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painting concrete floors

Popop | Posted in General Discussion on December 31, 2006 09:31am

I have to paint a concrete floor that has already been painted with a latex that isn’t in very good shape. Willl I have to remove the latex before painting with a more durable paint? The area is 2900 sq.ft. and it’s in a laundromat, so it will get heavy usage. Also, what type of paint should I use to get the most lasting finish? Thanks for the help.

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  1. Danno | Dec 31, 2006 11:45pm | #1

    I'll reply more or less as a bump to move you up on the list of discussions.

    I was planning on painting a neighbor's basement floor with epoxy or other special paint and asked someone (at Lowes, so I wasn't sure how good their advice would be, but the guy was an older guy who had worked with painters a lot and he was pretty insistent about what he felt was best). He said latex porch paint would be as good or better than the other paints.

    I was surprised, but it sure was easier to use than epoxy! So far, I haven't heard any complaints. I would think you should scrape or wire brush off any loose paint before starting. A laundromat under heavy usage may be a different thing than the basement I did. I suppose, to be sure, you should consider epoxy. Maybe even acid etch the floor before painting--I thought about doing that and rejected the idea because the woman had a new stove in the basement and a washer and dryer, so I was afraid any acid splashes, or even the vapor would rust her appliances. If you can't move out all of the equipment in the laundromat, I would not acid etch the floor.

    You could try something like porch enamel first--if that doesn't last, then next time use epoxy.

  2. DonCanDo | Jan 01, 2007 01:30am | #2

    If the latex paint is already in bad shape because it's peeling, then it should all be removed before you re-paint.  Otherwise, you run the risk of it peeling later and ruining your work.

    Even though latex paint usually works quite well on masonry, there are epoxy primers and topcoats designed specifically for commercial floors.  They are significantly more durable than latex floor paints.  I would go to a Sherwin Williams dealer and/or website and ask about their ArmorSeal line of floor epoxies.

    -Don

  3. SteveFFF | Jan 01, 2007 04:57pm | #3

    Epoxies will be the most durable.

    There have been a number of discussions about this on a machinist discussion web site lately.

    Head over to http://www.practicalmachinist.com and search on "epoxy floor" in the two General forums.

    Steve.

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