Coating new concrete garage floor?

We are moving into the new house in approximately two weeks. What are your thoughts on putting an enamel coating or some such product on the new garage floor?

I see a gallon of coating with 10% enamel for ~$30 at Menards or Home Depot. I have friends who have done multiple coats and sprinkled shiny stuff in between coats to make it sparkle. To me, it's a garage floor, but I was thinking a coating might protect the floor. New cars, so oil leaks aren't a concern.

Thoughts?

 

Oil leaks aren't a concern until you get one. It can happen on any car...just more common on older ones. We coated our garage to 'seal' the cement. The garage paint said to let dry for 24 hours before driving cars back into the garage. No, didn't quite hold up to the tire treads and the weight of the cars. Not too bad, but not perfect. But, if anything that would stain concrete goes down at least I can clean it up.

 

You do have to use certain paint. And, make sure the concrete is totally cured. There are excellent sites online to give you more assistance - better than some of us.

And it really needs drying time. Not so much if you drive STRAIGHT in and out. More time if you start twisting the wheels. I have been meaning to do mine for a few years now.... but instead I keep getting other paint crap dripped on it.

 

new concrete has to cure for a minimum of 30 days before it can be prepped and coated.
and like nostress said. the coating has to cure and i mean cure a long time before you can drive over it with hot rubber

 

The garage floor has been in for 45 days now. Give me an idea of what we are talking about when you say "long time before you can drive over it with hot rubber".

No stress, give me a link for a website on this topic.

 

I painted my garage floor (new townhouse) using rust-oleum EpoxyShield garage floor kit six years ago. I am very pleased with the results. I have had minor peeling but I attribute that to my preparation error. They provide an etching chemical and specify to use a sprinkling can to apply it (which I did not have) so I winged it. I apparently missed a few small spots. The paint where my tires frequent is like brand new showing no wear under both vehicles.

 

If using the Rust Oleum look at the pro version....feel the difference between the standard and the pro as far as weight, the pro weighs a lot more because it has a higher solid content, from reading the internet solid content is everything. I did my floor in spring and it has been holding up well, it does take like 4-5 days to cure fully. I did have one spot lift from the tires but my floor had been previously sealed. I did grind the whole floor to try to get it off but it may have not been perfect. The also sell a Rock Solid kind that is not epoxy but something else, can't speak to that. The other option would be to just seal it with a clear sealer, if you go that route I would suggest Eagle Brand Oil based from Home Depot, the water based do not last. The best I had ever used was ankota brand from Menards but they do not carry it anymore, the Eagle seems close....Being in WI I would seal it with something as the salt will east it away over time otherwise.

 

I would do it in a heartbeat......I am a car guy and would live in my giant garage with my roll arounds, air compressor, neon beer signs, old metal oil signs, and a frij full of beer.....highlighted by a cool light colored floor so I can find all the parts I drop........and go in to my 600 sq' house when I had to eat

.......oh wait, what was the question.......I was building my Fantasy garage....

 

Having my garage floor coated has been great! Really makes a difference! I never even would have thought about it but the house came with it.

 

Search for Valspar Garage floor paint/epoxy. You can get it at Lowes for around $75 for a kit. I believe a kit does a 1 car garage so most need 2 kits. I have used these on both of my garages over the years and have never had any issues. My neighbors all comment about it. I mop my garage floors about 2 times a year and the finish looks as good today as it did when I painted it. The kit comes with an etch cleanser like mentioned above, use that, let it dry for 24 to 48 hours, then paint with the kit. Let it sit 24 hours and you are good to drive on it the next day. These epoxy paints make sweeping up spills of any kind a breeze. They come in 2 or 3 different colors as well, Grey, Blue, and I believe a maroon color if ordered on line.

 

I did not save any links. I just googled it - maybe with words "garage floor paint" or something like that.

 

Around here they spray calcium chloride along with salt on the roads, if you don't seal it they eat the concrete up. The guy that poured my garage floor, came back a few days later and cut it, then sprayed it with a clear sealer with a garden sprayer. That was about 10 years ago and it's fine.

 

We used ucoatit. Ours was ordered online vs picking up at a store. Huge garage with in floor heat. It is GREAT. It was put down in 2001? and looks just like the day it was put down. This garage does not get daily vehicle use but does get a lot of other foot traffic, etc. We are currently prepping to build a new home in 3 years. In floor heat thru 2 garages & full house. Have actually discussed doing the house portion with it also & just rugs where we desire since it has held up so well to foot traffic in the current garage.

 

Dont want to advertise products but saw some rustoleum rock solid coating for floors. Says it is 20x time harder than epoxy. I used used rustoleum epoxy in my garage. Worked good except where my tires first enter the garage. That area peeled.

 

That's what we have in one of our garages - the Rustoleum commercial version (we have 8 garage bays in our house for various equipment - all under one roof, not as outbuildings). It has stood up great but it's in the garage that is least used. Was easy to apply (ish). I would LOVE to do in our basement garage where the tractors etc are stores, but the biggest problem would be cleaning out the garage for the time required! We did manage to empty the garage (ish) a couple years ago to finish painting (we didn't prime that garage when we built in 2001) and that made a huge difference in how clean/light it now feels, but I'd prefer a pretty floor!!

PS We used the leaf blower to help us spread the color flakes ;-)

 

Go to home Depot and have them measure out some indoor outdoor carpet to a desired size.
It stays down when driving over it and can be dragged out onto your driveway and hosed off.
You can also sweep it or hit it with a leaf blower & if it gets too nasty just replace it.

 

I briefly worked for a company that sold industrial floor coatings, all of the actual work was subcontracted out. It was over 20 years ago, so the technology and products probably have improved since then.

The biggest advice I can offer is prepping the surface after it has been cured. Even though you have a slab of new concrete, you should consider acid etching the floor so that the epoxy or urethane will adhere properly.

Sometimes the customer wanted an anti slip surface, so the contractor would sprinkle crushed Quartz as it was curing. The guys wore metal golf spikes so as to not leave footprints.

 

http://www.concrete-floor-coatings.com/

I had huge success with this product while still a planner/estimator for the Navy. I did two crash Fire Stations with this, the only thing that would not peel up after those huge crash trucks would sit on it. Also used it on the outside area of the BOQ to much praise and success.

 

Anything you color you will have to redo eventually. Use a good quality clear sealer unless, like the car guy above, you work in the garage a lot and want to find parts easily.