What paint to paint a concrete floor with and how to make the coating as durable as possible – let”s figure it out together

Concrete floors are a common option for a variety of areas, including outdoor patios, industrial settings, and garages and basements. Painting is a great option if you want to add a layer of protection or update the appearance of your concrete floor. But not any paint will work for this. Selecting the appropriate paint type and adhering to specific guidelines will guarantee the longest-lasting coating and yield the best results.

The paint you choose for painting concrete can have a significant impact on its durability and appearance. There are various paint kinds made especially for concrete surfaces, and each has advantages of its own. Knowing the advantages and disadvantages of epoxy, acrylic, and other concrete-friendly paints will help you make an informed choice.

A long-lasting finish also depends on careful preparation. Every stage, from priming and cleaning the concrete surface to painting it, affects how well the paint adheres and functions over time. We’ll go over the best paint choices for concrete floors in this guide, along with advice on how to prime the surface and apply the paint to get the most longevity out of it.

Are you prepared to give your concrete floor a makeover? To ensure you get the most out of your painting project, let’s get into the specifics.

Type of Paint	Tips for Durability
Epoxy Paint	Ensure the surface is clean and dry. Apply a primer if needed. Use a high-quality epoxy for best results.
Polyurethane Paint	Choose a paint with a good abrasion-resistant finish. Apply in thin, even coats and allow proper curing time.
Concrete Stain	Prepare the floor by etching or cleaning thoroughly. Apply a sealer after staining to protect the surface.
Acrylic Paint	Opt for a paint designed for concrete surfaces. Ensure good ventilation during application and allow adequate drying time.

Properties of concrete coating

Concrete floors without extra decorative layers are typically found in industrial or utility spaces. These are typically the floors found in garages, sheds, or workshops in the private sector. Paint and primer will contribute to the durability of such a surface.

Why you need to paint concrete?

Where there is an increase in load, the floor composed of the designated material needs to be treated further. At first, the screed has a very strong and resilient coating. However, concrete that has not had its upper layers treated will eventually start to lose strength, dust, and delaminate.

This is because the material that has solidified has:

• High porosity of the structure. The screed easily absorbs moisture from the air, which, when the temperature drops, changes volume and destroys the material from the inside, creating cracks and delamination.

• Low resistance to physical stress. Under increased pressure, for example, from car tires in a garage, the concrete wears out and dusts, forming a very fine suspension in the air, harmful to the human body.

When a low-grade material is used, the treatment of the screed’s upper layer is particularly important.

Appropriately painting the floor:

• will provide the surface with protection from abrasion and aggressive chemicals,
• will reduce the risk of delamination, cracks and chips,
• increase the antistatic properties of the surface,
• significantly increase the strength and, as a result, the service life.

How to prepare the surface

It is essential to correctly prepare the surface before beginning any work on a concrete surface. It is essential to lower the amount of paint "pulling in" and raise the coating’s adherence when priming a surface for painting.

In order to accomplish this, the following actions are taken:

1. Remove a layer of old paint using a grinding machine or spatula. Grinding will also remove surface delamination. Use the machine carefully so as not to add unevenness to the floor. Waves or scratches will be clearly visible on the painted floor.
2. If there are chemical stains from machine oils, various lubricants and fuel on the surface, they should be cleaned with solvents.
3. The surface must be examined for cracks, chips, depressions and holes. If the damage is minor, they are repaired point by point. If the damage covers more than 40% of the surface, you should consider pouring a thin leveling layer.
4. The floor is cleaned of dirt and dust. No special devices are required for this. It is enough to walk over the surface with a vacuum cleaner and wash the floor with soapy water. In addition, the detergent will remove grease stains from the surface, if any.

Following the completion of the preparatory steps, the floor needs to be dry, spotless, and free of stains.

There are two ways to carry out additional work:

1. primer and painting,
2. painting.

Speaking of which, The type of paint selected for coating determines whether priming is necessary.

Advantages of painting concrete floors

Special compounds are used when working with concrete. The contemporary construction market offers a wide range of options. Any paint applied to a concrete base will strengthen, lessen deterioration, and provide coating protection.

Paints can give the floor very specific qualities in addition to the basic ones:

• make the surface rough, which will significantly reduce the risk of injury from slipping;
• increase the chemical inertness of the coating, this property is especially important in workshops and car garages;
• increase the antistatic properties of the floor.

Regular hygienic care is easier to apply to painted floors. In addition to everything mentioned above, modern paints have a vibrant color palette that will add interest to the room’s interior.

Crucial! Go over the manufacturer’s recommendations with great care. The conditions that need to be followed when painting the floor are spelled out in detail in the label instructions.

Primer

The concrete surface should be primed before painting in order to save money on needless floor staining. This is done to decrease material consumption and increase paint adhesion to the surface.

Be aware that cutting back on the primer will result in higher expenses because the first coat of paint will serve as a primer in this instance, deeply penetrating the concrete.

Method of applying the solution

It should be mentioned that certain primer varieties are highly suitable for serving as finishing coats. Finish processing the floor at the priming stage if an aesthetic component is not required. It’s not at all hard to treat the coating with a special solution by hand.

Every task is completed in the following order:

1. Prepare the solution. Some compositions should be diluted with a recommended solvent. The proportions of the solution should not exceed 3% of the original mass of the substance.
2. Sand is added. By falling into the solution of quartz sand (sold in all construction stores), you can significantly strengthen the anti -slip effect. The permissible amount of sand in the composition is no more than 1/10 of the mass of the soil solution.

1. Application of the composition to the surface. Priming is done in several layers (at least two) using a roller or sprayer, if necessary, the surface is treated with a brush along the perimeter along the walls.

At least 5 0 C of temperature and a maximum relative humidity of 85% are required for work to be done.

Options for priming solutions

Not all compositions are appropriate for use with concrete. To stop moisture from absorbing too strongly, primer is first applied.

For this, the composition needs to carry out a number of fundamental tasks:

• fill the pores;
• create a water barrier;
• strengthen the internal structure;
• prevent the formation of fungus or mold.

We choose the necessary solution based on the given parameters, and we immediately restrict the options to deep penetration compositions.

Crucial! The primer and paint you intend to use should go together. Choose the right primer after deciding what color to paint the floor.

Polyurethane composition

Applied as a coating and prior to painting with polyurethane. The composition of this solution doesn’t require any special preparation before use, which is its main application advantage.

The polyurethane-based primer also possesses the following attributes:

• tightly fills voids, strengthening the concrete base;
• improves adhesion of paint to the surface;
• dries quickly;
• inert to chemically active substances.

The amount of paint used will be greatly decreased by using such a composition. Machine oil and fuel of any kind do not react with primer. The only negative aspect of the composition is the amount of time that must pass before starting any further work; painting can only be completed after 12 hours.

Epoxy primer

This composition is used both before applying paint based on epoxy resins and as an independent finishing treatment of the surface.

In contrast to the polyurethane composition, epoxy not only fills the pores in the concrete but also leaves a thin, resilient layer on the surface, which makes the concrete surface:

• absolutely waterproof;
• resistant to any chemicals;
• not susceptible to ultraviolet radiation;
• very durable and poorly abraded.

The composition’s quick setting time is a drawback. The preparation of two-component compositions for priming can be a little inconvenient.

Latex primer

This mixture isn’t applied on its own as a coating. When it’s essential to reinforce the previous concrete coating to lessen delamination, latex should be used. The solution is completely non-toxic and safe.

Applying it to concrete produces an elastic film that is long-lasting. It becomes durable, impervious to high humidity, and unsuitable for the growth of microorganisms. Working with such a primer also has the benefit of a quick drying time.

Master Samodelkin

If funds are tight and concrete work needs to be done, make use of what you have, such as regular PVA construction adhesive. Making glue-based primer at home is very simple. Water is added to the glue in a 2 to 1 ratio. Gypsum or construction chalk is added to the mixture to increase viscosity.

Such a primer is very simple to apply, but it must be applied in small amounts to prevent the top layer of concrete coating from peeling. Furthermore, PVA will become yellow when exposed to sunlight. For future work, this fact needs to be considered when selecting a paint color.

The longevity and appearance of your painted concrete floor can be greatly enhanced by selecting the appropriate paint and making sure the finish is durable. The best paints for concrete, such as epoxy and acrylic varieties, will be discussed in this guide along with helpful hints on how to properly prep the surface, apply the paint, and take care of it so that it looks fantastic for many years to come. Let’s get started and make your concrete floor both fashionable and durable.

Paint

Examine your options and determine which paint is best for a concrete floor. Note that it is important to choose the right tools for the job depending on the type of paint and varnish material.

The size of the area to be painted also affects the painting technique. Paint can be sprayed on, applied with a brush, or roller.

Note: You do not have to wait for the concrete to completely set before painting it. As soon as the surface hardens, which usually takes a week or so, you can work with it.

Polyurethane enamels

This kind of paint forms a protective finishing layer over the concrete surface, shielding it from physical and chemical damage. Eliminating small surface imperfections is possible with polyurethane paint coating. Upon completion of the task, a smooth and highly ornamental surface is created.

Two components are used to prepare this paint before use. You can modify the amount of necessary coating qualities by varying the composition’s proportions. Two-component polyurethane floor paint is appropriate for outdoor work as well.

Requirements in order to apply enamel:

• air temperature above 5 0 C;
• room humidity less than 75%;
• the second layer is applied no later than 24 hours after the first painting.

An extended drying period is a major drawback. Polyurethane paint can take up to two weeks to dry, depending on how dense the layer is that is applied. You can also walk on the paint after a few days, but the layer won’t become fully chemically resistant until 14 days after it first becomes maximally strong physically.

Epoxy paints

This concrete floor paint leaves the surface with a robust and long-lasting layer. Paul, after processing this composition, takes on a very polished appearance. Epoxy paint exhibits complete inertness towards chemicals that exhibit elevated activity, such as motor oils, fuel, and diverse lubricants and solvents.

High levels of wear resistance are provided by the coating’s excellent adherence to concrete. Epoxy is successfully used in car washes, industrial laboratories, and warehouses because it can easily withstand heavy physical loads. The painted floor maintains its external beauty and does not fade or turn yellow. An epoxy-painted concrete floor is seen in the picture below.

Epoxy is a two-component material that needs to be mixed. Additionally, only a tiny bit of paint needs to be mixed because of the quick setting time. It is important to pay close attention to the proportions in this situation.

When you decide to update the epoxy coating, you may run into issues because repainting is quite expensive. However, epoxy paint’s extremely long service life more than makes up for this.

Acrylic

One major advantage this composition has over others is the smellless paint. Acrylic compositions disperse in water. developed using acrylic mixtures to which polymers were added. You can apply a polymer film to the surface of acrylic flooring to stop active chemicals from affecting the concrete.

Even with a substantial layer of applied thickness, the paint dries rapidly. The fact that only one application is required to achieve color saturation is an added benefit.

The paint is incredibly easy to apply, resistant to mechanical stresses, and sunburn-resistant. It allows you to customize the surface’s color. It dries completely in twelve hours.

Bloksil

The Boktoksil paint is becoming more and more well-known these days. This composition of one component is intended to process concrete surfaces for a variety of purposes, including industrial ones. This kind of paint coating has shown good results in production workshops, fleets of vehicles, and warehouse complexes when combined with primer treatment.

Abrasion resistance on the surface is ensured by Betoxyl paint. does not react with motor oil, detergents, or fuel of any kind. Completely impervious to variations in temperature and precipitation. Applying the paint is quite simple. The fact that the decorative layer is easily restored in the event of damage is a crucial factor.

Painting technology

Regardless of the materials used, you can summarise the main points of the floor painting process by doing so:

1. cleaning and preparing the surface;
2. priming;
3. paint application;
4. drying.

The tools needed depend on the type of paint. Rollers for facades or velor are used to apply enamel and acrylic paints to surfaces. Their long handle, short pile, and reasonably handy width make it easy to apply the composition uniformly.

Reducing the number of layers is possible with a sprayer. This method of applying paint has a density that is similar to three layers of manual roller painting. You also save a significant amount of time and consumables.

In the corners and around the edges of the room, using a sprayer or roller will not be very practical; in these situations, a brush would be more suitable.

You can learn how to paint a garage’s concrete floor properly by watching the video in this article. Make sure the previous layer is completely dry before applying the next. Applying thin layers will improve their appearance. Drying times are longer when layers are significantly thicker.

Drying process

After painting the entire floor, all the necessary conditions must be established to ensure that the decorative layer dries properly. The room needs to be kept in a climate with a minimum temperature of 18 0 C and a relative humidity of 80% or lower in order to dry comfortably. This will enable the layer to dry uniformly.

After 48 hours, a floor that has dried under typical circumstances can be used. However, engaging in full-fledged physical activity should wait longer. Read the instructions on the packaging in any case.

What type of concrete the paint was applied on matters as well when it comes to drying. The drying period is longer for freshly painted concrete than it is for previously applied coatings.

A durable and appealing finish is largely dependent on selecting the appropriate paint for your concrete floor and making sure it is durable. Choosing premium epoxy or polyurethane paints can have a big impact on performance, as we’ve shown. These paints are perfect for both residential and commercial spaces because they are made to withstand heavy traffic and stain resistance.

It’s equally important to prepare. Before painting, the concrete surface should be thoroughly cleaned and primed to improve paint adhesion and extend paint life. Prior to painting, take care of any imperfections or cracks as they may impact the paint’s durability and overall finish.

Lastly, adhere to the application and curing time recommendations provided by the manufacturer. This guarantees that the paint adheres well and produces the intended effects. You can have a gorgeously painted concrete floor that resists deterioration for many years by following these steps.

Video on the topic

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PRIMER-PAINT for concrete. For concrete products, do it yourself.