Painting concrete basement floor- what type of paint should I use, and how should I do it?

Question

I want a nice glossy finish, but I don't want to spend TOO much money, unless it's worth it. I'd also like to do a diamond, black on grey pattern. Any ideas?

Answer 1

The other person is correct. Cleaning and preparing the floor is #1. After that the toughest paint for concrete is epoxy paint. It comes in many colors and textures, and it is just a matter of how you lay it down, you will get what you want.

Answer 2

There are several different kinds of finishes, & coatings for concrete floors. The least expensive of these are the paints, & yes they come in gloss.
The thing is that the methods may vary slightly for each product, so you have to look over the various products available, & read the preparation instructions carefully.
Proper preparation of the concrete will make the difference between a desirable result, & a terrible mess that you will end up having to remove, & clean up.

I painted some concrete a few months ago, & I had to prepare the concrete 1st with an acid etch. Then I had to prime, & then put on two coats of paint. The acid is the trickiest part, & will require a lot of caution, & care because you are working with a powerful acid. Plus I couldn't find any concrete paint in latex. The only decent products I could find were all oil based, & that's the smelly kind. Doing patterns are possible, but are more work, & will increase your costs some. When it's all said & done, if you want a nice looking floor, why don't you weigh the costs of putting down some 12X12 linoleum tiles against the paint. Even if it costs a little more for the tiles, you will have a lot less preparation, probably have it done sooner, & it will be a lot less risky.
With the smells from the paint job you will want to ventilate the basement a lot for a few days, & where I live that is not an option in winter, but laying peel & stick tiles definately is.

Those are my thoughts, & ideas. Have fun with your project.

Answer 3

As in all painting projects that turn out well, preparation is the most important step and will probably require the most effort.

As for painting, I know Valspar makes both a concrete paint and a concrete stain in latex for about the same price as a good exterior paint ($24 -$32/gallon). I expect that the other major paint companies offer similar products. Don't recall what finishes they come in but both do a good job.

As for the pattern, would recommend doing the whole floor in one color, let it dry thoroughly, then tape off the pattern and paint the second color. This would use more paint but would take a lot of the work out of trying to get the tape just right twice.

Have fun!

Answer 4

there are other options besides paint. there is a vinyl coating, and a click together plastic flooring. the vinyl coating still takes a lot of prep work. the click together flooring, just sweep and or mop the floor and start installing. really, i have never seen concrete paint of any variety hold up well. any true paint is on the surface, and tends to get worn off. the stain, on the other hand may work. personally, i would go with commercial grade vinyl tile. it comes in a multitude of colors, and if you know how you can make very intricate patterns with it. or hire it done.

Answer 5

The thing is, you don't want to do it twice. So cleaning the floor is number 1. Then get the most expensive paint you can afford(with paint you get what you pay for) . So read the label, ask the paint store people. They will help. They know. You will be happy you went this route.

Answer 6

Home Depot has several choices to paint concrete or garage floors. I used an epoxcy 2 part system, lots of work but I expect it to outlive me.

Answer 7

There are special paints just for concrete surfaces. Try this link for great ideas. [e-mail]
Also try bobvila.com for pattern techniques.