be clean!

Please post your decision and results on this thread. Good luck in whatever you select to do.

Gary
....

And, to do this, seriously consider renting a shot blaster for the floor and doing that part even if you go with an epoxy from S-W or Lowes or wherever.
I've seen too many peel off after a couple of years.

[Thomas H.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

FWIW, when I bought my house, the garage floor was uncoated. I cleaned it and painted it with "Garage Floor Paint" that I bought from Home Depot. Two coats of Grey. That was 18 years ago and the only area where I have some wear spots is in the doorway where the high traffic is. It has withstood floor jacks, hot tires, oils, antifreeze, scrubbing and hose downs. I do know that Breakleen (sp?) and DOT3 will blister it so I wipe that up pretty quick. But it has served me well over the years. Someday I'd love to have one of those shiny epoxy floors, but for now this is more then functional.

Hard to see too much in this older picture, but you can get the idea............

[Tom D.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

Not sure if it has been mentioned above, but remember to have good ventilation when putting epoxy down. Otherwise, you will get a little "high" doing the job.

[Dan D.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

Hi Gary,
I just got back from S-W. They were busy and I ended up with a kid that didn't know beans. He just showed me their display shelf - had all the low-end water based stuff you see in Lowes and HD. I will look on their web site and look into their commercial stuff. I don't know how long ago you did yours, but $0.78 is very close to the cost of epoxy-coat. I will post the results on this thread, and like I said I will also comment on what I did for lighting and heating. Thanks for your advice. -Dan-

[Dan D.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

Hi John,

I understand the importance of proper preparation and what you did. Unfortunately mine did not turn out quite as planned. I mentioned in my earlier post that I did not get the clear sealer that I was going to - that was only part of it. In addition the mason did not want foam insulation under the slab. Said it will weaken the cement. I compromised with him and put foam down under the outside perimeter only. If that wasn't enough, on the day of the pour the mason was late getting here and we had some prep work still to do. So the cement truck had to wait a few minutes (which I paid extra for), but worse than that, in our haste we completely forgot to put down the poly vapor barrier. We discovered that after most of the floor was already poured. I was very upset over that - but I am just going to have to deal with it. The property sits high on a knoll and I get good water runoff, so maybe it will stay dry underneath.

Just about all of the garage turned out very well and I am pleased with the results. The floor is the only bugaboo, and I wanted that to be the best part. Oh well - its only life. -Dan-

[Dan D.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

Hi Tom,

I will have the overhead open. Not interested in any 'highs'. -Dan-

[Dick W.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

I forgot to mention that Armoseal is what is used in aircraft hangars. If you buy epoxy/urethane ask if it impervious to Skydrol. Skydrol is one of the hydraulic fluids used in aircraft. It will dissolve most paints.

[Steven B.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

And, to do this, seriously consider renting a shot blaster for the floor and doing that part even if you go with an epoxy from S-W or Lowes or wherever.
I've seen too many peel off after a couple of years.

This is important. I helped a friend do his floor but he refused to wait until the floor was cured, he did not fully clean the floor, and he used the Rust-Oleum garage floor paint. It lifted within a week and has dozens of bubbles. The floor has peeled where the garage door rests and where tires set on the floor.

[Mike L.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

What about POR 15 floor armor , my floor has old paint thats worn in alot of spots and I don,t want to sand it or acid wash it , ad says vaccuum and paint the stuff on . I,m swinging toward this stuff has anyone tried it or are you going to let me be the guine pig

[Mike M.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

I built a garage about 5 years ago. It is 31x52x12. I have enjoyed it very much. I applied an epoxy floor. The brand was Rust-O-Leum. They make a water based epoxy as well as a solvent based. I used the solvent based product, whihc I think you will not find at Lowe's/HD. I bought mine through a local Ace hardware. They had to order it from a cental warehouse. I followed the instructions to the letter. I was able to apply the epoxy before there was any use of the garage. I used a pressure washer to clean the floor and then, per their instructions etched the floor with muratic acid (you have to be careful with that stuff). I allowed the floor to dry for a number of days before applying the product. Five years later the floor still looks good. It is really tough although it can be chipped and gourged. I have had no problem with any type of lifting.

[Brady C.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

I took Gary's advice 5 years ago and used Sherwin Williams - Amor Seal on about 2800 sq ft but an older concrete floor. Floor has held up well and is quite durable and cleans easily, without tire marking... Cost a little more but better to do it right the first time.

[Floyd B.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

>> But I prefer a color
Having a career that causes me to move about every 5 years means I have had 5 different garage floors. The one observation I can make is that there is nothing more helpful than the highly diffused light reflected off a bright color floor.

I'm getting ready to renovate the garage on my current house and I think I'm going with this stuff:

http://www.allmats.com/site/439205/page/664575

I'm getting too old to stand and crawl around on a "hard as concrete" floor for hours at a time. It comes in a metallic silver color. The one drawback will be its pliability - i.e. it can be cut by heavy objects with sharp edges.

[Michael J.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

This is what I used for both my garages, and am very happy three years on:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/gray+floor+paint,+1+gallon.do

[Dick W.]

Re: Garage Floor Paint

I floated the color in the first shop I built at home. Then sealed it with a supposed brake fluid proof sealer. Wrong, gasoline, brake fluid, etc ate the sealer. The last shop I built, I used the SW product that I referenced earlier. Nothing would penetrate it.