re: Garage Floor Paint

I did a lot of research before I decided to use a polyurethane to seal my new garage floor. I liked the look of my natural concrete floors and the polyurethane just enhanced the look while protecting them. Don't waste your money at a big box store to save a few bucks on a cheap kit. Use the link below and look at the reviews of the major companies who specialize in this business. I paid between $300-$400 for my kit to cover my ~400 sqft. garage, it has been on for a little over a year and I have zero complaints. The most important part of doing your garage floors properly is all in the prep work. I acid etched my floors twice and pressure washed twice as well. Check out the forum below for a lot of information on this topic.

Garage Journal

Would the same process work for an outdoor patio? I should have stained and sealed it when the slab was poured...but I'm an idiot. Now it's got some stains on it that a pressure washer won't get up. I want to stain or paint over it and seal it so I can just hose it off every couple of weeks with no stains from grease, etc.

Etching to make the surface rough? My garage is already pretty rough. I wish I would've properly cleaned it when we moved it but that's where they stored the Sheetrock during construction and that damn dust is still everywhere after 2 years and countless sweeps and shopvac cleanings. I need to pull everything out, put up visqueen and pressure wash it. Then prep for the epoxy. My father in law has those swisstrax things and I don't like them at all. They buckle, are a pain to sweep and get gunk all in the seams.

The etch opens up the pores of the concrete so the epoxy has something to stick to. It will also get any oils off that would keep it from adhering.

Bump.

Thinking of doing this to my garage. Just bought the house and want to do it before I have a bunch of shite in the garage. How difficult is this to diy?

You want an epoxy or polyaspartic coating, not paint.

Grind the floors, don't etch them.

You'll also want a polyurea clear top coat.

Here is a high quality kit:

LINK

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There are a couple of Rustoleum kits I've looked at, at Home Depot. I think they're an epoxy (or at least the higher priced one is). There are a bunch of others brands to choose from too, and of course price varies. I don't mind paying a little more if it's worth it, but don't want to throw money away. My wife is doing enough of that already.

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It works well and has been down about 5 years with zero issues, follow the instructions exactly and buy more than you think you need, they are a bit off on the coverage.

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Nothing & I mean nothing that tires from a car, twisting and turning, OVER time, will hold up.

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That's true for the homeowner kits, but a professional polyaspartic or polyurea will hold up for a lifetime, if the floor is prepped properly. You cannot properly prepare the concrete without grinding.