For painting your garage floor you have a few choices. You may choose latex, polyurethane or epoxy based paints. All these can directly be used over concrete. Nevertheless epoxy based paints continue to be ideal for such an application. The reason being its characteristic of bonding well with the surface, as a result you get a durable surface that is resistant to stains caused by petroleum products like oils and greases. However, its application calls for a lot of time for preparation of floor.

The first step in that direction is to rid your floor of all the dirt and dust, else that would get settled along with paint on its getting dried up. Garages that get enough of sunlight should not be painted with epoxy paints, as these paints turn yellowish on getting continued prolonged exposure to the sun. Further, they also lose the gloss too soon when exposed to the sun. Epoxy paints should be applied in summers or hot weather to facilitate quicker drying. It would need at least two days for getting completely dry. So, be prepared to park your vehicle at an alternate spot for 2/3 days.

Polyurethane too is an equally good choice for painting garage floor. It is better resistant to spills than epoxy. Nor would it turn yellowish or lose its gloss so easily. Polyurethane is very tough and glossy. The limitation with this paint is that you necessarily have to apply a coating of a specified primer before applying the paint. Lack of providing a coating of the primer doesn’t allow the paint to bond well with concrete.

Latex based garage floor paint offers another good alternative. Being the most economical makes it the most favorite too. But, this paint perhaps needs the longest time for getting dry. Three days is the recommended minimum time to allow the paint to get attached to the floor. Latex can give the look of stonework, leather or antique. The only limitation with this kind of paint is that it needs a protective coating over it to protect its finish. Another feature is that it is a bit too slippery. It is advisable to have grooves onto it to prevent your car from skidding. The sun can also spoil it. That doesn’t make it a good option for garage without roof covering.

You need to decide what to do by yourself. I guess the final decision will be influenced by your budget, floor size, sun light influence and some other minor details. You will get the best paint for your garage floor when you pick the one that will endure the longest and will deliver the usability and safety.

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I bet you thought there is only one type of garage floor paint, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There are actually plenty of options here, since you can use epoxy, latex and polyurethane. They can all be directly applied to the garage surface, but the epoxy is best known and most popular. That is because of its ability to bond well and give a great protection from the different types of stains. And the disadvantage is that you will have to spend a lot of time to prepare the garage floor for this type of paint.

What you have to be careful about is the debris, dirt and dust that is on the surface and might settle in the epoxy paint when it starts to dry. And another disadvantage is that the sun has a bad influence, so you better apply epoxy on the floors that aren’t in direct contact to the sunlight. This is why garage is most popular place for use of this type of paint. The sun simply turns it into a yellow color and makes it lose its gloss.

The best time for applying this type of paint is summer, when it is hot. Colder weather would not allow such a fast drying and could cause some problems with the coating. And be aware that you will have to wait at least two days before you can use that garage again.

Another type is polyurethane and it is even more resistant to spilled content then the epoxy. And it has advantage that is quite important – it won’t turn yellow or fade when it contact with sunlight. Polyurethane paint is quite durable and has a gloss wroth mentioning. Before you can apply this paint, you will have to use primer so the adhesion would be proper.

When it comes to latex garage floor paint, it is another good alternative you might consider. The first plus is that it is cheaper the other two and its a factor that many consumers use. The downside is that you will have to wait for 3 days before you can use your garage and you will have to seal the door completely. The latex paint really needs some extra time before it can adhere properly. The other thing is, you will have to use protective cover for the finish and even use grooves because the surface might be too slippery. Unlike polyurethane, this type of paint suffers from the sun so you should apply it only in a closed garages.

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If you had enough looking at your old concrete garage floor, you may want to try using epoxy floor paint. No longer will the flooring look wasted and dirty, since this paint will preserve the garage floor. It will be something completely different and you will notice that when you pull your car over that beautiful showroom surface. It will be a feeling of satisfaction and success.

Epoxy floor paint is extremely durable coating that will preserve the flooring from all kind of influences. And this is the reason it is so popular, not only among car lovers, but for anyone who understands in home decor and in quality products. The ability to resist grease, oils and other known chemicals is a plus over the looks it has. Other paint would get damaged and disappear into oblivion, but not 2 part epoxy paint.

It is also worthy of mentioning the ease of stain removal. When you spill something on concrete epoxy paint floor, you won’t see it disappear into the surface. It will stay on top and wait for somebody to come clean it. Unprotected concrete would soak it all up and create another stain that you would have to look at.

Before you start to dream about doing all this by yourself, let me give you a wake up call. Applying this type of flooring is not easy, and there are plenty of people who did it wrong and asked for a remover. They made few mistakes and then they have bubbles going out of the coating or they have to many drips lying around. There can be some cracks that will also require a epoxy paint remover. So you have to do this step by step and be careful about what you do.

The first step is to prepare concrete for paint and that is the hardest part, because it all depends on this. Before you start doing this, you have to figure out will your concrete hold the paint at all. Spill a glass of water on the surface. If it is soaked, it means that you do not have sealed concrete and you can apply the paint. Otherwise, you have a sealed flooring that you will either leave as it is or remove that top layer so it can adhere to epoxy paints.

After that, you have to do a moisture test. If there is any moisture left, the change in temperature will push air up and through the coating. And because it is sealed, the air won’t have any choice but to go through it. And this is how bubbles will be created, because the coating won’t allow that air to go up and it will close it in little bubbles that will be all over your floor. It is not a pretty sight, believe me.

To make a test, put a plastic bag over the concrete floor and tape it there. Com to check it out tomorrow. If you find a moisture under the bag, you have to wait with the epoxy paint. The water inside the concrete will break the bonds and destroy your work, so you have to get rid of the water. Let it dry a bit more and open garage doors so that warm summer air can do his thing.

After you pass this test, there is another one. On your working day, you have to make sure that the temperature is between 60 and 90 degrees outside. The concrete floor itself has to be at least 55. This is how you ensure that the air won’t stay trapped under the epoxy resin and there won’t be any bubbles on the coating when the weather changes.

When all this is the way it should be, you can start with the work. When it comes to choice of paint, the best known are Quikrete and Rustoleum but you can find any other brand from the local store. Just make sure to read the directions so you know what you are dealing with. Protective eyewear and clothing are recommended too.

Now your garage floor can be painted in 2 or 3 layers, depending on what you want. You can even add some chips after you made the top layer, to make it look like a real showroom floor.

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Epoxy paints are the best solution for a long term flooring that will not only protect the concrete, but will look great as well. There are many other paints, which I will mention here, that have the same role as epoxy but they have certain weaknesses and disadvantages that makes them a bit less popular solution.

If you really want to make a great looking surface then you have to check out paints from Rustoleum, Aqua Mix and other brands that mix epoxy. You will definitely fall in love and will want to use them by yourself. You do not have to find a contractor to handle paint application, you can do all of this by yourself.

One thing is sure, there are enough information on this blog for you to do your own epoxy floor. Once you read the posts, you will know how to prepare the surface, which paint to use and what steps to take to get the best looking flooring. I hope you will find enough information in here and that you will use the paint responsibly and effectively.

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