Painting Concrete Floors

[tkelly]

I have removed the carpet and I want to paint my floor with a taupe color paint. Can I use satin, semi-gloss, gloss or do you have to use flat paint on a concrete floor (bedroom). I intend to use two coats and put a sealer on top of the paint. Any help would be appreciated.

Terri E. Kelly

[Patricia]

Kelly, the first step is to clean your floors really well. TSP or a similar solution would probably be appropriate. The point is to get the surface clean and porous to accept paint and only a good cleaner can do this. I recently painted my concrete slab and the paint is coming up in spots b/c I failed to clean the floor well. I know it is a hassle but it will make the paint adhere better and last a long time.

As far as the paint, I would highly recommend using a special floor paint. A bedroom will not get that much traffic but I still think you need a special floor paint. Behr and Benjamin Moore both make floor paints. They have epoxy and sealant in them and you can get them tinted to the color of your choice. When it comes to applying the paint, I recommend using two coats at least as you don't want to have to redo it.

And finally as for the sealer, I don't know what to say. I need some advice on this one myself:

http://www.homerepairforum.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17

Good luck!
[8D]

Patricia Wallwork

[Tom71]

I have used comeercially available paints and have found the to be unstaisfactory for concrete. After using a variety of different products I have found one that works far superior to any paints. It is a product called U Coat and it is a water based epoxy. Being water based provides some neat features- it is moisture insensitive, so it wont peel off the floor due to hydrostatic pressure.(you actually apply it to a DAMP concrete floor) It will expand and contract with the concrete(great for radiant heat sources) this also makes it impact resistant. It produces a seamless, chemically resistant and easily cleanable surface that looks great! They also have high gloss and "terrazzo" options so you could make your floor into showroom. I hope you will explore this option as it has produced great results for me.