Garage floors, as with many areas in the home, need a little TLC. Concrete can take a lot of abuse over the years, from constant heavy foot traffic and vehicle traffic to acidic liquids used for cleaning and repairs. While most garage floors are made of concrete, there are a wide variety of paints that can be applied to make your garage floor look great. It may be that you have to pay a professional to do this job, but with a little preparation, you can have a beautiful, clean surface that will withstand wear and tear.
Before painting, you need to prepare the area to be covered. This means removing all the debris, including old, loose and rotting floor materials, and making any necessary repairs. You should also make sure that there are no nails or other poking devices in place that could damage the coating. If you are doing your own garage floor concrete coating, you will want to make sure that any protruding nails are properly removed before painting.
The surface to be painted is important, as well. It needs to be smooth and free of bumps and burrs. In addition, it should have a decent amount of texture to help with the overall appearance of the garage floor coating. While there are several different types of garage floor concrete coatings on the market today, the two most popular ones are epoxy and acrylic. Epoxy is a newer coat of paint and works well in that it provides a sturdy, durable finish. Acrylic is a more traditional type of coating, and while it is not quite as durable, it is relatively easy to maintain and repaint for it is stronger than epoxy.
Once the floor is prepared, it is time to apply the paint. If you have done your homework and chosen an epoxy garage that has a decent level of durability, it will be easier to apply, and you should be able to do so with minimal preparation time. On the other hand, if you choose an acrylic coating, it will take some effort to spread the chemicals around the floor, but if you have done your homework and chosen a good brand, it should be fairly easy to spread the chemicals without too much difficulty.
There are also a number of options to help with the prep work required for the types of garage floor coating. Most people simply roll out a large brush with very fine tooth bristles and apply the chemicals. This works fine if you have plenty of surface area to work with, but it is not particularly efficient or appealing. If you really want a great looking job, you should consider spraying the chemical onto the concrete before applying the actual paint.
Some of the most effective garage floor coatings contain acids or acid etch. This process is similar to acid etching, except that it also has stronger chemicals which bond the concrete to the steel or aluminum in your floor. You do not need to worry about prep work like we mentioned above, because the acids will do all of the work for you. These stronger chemicals will also prevent cracking caused by moisture. Check out this blog: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flooring to get enlightened more on this topic.
